Immersive Urban Planning: Evaluating Park Safety Perception with Digital Twins and Metaverse Simulation

The objective of this study is to explore the use of emerging technologies such as the Metaverse and Digital Twin to highlight how these can be used to analyse and improve the perception of security in urban parks. Through the proposed methodological approach, which combines real data collection, 3D modelling, immersive simulations, and user feedback, a virtual environment representative of the Quartieri Spagnoli Park in Naples, chosen as a case study, was developed and tested. The experimentation involved a heterogeneous group of users and consisted of two phases of questionnaire administration, one in person and one in a virtual environment, to compare the individual and collective perceptions of users in relation to issues such as disorientation, lighting, and maintenance. The results obtained made it possible to identify a correspondence between the data collected in the two environments, and to highlight any critical issues that emerged. Undoubtedly, the virtual experience proved to be useful, accessible, and immersive, demonstrating the potential of these tools not only in identifying issues but especially in supporting participatory design and urban planning with a view to a smart city. In urban design, as in many other fields, being able to intervene and test changes in a virtual environment before actually implementing them is a valuable opportunity, as it allows the feasibility to be assessed without compromising the real space. It is precisely this aspect that makes this type of approach extremely interesting and important. The distinctive feature of the proposed approach lies in the implementation of digital twins in the metaverse, which can perform a dual function: simulation and verification. In the first case, simulations within the virtual environment allow project planning to be tested in order to predict the outcome; in the second case, it is possible to investigate the state of affairs, thus assessing whether the planning put in place has achieved the desired results.