Shaping Cities in a Headset: Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality Immersion and Interactivity in Civic Education

Shaping Cities in a Headset: Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality Immersion and Interactivity in Civic Education | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Shaping Cities in a Headset: Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality Immersion and Interactivity in Civic Education Raphael Hoerler, Jonas Christen, Petra Bättig-Frey, Noemi Chow, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506341/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Virtual reality (VR) offers unique opportunities for immersive and interactive learning, yet its application in civic education – particularly in the context of sustainable urban transformations – remains underexplored. This study examines how immersive and interactive VR experiences influence students’ attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development. A 2×2 experimental design compared four conditions (immersive vs. non-immersive; interactive vs. non-interactive) among high school and vocational students in Switzerland (N = 162). Pre- and post-surveys, as well as a follow-up after eight weeks, measured changes across cognitive, affective, and motivational dimensions. The results show that immersive VR significantly improved attention, presence, satisfaction, and perceived usefulness compared to desktop conditions. Immersive experiences also yielded the strongest short-term improvements in attitudes toward sustainable urban development. Meanwhile, interactive elements significantly improved attention and boosted learners’ interest but had limited impact on knowledge or attitudes compared to non-interactive conditions. Knowledge increased across all groups, with the follow-up survey suggesting slightly higher retention in the interactive VR group; however, these differences were not statistically significant. These findings highlight the potential of combining immersive and interactive features to foster engagement and attitudinal change in civic education. At the same time, they underscore the need for repeated or scaffolded interventions to translate short-term learning into lasting motivation and participation. The study contributes to the instructional design of VR-based civic tools and advances understanding of how experiential media can support learning for sustainable development. Virtual reality immersion interactivity urban design civic engagement Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 1 Introduction European cities are undergoing major transformations to address climate change, reduce urban heat, and improve quality of life. These transformations increasingly involve reducing car traffic and parking spaces in favor of green areas, bicycle infrastructure, and pedestrian zones (Croeser et al. 2022 ; Hrelja and Rye 2023 ; Nieuwenhuijsen 2021 ). While such changes aim to create more livable and sustainable cities, they often provoke public resistance due to diverse values, habits and misconceptions – especially when the benefits are long-term or difficult to visualize. For instance, a study on transport policy acceptability found that individuals often evaluate measures like the reduction of parking spaces based on personal short-term impacts rather than long-term communal gains, leading to skepticism about their effectiveness (Lanzendorf et al. 2024 ). In Zurich, as in many other cities, participatory urban development is a policy goal on the path to net zero emissions by 2040 (Cortés-Cediel et al. 2021 ; Nadin et al. 2021 ; Stadtentwicklung Zürich 2025 ). Hardinghaus et al. ( 2021 ) found that for projects aimed at redesigning traffic-dominated areas to be successful, it is essential to incorporate participation tools that engage citizens and stakeholders effectively. Fostering public engagement in urban development requires more than just providing information – it involves building awareness, knowledge, and attitudes that support civic participation. This aligns with broader goals in sustainability and civic education, where experiential and situated learning are shown to foster deeper understanding of complex systems (Brown et al. 1989 ; Kolb 1984 ). Particularly for young people, engaging in municipal processes enhances their sense of empowerment and competence, laying the groundwork for sustained democratic participation and informed, sustainable decision-making (Augsberger et al. 2018 ). Digitalization has been widely adopted for citizen participation in urban development (Staffans et al. 2020 ). Emerging approaches, like 3D visualizations, have been shown to enhance communicative planning by providing more immersive and comprehensible representations of urban projects (Eilola et al. 2023 ) and enable broader public involvement in early planning phases (Heldal 2007 ). However, meaningful public involvement remains challenging (Eilola et al. 2023 ; Staffans et al. 2020 ). Research on Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool for cognitive tasks such as factual learning is inconclusive (Mayer and Bailenson 2024 ). Studies have shown a greater sense of presence, but lower learning outcomes and less factual knowledge transfer compared to other media (Makransky et al. 2019 ; Parong and Mayer 2021 ). This effect may be attributed to the increased extraneous cognitive load (Sweller et al. 2019 ; Mayer 2020 ). However, VR offers unique affordances for creating situated, experiential learning environments that engage learners cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. Grounded in experiential learning theory (Kolb 1984 ), VR supports all stages of the learning cycle: offering direct experiences, enabling reflection, visualizing abstract concepts, and encouraging active experimentation. This makes VR particularly well-suited for complex topics like sustainable urban development, where personal engagement and systemic understanding are critical. Recent studies have also demonstrated VR’s effectiveness in fostering conceptual understanding in science education, even among younger learners. For instance, Martarelli et al. ( 2025 ) showed that a VR simulation of the water cycle significantly improved students' knowledge acquisition compared to traditional methods, highlighting the importance of instructional design and content structure in VR-based learning. Previous research shows that immersive VR environments enhance presence, emotional engagement, and perspective-taking – key drivers of learning and behavior change in civic and sustainability contexts (Makransky and Lilleholt 2018 ; Radianti et al. 2020 ). They also provide higher engagement and more vivid memories (van Leeuwen et al. 2018 ) and a higher level of spatial comprehension than viewing designs on non-immersive displays (Loyola et al. 2019 ). These immersive qualities can help users grasp the long-term implications of urban decisions by simulating real-world outcomes in a tangible and emotionally resonant way. This allows users to compare the experience of the status-quo with that of an alternative urban scenario, such as a road with cars removed and replaced by greenery and bike infrastructure. This would otherwise be impossible. In this way, VR supports the development of environmental attitudes and participatory intentions, bridging the gap between abstract policy and lived experience (Naranjo-Zolotov et al. 2019 ). Moreover, interactivity adds a critical dimension to learning by inviting users to actively engage with scenarios. Design-based applications – such as those allowing users to add greenery, alter mobility infrastructure, or reposition urban elements – can foster ownership, creativity, and systems thinking (Ehab and Heath 2023 ). In addition, these interactive experiences could also support better decision-making (Simonofski et al. 2024 ). Together, immersion and interactivity position VR as a promising educational tool for fostering deeper understanding, critical reflection, and motivation to engage in sustainable urban development. To theoretically frame how immersion and interactivity translate into learning-related outcomes, this study draws on the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL) (Makransky and Petersen 2021 ). CAMIL conceptualizes immersive virtual reality not as inherently more effective than other media, but as a learning environment whose impact depends on how technological affordances interact with instructional design. Central to the model are the psychological affordances of presence and agency, which emerge from immersive and interactive features and influence learning through affective and cognitive processes such as situational interest, motivation, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and self-regulation. From a CAMIL perspective, immersive environments are particularly effective in shaping attitudes, engagement, and interest, while effects on factual knowledge acquisition and behavioral intentions depend strongly on scaffolding, repetition, and opportunities for reflection. However, despite this potential, empirical research on VR as an educational medium in participatory urban development remains limited. In particular, few studies have systematically investigated how specific features of VR – such as the degree of immersion and interactivity – affect learning outcomes related to civic knowledge, environmental attitudes, and the intention to participate in development processes. This study addresses this gap by developing and evaluating a VR-based learning experience aimed at increasing young people's understanding of and engagement with sustainable urban development. In collaboration with city officials and NGOs, we designed a virtual urban environment in which students could explore, modify, and reflect on different development scenarios. Guided by the CAMIL framework, we investigate how two instructional design features – immersion (VR headset vs. desktop) and interactivity (active manipulation vs. passive observation) – influence four learning outcomes: attitudes , knowledge , interest , and intention to participate in sustainable urban development . The study is guided by the following questions: How do immersive and interactive experiences affect attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development? Do immersive and interactive features lead to different impacts on these outcomes? Building on previous research in immersive learning and participatory technologies (e.g., Makransky and Lilleholt 2018 ; Naranjo-Zolotov et al. 2019 ; Radianti et al. 2020 ), we hypothesize that the combination of high immersion and interactivity will have the strongest positive impact on participants’ attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to engage in sustainable urban development. We further expect that immersive conditions will outperform non-immersive ones, and interactive conditions will be more effective than non-interactive ones across these outcome variables. 2 Methodology 2.1 Research Design This study employed an experimental, 2 × 2 between-subjects design to investigate how immersion and interactivity in digital environments affect civic learning outcomes related to sustainable urban development. The research was conducted in real-world school settings to preserve ecological validity, with participants drawn from intact classrooms and assigned to one of four experimental conditions based on logistical and technical constraints. The design manipulated two independent variables: immersion (high vs. low) and interactivity (high vs. low). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: High immersion, high interactivity – a VR headset-based simulation with hand-gesture interaction; High immersion, low interactivity – a 360° VR animation experienced via headset with no interaction; Low immersion, high interactivity – a 2D desktop simulation with mouse-based interaction; Low immersion, low interactivity – a non-interactive animation viewed on a desktop screen. Each version delivered equivalent content to control informational differences. Attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development were assessed three times: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and eight weeks after the intervention. 2.2 Learning Environment Development To investigate how different levels of immersion and interactivity influence learning and engagement with sustainable urban development, a virtual environment of an urban intersection was developed specifically for this study. The environment aimed to balance ecological validity – by reflecting familiar urban elements – with experimental control, enabling a consistent experience across conditions. Design choices were guided by pedagogical principles of experiential and situated learning, as well as technical and visual considerations related to accessibility and usability in school settings. It was constructed using a combination of asset sources: some elements were digitally provided by the local government partner as 3D models (e.g., bus stop, garbage bin), others were purchased and adapted to reflect the local context (e.g., bus, pedestrians) or modeled from scratch using image references (e.g. buildings, greenery). All assets were unified in terms of visual style, detail level, and color palette, as consistency and coherence are crucial for inducing immersion in virtual environments (Jacobson 2017 ; Slater and Wilbur 1997 ; Kim 2023). To balance immersion with technical feasibility, a stylized, low-to-moderate level of realism, as seen in Fig. 3 , was chosen. This graphic abstraction helped avoid performance issues on the available hardware and subtly communicated to users that the space was a hypothetical, model-based environment rather than an exact replica of reality. Figure 1 illustrates the five main phases of the learning experience: Intro , Exploration , Change Mode , Reflection , and Feedback & Outro . In the immersive conditions, all phases except the final video-based conclusion are experienced in VR. This sequential structure allowed for a balance of guided learning and user-driven exploration, aligned with the study’s goals of combining experiential engagement and structured reflection. The experience begins in a virtual office environment, where participants are welcomed by a virtual urban planner who introduces the scenario. A bird avatar, as depicted in Fig. 2 , then serves as a guide, leading users outside via a camera transition that avoids artificial locomotion – an approach chosen to minimize the risk of simulator sickness in the immersive conditions. The user and avatar are positioned at the edge of an intersection where users are given time to explore the surroundings (see Fig. 3 ). In the interactive conditions, users are introduced to a “modification mode,” where they can choose from four categories of changes: mobility, social, greenery and energy, as depicted in Fig. 3 . For example, users may choose to install bicycle lanes, plant trees, add playgrounds, or place solar panels. In total, 17 elements can be placed in 28 locations within the virtual environment (see Fig. 12 and Fig. 13 in Appendix A ). In the non-interactive conditions, a curated subset of changes is mentioned and implemented by the bird avatar, without user input. After making changes, users explore the transformed environment in first-person perspective. Both visuals and soundscape shift to reflect their decisions: reducing parking spaces decreases traffic noise, while adding greenery brings more birdsong and dampened ambience. The bird avatar responds to these modifications, offering feedback and prompting users to reflect on how the changes affect their experience. In interactive conditions, users can then revisit the modification mode to make further adjustments; in non-interactive conditions, the bird applies a second set of changes autonomously. To conclude the main activity, the bird avatar introduces the concept of net-zero emissions and guides the user back to the virtual office to say farewell. Participants in the VR conditions then remove their headsets. All users then watch a 2D video that wraps up the narrative and delivers factual information deliberately excluded from the virtual experience to prevent overwhelm. In this video, the urban planner reflects more deeply on the sustainability implications of the user's choices. For example, explaining that while trees are ideal, underground infrastructure may make them infeasible in some locations, with bushes offering a partial alternative. The experience concludes with a summary of the net-zero strategy and a thank-you message. The virtual experience was developed using primarily Cinema 4D for asset creation and adaptation as well as Unity3D for VR development and interaction. Condition 1 was delivered via Meta Quest 3 headsets, enabling hand-tracking interaction, condition 2 was delivered via Meta Quest 2 headsets. Non-immersive conditions used standard desktop computers with keyboard-and-mouse input. Audio was delivered via connected stereo headsets in all conditions. The general narrative structure and voiceover content were kept consistent across all four conditions to ensure comparability and avoid common pitfalls of media comparison studies involving VR (Lawson et al. 2024 ). The typical duration of the experience ranged from 7 to 10 minutes, including introductory and reflection phases. 2.3 Participants and Data Collection The study targeted high school and vocational students in the Canton of Zurich, aged 14 to 26. This demographic was chosen for three main reasons. First, as future city residents, young people will be directly affected by long-term urban development decisions; involving them early can foster a sense of ownership and civic engagement. Second, this age group is typically familiar with digital tools and immersive technologies like VR, making them well-suited for testing novel interactive learning tools. Third, integrating the study into the school curriculum provided both a practical mechanism for data collection and an educational benefit for participants. Before the main study, a pilot run was conducted with a class to test and refine the VR experience. Additionally, internal pretests of the survey instruments were carried out. Feedback from both activities was used to enhance the clarity of instructions, ensure the technical functionality of the VR and desktop environments, and improve the comprehensibility of the questionnaire items. To encourage participation and ensure smooth implementation, the study was conducted in close collaboration with teachers, and testing was embedded in regular classroom activities. In most cases, data collection took place on-site at the schools; in one instance, students visited the university. The study followed a three-step data collection process: Pre-survey (one week before the testing) : Teachers distributed a link to an online survey, which students completed in the classroom under the teacher’s supervision. This survey assessed baseline knowledge, attitudes, interest and intentions related to sustainable urban development. On-site testing : Each class was randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions in a 2×2 between-subjects design: (1) high immersion/high interactivity (VR-Game), (2) high immersion/low interactivity (VR-Movie), (3) low immersion/high interactivity (Desktop-Game), and (4) low immersion/low interactivity (Desktop-Movie). To minimize expectancy effects, students were not informed about which condition they would experience. The two VR groups completed the experience in a separate room, while the desktop groups remained in the classroom. A researcher was present in each setting to explain procedures. After completing the digital experience, participants individually completed a second online survey. The session concluded with a brief plenary discussion in which students shared feedback on the experience. Follow-up survey (two months later) : Teachers distributed a final online survey to assess long-term retention and behavioral impact. 2.4 Measurement Instruments The survey instruments were designed to measure key constructs related to sustainable urban development and virtual learning experiences. Where possible, items were adapted from established scales; newly developed items were piloted internally to ensure clarity and alignment with the learning objectives. Figure 4 provides an overview of the sections and constructs included in each survey Four core constructs – knowledge , attitudes , interest and intention – were assessed consistently across all three surveys to allow longitudinal comparison. Additional constructs, shown in grey in Fig. 4 , were specific to individual surveys. The surveys were conducted in German. The following item examples are translated in English. Core constructs : Knowledge : Measured using a set of true-or-false and open-ended questions assessing participants’ understanding of core concepts related to sustainable urban development, such as mobility, social aspects, green infrastructure, energy and policy. Attitudes toward sustainable urban development: Assessed using a set of Likert-scale items tailored to the four key thematic areas covered in the intervention: mobility , energy , greenery , and social aspects of urban environment. Each category included 2–3 items, capturing participants’ personal evaluations toward sustainable practices in each domain. Interest in sustainable urban development: Measured using a 10-point scale to capture a basic self-assessment of interest, ranging from “no interest at all” to “very high interest”. Intention to participate: Measured with a Likert-scale question evaluating willingness to take part in civic or development-related activities in school. The post-survey included additional constructs to assess perceptions of the learning experience: Satisfaction : Measured with four Likert-scale items assessing participants’ overall satisfaction with the experience (e.g., “I enjoyed the experience”). Attention : Measured using a Likert-scale with three items adapted from Vorderer et al. ( 2004 ), assessing sustained focus and engagement. Example: “I paid close attention during the activity.” Presence : Also adapted from Vorderer et al. ( 2004 ) using three Likert-scale items. This scale assessed the sense of “being there” in the virtual environment. Example item: “I felt like my body really was in the environment.” Perceived Usefulness : Adapted from Spieker ( 2021 ) using five Likert-scale items, this construct captured participants’ views on the educational and practical value of the experience. Example items: “This experience helped me understand urban development better”; “Such visualizations should be used more frequently to involve citizens in urban planning projects”. In the follow-up survey, the core constructs were reassessed. Additionally, we included: Self-reported behavioral change : measured using five Likert-scale items capturing any actions participants had taken or considered taking since the intervention. Example: “I pay more attention to cycle paths or cycle routes.” Demographic information (e.g., age, gender) was collected in the pre-survey only. All Likert-scale items used in the study employed a 5-point response format, ranging from 1 ( strongly disagree ) to 5 ( strongly agree ). All constructs were tested for internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha. Most scales showed acceptable to high reliability (α = 0.69–0.91). A full list of constructs and scale properties can be found in Table 2 in Appendix B. Table 2 List of constructs with their items and Cronbach's alpha Construct Item Cronbach's alpha Pre-survey (n = 162) Post-survey (n = 162) Follow-up survey (n = 51) Attitudes Private cars are indispensable in the city. (recoded) 0.695 0.737 0.691 A city should establish many more 20 km/h and 30 km/h zones. Above all, a city should create space for pedestrians and cyclists. Roof areas should be used for photovoltaics (solar power systems) wherever possible. The city/state should legally require building owners to install photovoltaic systems at suitable private locations. The city should convert more road space into green areas (e.g. trees, hedges, meadows). Affinity for Technology Interaction I like to occupy myself in greater detail with technical systems. 0.788 NA NA I like testing the functions of new technical systems. It is enough for me that a technical system works; I don’t care how or why. It is enough for me to know the basic functions of a technical system. Satisfaction ‘Design Zurich’ was exciting. NA 0.827 NA ‘Design Zurich’ was graphically appealing. ‘Design Zurich’ was educational. Overall, I really liked ‘Design Zurich’. Attention I have focused my full attention on ‘Design Zurich’. NA 0.806 NA My attention was almost automatically drawn to ‘Design Zurich’. I have devoted myself entirely to ‘Design Zurich’. Presence I felt as if I were physically present in the environment depicted. NA 0.905 NA It was as if my actual location had shifted to the environment depicted. It felt as if I had actually participated in the events depicted. Usefulness Visualisations such as those used in ‘Design Zurich’ should be used more frequently to involve citizens in redesign projects. NA 0.870 NA The use of ‘Design Zurich’ makes it more appealing to participate in discussions about redesigns. If ‘Design Zurich’ is used at a public event on redesigns, I am more inclined to attend. Presenting a construction project with ‘Design Zurich’ helps me to understand more precisely what is being discussed. All in all, I find the presentation of an urban redesign with ‘Design Zurich’ to be meaningful. Behavioral change I pay more attention to cycle paths or cycle routes. NA NA 0.825 I pay more attention to parking spaces. I pay more attention to greenery such as trees and hedges. I pay more attention to solar power systems on roofs or facades. I pay more attention to elements that enliven the city, such as cafés, playgrounds or benches. 2.5 Data analysis All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 29. Statistical procedures included a Kruskal-Wallis test for the difference-in-difference analysis and bootstrapping techniques, selected based on the characteristics of the data and research design. To ensure the quality and validity of the dataset, several preprocessing steps were undertaken. First, outliers were identified by calculating Z-scores for each of the dependent variables – attitude, knowledge, interest and intention – as well as the independent variables – satisfaction , attention, presence and perceived usefulness . Fourteen cases had Z-scores greater than 3. Following a manual review of these cases, only one was excluded from the final analysis due to implausible or inconsistent responses. For the longitudinal analysis, data from the three surveys were matched using the e-mail addresses provided by participants. However, several participants inconsistently used different e-mail addresses across surveys (e.g., alternating between personal and school accounts). To maximize the matched sample size, these mismatches were manually reviewed and corrected when participant identity could be clearly verified or when typographical errors were evident. This careful matching process allowed for more complete and accurate longitudinal tracking. To address non-normality, confirmed by significant Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests across all four dependent variables, we applied a bootstrapping procedure with 1,000 resamples using the bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) method to obtain robust estimates of standard errors and confidence intervals. The bootstrapped results closely matched the original analyses, showing only minor differences. 2.6 Methodological Limitations While the study was carefully designed, several methodological limitations should be acknowledged. First, the matching of survey responses relied on participants providing consistent e-mail addresses, which introduced potential for data loss or misidentification despite manual corrections. Second, although participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions, practical constraints in classroom settings (e.g., group sizes and equipment availability) may have introduced deviations from strict randomization. Third, all measures relied on self-report, which may be subject to social desirability bias, especially in an educational context. Fourth, although efforts were made to balance ecological validity and experimental control, the use of VR equipment in a school setting inherently involves variability in user familiarity, hardware performance, and environmental distractions, which could influence immersion and engagement. Finally, a notable limitation concerns the reduced sample size in the follow-up survey. Attrition between the post-survey and the eight-week follow-up reduced the number of usable responses, limiting the statistical power to detect long-term effects. While descriptive trends indicated potential sustained benefits, these results did not reach statistical significance and should be interpreted with caution. The small follow-up sample increases the risk of Type II errors and constrains the generalizability of conclusions about the persistence of learning outcomes. Future research should prioritize retention strategies to strengthen longitudinal findings. 3 Results 3.1 Sample Characteristics and Response Rate Figure 5 presents the number of completed responses for each of the three surveys (pre, post, and follow-up), as well as the size of the matched datasets. While the initial number of participants was higher, not all pupils completed all three surveys. As a result, the analyses focus on 162 pupils with matched pre- and post-survey, and a smaller subset of 51 pupils who completed all three (pre, post, and follow-up). In total, 14 classes from four different schools participated in the study. Table 1 provides an overview of age, gender, technology affinity and group allocation. The average age of participants of the matched survey 1 & 2 was 16.9 years, ranging from 14 to 26 years. The sample included 49.4% female and had a mean technology affinity score of 3.0 (within a range of 1 to 5). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: VR-Game, VR-Movie, Desktop-Game, or Desktop-Movie. The VR groups (VR-Game and VR-Movie) included more participants, as these experiences were developed and tested earlier with an additional class. Table 1 Sample characteristics for the pre- and follow-up survey and matched datasets. NA = Not Available Variable Survey 1 (pre-survey) n = 232 Survey 2 (post-survey) n = 204 Matched survey 1 & 2 n = 162 Matched survey 1, 2 & 3 n = 51 Age (mean) 16.4 NA 16.9 17.8 Female in percent 47.4 NA 49.4 47.1 Technology affinity (mean) 3 NA 2.93 3.05 Frequency Group: VR-Game NA 66 55 26 Frequency Group: VR-Movie NA 50 41 12 Frequency Group: Desktop-Game NA 39 30 6 Frequency Group: Desktop-Movie NA 49 36 7 3.2 Immediate Effects on Key Outcomes (Pre-Post Changes) By analyzing both the pre-survey and the post-survey, we examined changes in attitudes , knowledge , intention and interest regarding sustainable urban development across the four experimental groups. Figure 6 summarizes these results. Note that the scales for attitude and intention range from 1 to 5 but are cut at 3; the scale for knowledge ranges from 0 to 1 but is cut at 0.5; and the scale for interest ranges from 1 to 10 but is cut at 4.5 and 7, to increase readability and ensure consistency across all subsequent figures. Using a difference-in-difference approach, we assessed whether the changes from Timepoint 1 (pre-survey) to Timepoint 2 (post-survey) differed significantly between groups. For attitudes towards sustainable urban development, both the VR-Game and VR-Movie groups showed significant increases. A Kruskal-Wallis test confirmed that the attitude improvements in these immersive groups were significantly greater than those observed in the Desktop-Game and Desktop-Movie groups. All four experiences led to significant knowledge gains, with no statistically significant differences between groups. In terms of interest in sustainable urban development, only the VR-Game condition produced a substantial increase. This increase was significantly higher compared to the VR-Movie and Desktop-Movie groups. Although the Desktop-Game group also showed some increase in interest, this change was not statistically significant. Finally, the intention to participate in sustainable urban development did not significantly increase in any group. Notably, there was a downward trend in intention, especially within the VR-Movie group. However, the VR-Game group exhibited the greatest potential for increasing participation intention, despite this effect not reaching statistical significance. 3.3 Immersion vs. Non-Immersive Conditions This subsection examines the effects of immersion by comparing immersive conditions (VR-Game and VR-Movie) with non-immersive conditions (Desktop-Game and Desktop-Movie). An overview of the results is presented in Fig. 7 . Consistent with the previous analyses, we assessed changes in attitudes , knowledge , interest , and intention to participate in sustainable urban development from Timepoint 1 to Timepoint 2 using a difference-in-difference approach. The results indicate that immersive experiences significantly increased attitudes toward sustainable urban development, with an effect size of η² = 0.079, representing a medium effect. However, no significant differences between immersive and non-immersive experiences were observed for knowledge , interest , or intention to participate. 3.4 Interaction vs. Non-interactive Conditions In addition to immersion, we examined the impact of interactivity on attitudes , knowledge , interest , and intention to participate in sustainable urban development. Interactive conditions included the VR-Game and Desktop-Game, while non-interactive conditions consisted of the VR-Movie and Desktop-Movie. Figure 8 summarizes these results. No significant differences were found in attitudes or knowledge between interactive and non-interactive experiences. However, interest in sustainable urban development increased significantly following interactive experiences, with an effect size of η² = 0.027, indicating a small effect. Additionally, there was a positive trend toward increased intention to participate after interactive experiences, although this did not reach statistical significance. 3.5 Experiential Outcomes and Engagement Mechanisms To better understand how immersion and interaction influence the learning process beyond outcome measures, we examined four experiential constructs commonly linked to engagement as key mediators of effective virtual learning environments: attention , presence , satisfaction , and perceived usefulness . As shown in Fig. 9 , immersion had a strong and consistent positive impact on all four experiential variables: Attention : Participants in immersive conditions (VR-Game and VR-Movie) reported significantly higher attention levels than those in non-immersive conditions ( p < .001). Presence : Immersive groups also experienced a significantly stronger sense of presence ( p < .001), indicating that they felt more psychologically “in” the virtual environment. Satisfaction : Overall satisfaction with the experience was substantially greater in immersive conditions ( p < .001), suggesting greater affective engagement. Perceived Usefulness : Participants rated immersive experiences as a more useful tool for participating in sustainable urban development compared to desktop-based formats ( p < .001). In contrast, interaction showed a more limited but focused effect. Interactive experiences (VR-Game and Desktop-Game) significantly increased attention compared to non-interactive ones ( p = .038), but did not have a statistically significant impact on presence, satisfaction, or perceived usefulness. This suggests that while interactivity may enhance cognitive focus or task involvement, it does not necessarily deepen emotional or affective engagement in the same way as immersion. 3.6 Long-term Effects (Pre, Post and Follow-Up Changes) The follow-up survey, conducted eight weeks after the intervention, provides exploratory insights into the persistence of learning outcomes. While statistical power was limited due to the reduced sample size (n = 51), several trends can be observed. Due to the reduced sample size, analyses were limited to comparisons between aggregated groups: immersive vs. non-immersive, and interactive vs. non-interactive. To support interpretation, Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 present plots of mean scores across the three survey timepoints (pre, post, follow-up) for each construct and group. As seen in both figures, results show a general decline across most outcome variables compared to immediate post-survey levels, indicating that many of the observed gains were not maintained over time. However, the effects differed by experimental condition. Knowledge retention emerged as the most stable outcome across groups. While knowledge scores declined slightly after the intervention, they remained above baseline in all groups except the non-immersive condition. This suggests that immersion may support knowledge retention, although the strongest effect appeared in the interactive condition, where follow-up knowledge scores remained highest. In contrast, attitude, intention , and interest tended to regress to or even fall below baseline. Mean values for attitude and interest in the immersive group were lower at follow-up than at pre-survey, indicating that any initial emotional or motivational lift from the immersive experience was short-lived. However, the interactive condition showed more promising results. Although declines were also observed post follow-up, attitude, knowledge , and intention remained consistently higher in the interactive group than in the non-interactive group. This suggests that interactivity may play a protective role in sustaining engagement and positive orientations, even after the novelty of the intervention wears off. Regarding behavioral change , no significant long-term differences were found between groups. 4 Discussion and Recommendations This study investigated the effects of immersive and interactive VR on civic learning outcomes and engagement in the context of sustainable urban development. The results provide a differentiated picture of how virtual experiences affect knowledge, attitudes, interest, and behavioral intention – primarily in the short term – and offer preliminary insights into how some of these effects may persist over time. However, due to limited sample size in the follow-up, long-term patterns should be interpreted cautiously. Especially the generally lower scores in the follow-up survey might suggest that the students got annoyed by the repeated nature of the questions, warranting further investigation. Across all experimental groups, knowledge significantly increased from pre- to post-intervention, regardless of immersion or interactivity. This suggests that the content and structure of the learning intervention were effective in conveying factual information. However, only the immersive and interactive VR conditions showed relatively stable knowledge levels in the follow-up survey, while the non-immersive group’s knowledge scores declined. Although these differences were not statistically significant, they indicate that retention may be more robust when participants are exposed to richer experiential formats. This pattern is consistent with previous research emphasizing the importance of content quality in knowledge acquisition (Martarelli et al. 2024), while also suggesting a potential additive effect of immersion for long-term retention. The absence of differential knowledge gains across all experimental groups is also consistent with CAMIL, which suggests that immersive environments do not inherently improve factual learning and may even increase extraneous cognitive load if not strongly scaffolded. Attitudes toward sustainable development improved significantly across conditions , with the most pronounced changes occurring in immersive formats. These findings support the hypothesis that immersive media can foster affective learning and value-based reflection by eliciting presence and emotional resonance, aligning well with the CAMIL framework (Makransky and Lilleholt 2018 ). Immersive VR environments likely made the abstract issues of urban development more tangible and personally relevant, contributing to short-term attitude change. Yet, these changes were not sustained at follow-up, suggesting that while immersion can initiate shifts in perspective, sustained change may require reinforcement or repetition over time. However, these results need to be interpreted with care, given the low number of observations. Interest in urban development increased most strongly in the interactive VR group , underscoring the motivational benefits of simulated decision-making and user agency, which CAMIL identifies as a central psychological affordance linking interactivity to situational interest and intrinsic motivation. This supports experiential learning theory (Kolb 1984 ) and aligns with findings that interactivity can enhance engagement, especially when learners can explore options and make choices (Brown et al. 1989 ). These results partially confirm our hypothesis that interaction would strengthen learning outcomes – particularly motivational ones – though its impact on attitudes or knowledge was limited. Behavioral intention to participate in future urban development processes, however, did not significantly change across groups, highlighting a key limitation in realizing the study’s behavioral aims. Despite some positive trends in the immersive-interactive condition, the results suggest that a single VR experience may not be sufficient to influence future-oriented civic behavior. This reflects a gap between cognitive or affective gains and actionable intention, highlighting the complexity of fostering behavioral change through brief interventions. As hypothesized, the combination of immersion and interaction showed the strongest overall outcome profile, but not all effects reached statistical significance. Repeated exposure, scaffolded activities, or blended learning formats that link virtual experiences to real-life civic actions may be necessary to translate educational engagement into participatory behavior. Immersion significantly enhanced experiential outcomes such as attention, presence, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction compared to non-immersive formats. These results reinforce the idea that media-induced presence is a critical mechanism for enhancing emotional engagement in immersive learning environments (Makransky and Mayer 2022 ). They also align with findings by Martarelli et al. (2024), who showed that immersive VR can improve both short-term learning and long-term retention in younger learners. In our study, immersion appeared to be a key factor in initiating attitude change and enhancing affective response. These quantitative findings were echoed by qualitative feedback from participants, which provided additional insight into learner perceptions. Many students described the VR activity as “very exciting” and appreciated its clarity and interactivity, with one noting, “ It’s great that you can directly see the changes – it makes it easier to imagine transformations .” Another remarked, “ I especially enjoyed the VR experience and learned a lot. ” Such comments underscore the motivational value of immersive tools. However, some participants pointed out limitations and control difficulties in the desktop version (e.g. “ No left click to move ”). In addition, students from rural areas noted that the urban focus of the simulation felt less relevant to their own lives. These insights highlight that while VR environments can enhance engagement, thoughtful attention to usability and contextual relevance is essential for maximizing their educational impact. In contrast to the broad emotional effects of immersion, interaction showed a more targeted and selective influence . While it significantly boosted interest and attentional engagement, it did not produce consistent effects on knowledge or attitudes. The result is consistent with recent findings by Liu et al. ( 2025 ), who similarly observed that interactive VR enhanced attention and experiential outcomes compared to non-interactive conditions, while knowledge gains were comparable across groups. This pattern supports prior research suggesting that interactive elements must be carefully designed to avoid cognitive overload and optimize their motivational value (Dall’olio et al. 2024). Taken together, the findings suggest that immersion and interaction play distinct but complementary psychological roles – immersion fosters emotional resonance, while interaction stimulates focused attention and curiosity. Future interventions could benefit from strategically combining both features to balance affective engagement with cognitive manageability, thereby sustaining both motivation and reflection without overwhelming learners. Taken together, these findings address the study’s guiding research questions and partially confirm its hypotheses. Immersive and interactive features both contributed to participants’ learning and engagement in sustainable urban development, but in different ways. Immersion enhanced affective and experiential outcomes, while interaction primarily influenced motivational engagement. The combination of both yielded the most consistent benefits, though not uniformly across all measures or over time. These results underline the importance of aligning VR design with specific educational goals and integrating experiential features in ways that support both cognitive processing and emotional involvement. In practical terms, combining immersive storytelling with interactive decision-making appears most promising for fostering civic learning. However, such experiences are resource-intensive and must be implemented with careful attention to accessibility, usability, and curricular fit. Educators, urban planners, and policymakers should consider how immersive elements can drive attitudinal change while interactive components sustain interest – recognizing that long-term change likely requires a broader strategy that includes follow-ups, real-world connections, and ongoing engagement. 5 Conclusion and future research This study explored how immersive and interactive VR experiences influence civic learning outcomes in the context of sustainable urban development. The findings show that immersive VR significantly enhances experiential variables such as presence, satisfaction, and attention, and fosters short-term improvements in attitudes toward urban development. These results reinforce the value of immersion in stimulating affective engagement and underscore the importance of emotional resonance in civic education. While interactive features did not uniformly improve learning outcomes, they played a meaningful role in sustaining interest and attention. Notably, knowledge gains occurred across all groups, including those in non-immersive and non-interactive conditions, suggesting that the quality of instructional content remains critical regardless of the delivery medium. However, behavioral intentions – specifically participants’ willingness to engage in real-world development – remained largely unchanged, highlighting the challenge of translating virtual engagement into sustained civic action. These findings have important implications for both future research and design practice. Immersion and interactivity appear to serve distinct cognitive and affective functions and should not be assumed to exert additive effects across all learning outcomes. Designers of educational VR should therefore pursue a complementary approach, strategically aligning immersive features with emotional and reflective goals, while deploying interactive elements to activate attention and curiosity. Building on CAMIL, Future studies should move beyond single-session interventions and assess how repeated or scaffolded VR use can support durable change. Linking virtual experiences to real-world participatory opportunities may also be crucial in bridging the gap between learning and action. Moreover, further investigation is needed into how different forms and levels of interactivity, such as decision-making, feedback mechanisms, or collaborative tasks, contribute to cognitive depth and motivation. Accessibility and scalability should remain central concerns, especially given the resource-intensive nature of VR. Finally, a stronger theoretical integration between immersive learning, affective engagement, and behavioral change frameworks will be essential to guide the development of pedagogically grounded, socially impactful civic education technologies. Declarations Acknowledgement We thank Juan Garcia for his invaluable help in programming the virtual environment and Olav Lervik for the sound design. We are also grateful for the support of Mats Ammann in the development of the storyline of the VR experience and Simon Keller and Isabel Florido for lending their voice to the bird and spatial planner avatar, respectively. Finally, we thank all the teachers and students taking part in this study. Funding This study was supported by the Digitalization Initiative of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions (DIZH). 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13:05:47","extension":"png","order_by":25,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":46336,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/d1e2a943f0c3df23090a6a11.png"},{"id":100408148,"identity":"bae47dc0-3f09-4d70-8e53-bf74ea9d0f6e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:35","extension":"png","order_by":26,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":42900,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/bc82c246043bb7269661a2de.png"},{"id":100408197,"identity":"0f650240-fb21-4359-a04a-fa2b76e53024","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:42","extension":"xml","order_by":27,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":136443,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"78f226758d0f4b6fb38a82e9bc98b3511structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/4e8b39c729ccfbc70ec34b84.xml"},{"id":100421871,"identity":"e563f028-8e4a-4c0b-8924-9f81f1a5f866","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:59:16","extension":"html","order_by":28,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":154227,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/c9729e1778d007f67d9fbec8.html"},{"id":100408020,"identity":"97fe9ac0-7c7a-4880-8480-42dfba122712","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:26","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":299147,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePhases of the virtual learning experience: The user journey proceeds through five sequential stages. In immersive conditions, all phases except the final one occur within the VR environment\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/6601b76c02cd95f37eac2ac1.png"},{"id":100407698,"identity":"88b3a617-d835-45f2-9db5-3c0ecf3be9f7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:04:50","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":61481,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSparrow \"Flitz\", the bird avatar\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/ee05e3d583c2887dd1e00a71.png"},{"id":100408036,"identity":"afc98a24-943f-4076-82cf-2b8a38675d61","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:28","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":551582,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSimulation mode in the exploration phase (left) vs. modification mode (right): In the interactive conditions, users can choose modifications from four categories: mobility, social, greenery and energy (visualization from the immersive, interactive condition\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/8f7283d42daa4358bf9b840d.png"},{"id":100408101,"identity":"d24d0acc-6899-409b-a8be-6901c5dde681","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:32","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":101340,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eOverview of constructs used in all three surveys\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/a23cedbd561671c4e0eb5a51.png"},{"id":100408153,"identity":"90c9a584-56cb-47d8-a007-37f5e8ab8f52","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:35","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":32917,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFrequency of responses for each survey and the matched data\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/be8432817a09e02a0de67b8d.png"},{"id":100408030,"identity":"0907149b-e7b1-49d9-b938-0520b5fe6646","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:27","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":124875,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean of attitude, knowledge, intention and interest for each group and timepoint\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/b96c2e157003507fc9af6251.png"},{"id":100408185,"identity":"5ca36a93-73ef-45f1-98aa-57f932dda00b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:37","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"Figure 7","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":100346,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean of attitude, knowledge, intention and interest for the immersive and non-immersive groups at each timepoint\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"7.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/caa41240d04bb50045f2ba4c.png"},{"id":100408211,"identity":"d2bc121c-c774-4f14-9b04-373692e2e997","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:45","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"Figure 8","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":102652,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean of attitude, knowledge, intention and interest for the interactive and non-interactive groups at each timepoint\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"8.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/0addc07cfce503a4d95b8776.png"},{"id":100408108,"identity":"20315244-916a-4455-b7d3-c217864a9f32","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:33","extension":"png","order_by":9,"title":"Figure 9","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":29045,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean scores for attention, presence, satisfaction and usefulness for each group\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"9.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/567e3bd4a842b3faab93a491.png"},{"id":100407868,"identity":"0f0799ef-9869-4ab9-984b-1510925b8e20","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:09","extension":"png","order_by":10,"title":"Figure 10","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":128475,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean of attitude, knowledge, intention and interest for the immersive and non-immersive groups at all three timepoints\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"10.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/4097d4b3c92e05f7f1905603.png"},{"id":100407998,"identity":"12dc4f5d-7559-4523-b2ab-22a592890020","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:05:17","extension":"png","order_by":11,"title":"Figure 11","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":126750,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMean of attitude, knowledge, intention and interest for the interactive and non-interactive groups at all three timepoints\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"11.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/9c3b30c81fee58938bab85ce.png"},{"id":100423816,"identity":"a84843b3-1dbf-4dff-8045-ba33fc6d26f1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 14:15:03","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2938899,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/e4c7933a-6bdc-4116-8adf-7e6b8c5e4dfc.pdf"},{"id":100407681,"identity":"ef13ec54-9c35-4826-8208-8a9f95c1ddaf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-16 13:04:44","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1589396,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Appendix.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8506341/v1/e29302b4badd0f47ccef9c76.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Shaping Cities in a Headset: Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality Immersion and Interactivity in Civic Education","fulltext":[{"header":"1 Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eEuropean cities are undergoing major transformations to address climate change, reduce urban heat, and improve quality of life. These transformations increasingly involve reducing car traffic and parking spaces in favor of green areas, bicycle infrastructure, and pedestrian zones (Croeser et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Hrelja and Rye \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Nieuwenhuijsen \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). While such changes aim to create more livable and sustainable cities, they often provoke public resistance due to diverse values, habits and misconceptions \u0026ndash; especially when the benefits are long-term or difficult to visualize. For instance, a study on transport policy acceptability found that individuals often evaluate measures like the reduction of parking spaces based on personal short-term impacts rather than long-term communal gains, leading to skepticism about their effectiveness (Lanzendorf et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Zurich, as in many other cities, participatory urban development is a policy goal on the path to net zero emissions by 2040 (Cort\u0026eacute;s-Cediel et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Nadin et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Stadtentwicklung Z\u0026uuml;rich \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). Hardinghaus et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) found that for projects aimed at redesigning traffic-dominated areas to be successful, it is essential to incorporate participation tools that engage citizens and stakeholders effectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFostering public engagement in urban development requires more than just providing information \u0026ndash; it involves building awareness, knowledge, and attitudes that support civic participation. This aligns with broader goals in sustainability and civic education, where experiential and situated learning are shown to foster deeper understanding of complex systems (Brown et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1989\u003c/span\u003e; Kolb \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e). Particularly for young people, engaging in municipal processes enhances their sense of empowerment and competence, laying the groundwork for sustained democratic participation and informed, sustainable decision-making (Augsberger et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Digitalization has been widely adopted for citizen participation in urban development (Staffans et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Emerging approaches, like 3D visualizations, have been shown to enhance communicative planning by providing more immersive and comprehensible representations of urban projects (Eilola et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) and enable broader public involvement in early planning phases (Heldal \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). However, meaningful public involvement remains challenging (Eilola et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Staffans et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eResearch on Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool for cognitive tasks such as factual learning is inconclusive (Mayer and Bailenson \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Studies have shown a greater sense of presence, but lower learning outcomes and less factual knowledge transfer compared to other media (Makransky et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Parong and Mayer \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). This effect may be attributed to the increased extraneous cognitive load (Sweller et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Mayer \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). However, VR offers unique affordances for creating situated, experiential learning environments that engage learners cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. Grounded in experiential learning theory (Kolb \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e), VR supports all stages of the learning cycle: offering direct experiences, enabling reflection, visualizing abstract concepts, and encouraging active experimentation. This makes VR particularly well-suited for complex topics like sustainable urban development, where personal engagement and systemic understanding are critical.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecent studies have also demonstrated VR\u0026rsquo;s effectiveness in fostering conceptual understanding in science education, even among younger learners. For instance, Martarelli et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e) showed that a VR simulation of the water cycle significantly improved students' knowledge acquisition compared to traditional methods, highlighting the importance of instructional design and content structure in VR-based learning.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevious research shows that immersive VR environments enhance presence, emotional engagement, and perspective-taking \u0026ndash; key drivers of learning and behavior change in civic and sustainability contexts (Makransky and Lilleholt \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Radianti et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). They also provide higher engagement and more vivid memories (van Leeuwen et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e) and a higher level of spatial comprehension than viewing designs on non-immersive displays (Loyola et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). These immersive qualities can help users grasp the long-term implications of urban decisions by simulating real-world outcomes in a tangible and emotionally resonant way. This allows users to compare the experience of the status-quo with that of an alternative urban scenario, such as a road with cars removed and replaced by greenery and bike infrastructure. This would otherwise be impossible. In this way, VR supports the development of environmental attitudes and participatory intentions, bridging the gap between abstract policy and lived experience (Naranjo-Zolotov et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, interactivity adds a critical dimension to learning by inviting users to actively engage with scenarios. Design-based applications \u0026ndash; such as those allowing users to add greenery, alter mobility infrastructure, or reposition urban elements \u0026ndash; can foster ownership, creativity, and systems thinking (Ehab and Heath \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, these interactive experiences could also support better decision-making (Simonofski et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTogether, immersion and interactivity position VR as a promising educational tool for fostering deeper understanding, critical reflection, and motivation to engage in sustainable urban development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo theoretically frame how immersion and interactivity translate into learning-related outcomes, this study draws on the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL) (Makransky and Petersen \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). CAMIL conceptualizes immersive virtual reality not as inherently more effective than other media, but as a learning environment whose impact depends on how technological affordances interact with instructional design.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCentral to the model are the psychological affordances of presence and agency, which emerge from immersive and interactive features and influence learning through affective and cognitive processes such as situational interest, motivation, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and self-regulation. From a CAMIL perspective, immersive environments are particularly effective in shaping attitudes, engagement, and interest, while effects on factual knowledge acquisition and behavioral intentions depend strongly on scaffolding, repetition, and opportunities for reflection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, despite this potential, empirical research on VR as an educational medium in participatory urban development remains limited. In particular, few studies have systematically investigated how specific features of VR \u0026ndash; such as the degree of immersion and interactivity \u0026ndash; affect learning outcomes related to civic knowledge, environmental attitudes, and the intention to participate in development processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study addresses this gap by developing and evaluating a VR-based learning experience aimed at increasing young people's understanding of and engagement with sustainable urban development. In collaboration with city officials and NGOs, we designed a virtual urban environment in which students could explore, modify, and reflect on different development scenarios.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuided by the CAMIL framework, we investigate how two instructional design features \u0026ndash; \u003cb\u003eimmersion\u003c/b\u003e (VR headset vs. desktop) and \u003cb\u003einteractivity\u003c/b\u003e (active manipulation vs. passive observation) \u0026ndash; influence four learning outcomes: \u003cb\u003eattitudes\u003c/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eknowledge\u003c/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003einterest\u003c/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003eintention to participate in sustainable urban development\u003c/b\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study is guided by the following questions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eHow do immersive and interactive experiences affect attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eDo immersive and interactive features lead to different impacts on these outcomes?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBuilding on previous research in immersive learning and participatory technologies (e.g., Makransky and Lilleholt \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Naranjo-Zolotov et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Radianti et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), we hypothesize that the combination of high immersion and interactivity will have the strongest positive impact on participants\u0026rsquo; attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to engage in sustainable urban development. We further expect that immersive conditions will outperform non-immersive ones, and interactive conditions will be more effective than non-interactive ones across these outcome variables.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2 Methodology","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Research Design\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study employed an experimental, 2 \u0026times; 2 between-subjects design to investigate how immersion and interactivity in digital environments affect civic learning outcomes related to sustainable urban development. The research was conducted in real-world school settings to preserve ecological validity, with participants drawn from intact classrooms and assigned to one of four experimental conditions based on logistical and technical constraints. The design manipulated two independent variables: immersion (high vs. low) and interactivity (high vs. low). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eHigh immersion, high interactivity\u003c/b\u003e \u0026ndash; a VR headset-based simulation with hand-gesture interaction;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eHigh immersion, low interactivity\u003c/b\u003e \u0026ndash; a 360\u0026deg; VR animation experienced via headset with no interaction;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eLow immersion, high interactivity\u003c/b\u003e \u0026ndash; a 2D desktop simulation with mouse-based interaction;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eLow immersion, low interactivity\u003c/b\u003e \u0026ndash; a non-interactive animation viewed on a desktop screen.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach version delivered equivalent content to control informational differences. Attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development were assessed three times: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and eight weeks after the intervention.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Learning Environment Development\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo investigate how different levels of immersion and interactivity influence learning and engagement with sustainable urban development, a virtual environment of an urban intersection was developed specifically for this study. The environment aimed to balance ecological validity \u0026ndash; by reflecting familiar urban elements \u0026ndash; with experimental control, enabling a consistent experience across conditions. Design choices were guided by pedagogical principles of experiential and situated learning, as well as technical and visual considerations related to accessibility and usability in school settings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt was constructed using a combination of asset sources: some elements were digitally provided by the local government partner as 3D models (e.g., bus stop, garbage bin), others were purchased and adapted to reflect the local context (e.g., bus, pedestrians) or modeled from scratch using image references (e.g. buildings, greenery). All assets were unified in terms of visual style, detail level, and color palette, as consistency and coherence are crucial for inducing immersion in virtual environments (Jacobson \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Slater and Wilbur \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1997\u003c/span\u003e; Kim 2023).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo balance immersion with technical feasibility, a stylized, low-to-moderate level of realism, as seen in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, was chosen. This graphic abstraction helped avoid performance issues on the available hardware and subtly communicated to users that the space was a hypothetical, model-based environment rather than an exact replica of reality.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the five main phases of the learning experience: \u003cem\u003eIntro\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eExploration\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eChange Mode\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eReflection\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eFeedback \u0026amp; Outro\u003c/em\u003e. In the immersive conditions, all phases except the final video-based conclusion are experienced in VR. This sequential structure allowed for a balance of guided learning and user-driven exploration, aligned with the study\u0026rsquo;s goals of combining experiential engagement and structured reflection.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe experience begins in a virtual office environment, where participants are welcomed by a virtual urban planner who introduces the scenario. A bird avatar, as depicted in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, then serves as a guide, leading users outside via a camera transition that avoids artificial locomotion \u0026ndash; an approach chosen to minimize the risk of simulator sickness in the immersive conditions. The user and avatar are positioned at the edge of an intersection where users are given time to explore the surroundings (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the interactive conditions, users are introduced to a \u0026ldquo;modification mode,\u0026rdquo; where they can choose from four categories of changes: mobility, social, greenery and energy, as depicted in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. For example, users may choose to install bicycle lanes, plant trees, add playgrounds, or place solar panels. In total, 17 elements can be placed in 28 locations within the virtual environment (see Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e in Appendix \u003cspan refid=\"Sec18\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003eA\u003c/span\u003e). In the non-interactive conditions, a curated subset of changes is mentioned and implemented by the bird avatar, without user input.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter making changes, users explore the transformed environment in first-person perspective. Both visuals and soundscape shift to reflect their decisions: reducing parking spaces decreases traffic noise, while adding greenery brings more birdsong and dampened ambience. The bird avatar responds to these modifications, offering feedback and prompting users to reflect on how the changes affect their experience. In interactive conditions, users can then revisit the modification mode to make further adjustments; in non-interactive conditions, the bird applies a second set of changes autonomously.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo conclude the main activity, the bird avatar introduces the concept of net-zero emissions and guides the user back to the virtual office to say farewell. Participants in the VR conditions then remove their headsets.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll users then watch a 2D video that wraps up the narrative and delivers factual information deliberately excluded from the virtual experience to prevent overwhelm. In this video, the urban planner reflects more deeply on the sustainability implications of the user's choices. For example, explaining that while trees are ideal, underground infrastructure may make them infeasible in some locations, with bushes offering a partial alternative. The experience concludes with a summary of the net-zero strategy and a thank-you message.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe virtual experience was developed using primarily Cinema 4D for asset creation and adaptation as well as Unity3D for VR development and interaction. Condition 1 was delivered via Meta Quest 3 headsets, enabling hand-tracking interaction, condition 2 was delivered via Meta Quest 2 headsets. Non-immersive conditions used standard desktop computers with keyboard-and-mouse input. Audio was delivered via connected stereo headsets in all conditions. The general narrative structure and voiceover content were kept consistent across all four conditions to ensure comparability and avoid common pitfalls of media comparison studies involving VR (Lawson et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The typical duration of the experience ranged from 7 to 10 minutes, including introductory and reflection phases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Participants and Data Collection\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study targeted high school and vocational students in the Canton of Zurich, aged 14 to 26. This demographic was chosen for three main reasons. First, as future city residents, young people will be directly affected by long-term urban development decisions; involving them early can foster a sense of ownership and civic engagement. Second, this age group is typically familiar with digital tools and immersive technologies like VR, making them well-suited for testing novel interactive learning tools. Third, integrating the study into the school curriculum provided both a practical mechanism for data collection and an educational benefit for participants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBefore the main study, a pilot run was conducted with a class to test and refine the VR experience. Additionally, internal pretests of the survey instruments were carried out. Feedback from both activities was used to enhance the clarity of instructions, ensure the technical functionality of the VR and desktop environments, and improve the comprehensibility of the questionnaire items.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e To encourage participation and ensure smooth implementation, the study was conducted in close collaboration with teachers, and testing was embedded in regular classroom activities. In most cases, data collection took place on-site at the schools; in one instance, students visited the university.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study followed a three-step data collection process:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePre-survey (one week before the testing)\u003c/b\u003e: Teachers distributed a link to an online survey, which students completed in the classroom under the teacher\u0026rsquo;s supervision. This survey assessed baseline knowledge, attitudes, interest and intentions related to sustainable urban development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eOn-site testing\u003c/b\u003e: Each class was randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions in a 2\u0026times;2 between-subjects design: (1) high immersion/high interactivity (VR-Game), (2) high immersion/low interactivity (VR-Movie), (3) low immersion/high interactivity (Desktop-Game), and (4) low immersion/low interactivity (Desktop-Movie). To minimize expectancy effects, students were not informed about which condition they would experience. The two VR groups completed the experience in a separate room, while the desktop groups remained in the classroom. A researcher was present in each setting to explain procedures. After completing the digital experience, participants individually completed a second online survey. The session concluded with a brief plenary discussion in which students shared feedback on the experience.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eFollow-up survey (two months later)\u003c/b\u003e: Teachers distributed a final online survey to assess long-term retention and behavioral impact.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4 Measurement Instruments\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey instruments were designed to measure key constructs related to sustainable urban development and virtual learning experiences. Where possible, items were adapted from established scales; newly developed items were piloted internally to ensure clarity and alignment with the learning objectives.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e provides an overview of the sections and constructs included in each survey\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFour core constructs \u0026ndash; \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e \u0026ndash; were assessed consistently across all three surveys to allow longitudinal comparison. Additional constructs, shown in grey in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, were specific to individual surveys.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe surveys were conducted in German. The following item examples are translated in English.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eCore constructs\u003c/b\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eKnowledge\u003c/em\u003e: Measured using a set of true-or-false and open-ended questions assessing participants\u0026rsquo; understanding of core concepts related to sustainable urban development, such as mobility, social aspects, green infrastructure, energy and policy.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eAttitudes\u003c/em\u003e toward sustainable urban development: Assessed using a set of Likert-scale items tailored to the four key thematic areas covered in the intervention: \u003cb\u003emobility\u003c/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eenergy\u003c/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003egreenery\u003c/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003esocial\u003c/b\u003e aspects of urban environment. Each category included 2\u0026ndash;3 items, capturing participants\u0026rsquo; personal evaluations toward sustainable practices in each domain.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eInterest\u003c/em\u003e in sustainable urban development: Measured using a 10-point scale to capture a basic self-assessment of interest, ranging from \u0026ldquo;no interest at all\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;very high interest\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eIntention\u003c/em\u003e to participate: Measured with a Likert-scale question evaluating willingness to take part in civic or development-related activities in school.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe post-survey included \u003cb\u003eadditional constructs\u003c/b\u003e to assess perceptions of the learning experience:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSatisfaction\u003c/em\u003e: Measured with four Likert-scale items assessing participants\u0026rsquo; overall satisfaction with the experience (e.g., \u0026ldquo;I enjoyed the experience\u0026rdquo;).\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAttention\u003c/em\u003e: Measured using a Likert-scale with three items adapted from Vorderer et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e), assessing sustained focus and engagement. Example: \u0026ldquo;I paid close attention during the activity.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePresence\u003c/em\u003e: Also adapted from Vorderer et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e) using three Likert-scale items. This scale assessed the sense of \u0026ldquo;being there\u0026rdquo; in the virtual environment. Example item: \u0026ldquo;I felt like my body really was in the environment.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePerceived Usefulness\u003c/em\u003e: Adapted from Spieker (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e) using five Likert-scale items, this construct captured participants\u0026rsquo; views on the educational and practical value of the experience. Example items: \u0026ldquo;This experience helped me understand urban development better\u0026rdquo;; \u0026ldquo;Such visualizations should be used more frequently to involve citizens in urban planning projects\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the follow-up survey, the core constructs were reassessed. Additionally, we included:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSelf-reported behavioral change\u003c/em\u003e: measured using five Likert-scale items capturing any actions participants had taken or considered taking since the intervention. Example: \u0026ldquo;I pay more attention to cycle paths or cycle routes.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic information (e.g., age, gender) was collected in the pre-survey only.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll Likert-scale items used in the study employed a 5-point response format, ranging from 1 (\u003cem\u003estrongly disagree\u003c/em\u003e) to 5 (\u003cem\u003estrongly agree\u003c/em\u003e). All constructs were tested for internal consistency using Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s alpha. Most scales showed acceptable to high reliability (α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.69\u0026ndash;0.91). A full list of constructs and scale properties can be found in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e in Appendix B.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of constructs with their items and Cronbach's alpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstruct\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eItem\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCronbach's alpha\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePre-survey (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;162)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePost-survey (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;162)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollow-up survey (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;51)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttitudes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrivate cars are indispensable in the city. (recoded)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.695\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.737\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.691\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA city should establish many more 20 km/h and 30 km/h zones.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbove all, a city should create space for pedestrians and cyclists.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRoof areas should be used for photovoltaics (solar power systems) wherever possible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe city/state should legally require building owners to install photovoltaic systems at suitable private locations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe city should convert more road space into green areas (e.g. trees, hedges, meadows).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAffinity for Technology Interaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI like to occupy myself in greater detail with technical systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.788\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI like testing the functions of new technical systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is enough for me that a technical system works; I don\u0026rsquo;t care how or why.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt is enough for me to know the basic functions of a technical system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSatisfaction\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; was exciting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.827\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; was graphically appealing.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; was educational.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, I really liked \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAttention\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI have focused my full attention on \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.806\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy attention was almost automatically drawn to \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI have devoted myself entirely to \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo;.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresence\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI felt as if I were physically present in the environment depicted.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.905\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt was as if my actual location had shifted to the environment depicted.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt felt as if I had actually participated in the events depicted.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsefulness\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisualisations such as those used in \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; should be used more frequently to involve citizens in redesign projects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.870\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe use of \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; makes it more appealing to participate in discussions about redesigns.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIf \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; is used at a public event on redesigns, I am more inclined to attend.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresenting a construction project with \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; helps me to understand more precisely what is being discussed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll in all, I find the presentation of an urban redesign with \u0026lsquo;Design Zurich\u0026rsquo; to be meaningful.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBehavioral change\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI pay more attention to cycle paths or cycle routes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.825\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI pay more attention to parking spaces.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI pay more attention to greenery such as trees and hedges.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI pay more attention to solar power systems on roofs or facades.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI pay more attention to elements that enliven the city, such as caf\u0026eacute;s, playgrounds or benches.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.5 Data analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 29. Statistical procedures included a Kruskal-Wallis test for the difference-in-difference analysis and bootstrapping techniques, selected based on the characteristics of the data and research design.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo ensure the quality and validity of the dataset, several preprocessing steps were undertaken. First, outliers were identified by calculating Z-scores for each of the dependent variables \u0026ndash; \u003cem\u003eattitude, knowledge, interest\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e \u0026ndash; as well as the independent variables \u0026ndash; \u003cem\u003esatisfaction\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eattention, presence\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eperceived usefulness\u003c/em\u003e. Fourteen cases had Z-scores greater than 3. Following a manual review of these cases, only one was excluded from the final analysis due to implausible or inconsistent responses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor the longitudinal analysis, data from the three surveys were matched using the e-mail addresses provided by participants. However, several participants inconsistently used different e-mail addresses across surveys (e.g., alternating between personal and school accounts). To maximize the matched sample size, these mismatches were manually reviewed and corrected when participant identity could be clearly verified or when typographical errors were evident. This careful matching process allowed for more complete and accurate longitudinal tracking.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo address non-normality, confirmed by significant Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests across all four dependent variables, we applied a bootstrapping procedure with 1,000 resamples using the bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) method to obtain robust estimates of standard errors and confidence intervals. The bootstrapped results closely matched the original analyses, showing only minor differences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.6 Methodological Limitations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile the study was carefully designed, several methodological limitations should be acknowledged. First, the matching of survey responses relied on participants providing consistent e-mail addresses, which introduced potential for data loss or misidentification despite manual corrections. Second, although participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions, practical constraints in classroom settings (e.g., group sizes and equipment availability) may have introduced deviations from strict randomization. Third, all measures relied on self-report, which may be subject to social desirability bias, especially in an educational context. Fourth, although efforts were made to balance ecological validity and experimental control, the use of VR equipment in a school setting inherently involves variability in user familiarity, hardware performance, and environmental distractions, which could influence immersion and engagement. Finally, a notable limitation concerns the reduced sample size in the follow-up survey. Attrition between the post-survey and the eight-week follow-up reduced the number of usable responses, limiting the statistical power to detect long-term effects. While descriptive trends indicated potential sustained benefits, these results did not reach statistical significance and should be interpreted with caution. The small follow-up sample increases the risk of Type II errors and constrains the generalizability of conclusions about the persistence of learning outcomes. Future research should prioritize retention strategies to strengthen longitudinal findings.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Sample Characteristics and Response Rate\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFigure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e presents the number of completed responses for each of the three surveys (pre, post, and follow-up), as well as the size of the matched datasets.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile the initial number of participants was higher, not all pupils completed all three surveys. As a result, the analyses focus on 162 pupils with matched pre- and post-survey, and a smaller subset of 51 pupils who completed all three (pre, post, and follow-up). In total, 14 classes from four different schools participated in the study. Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e provides an overview of age, gender, technology affinity and group allocation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe average age of participants of the matched survey 1 \u0026amp; 2 was 16.9 years, ranging from 14 to 26 years. The sample included 49.4% female and had a mean technology affinity score of 3.0 (within a range of 1 to 5). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: VR-Game, VR-Movie, Desktop-Game, or Desktop-Movie. The VR groups (VR-Game and VR-Movie) included more participants, as these experiences were developed and tested earlier with an additional class.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSample characteristics for the pre- and follow-up survey and matched datasets. NA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Not Available\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurvey 1 (pre-survey)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;232\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurvey 2 (post-survey) \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;204\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMatched survey 1 \u0026amp; 2 \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;162\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMatched survey 1, 2 \u0026amp; 3\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;51\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge (mean)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale in percent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTechnology affinity (mean)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.93\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency Group: \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVR-Game\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency Group: \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVR-Movie\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency Group: \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDesktop-Game\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency Group: \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDesktop-Movie\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Immediate Effects on Key Outcomes (Pre-Post Changes)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy analyzing both the pre-survey and the post-survey, we examined changes in \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e regarding sustainable urban development across the four experimental groups. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e summarizes these results. Note that the scales for attitude and intention range from 1 to 5 but are cut at 3; the scale for knowledge ranges from 0 to 1 but is cut at 0.5; and the scale for interest ranges from 1 to 10 but is cut at 4.5 and 7, to increase readability and ensure consistency across all subsequent figures.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing a difference-in-difference approach, we assessed whether the changes from Timepoint 1 (pre-survey) to Timepoint 2 (post-survey) differed significantly between groups. For \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e towards sustainable urban development, both the VR-Game and VR-Movie groups showed significant increases. A Kruskal-Wallis test confirmed that the attitude improvements in these immersive groups were significantly greater than those observed in the Desktop-Game and Desktop-Movie groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll four experiences led to significant \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e gains, with no statistically significant differences between groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e in sustainable urban development, only the VR-Game condition produced a substantial increase. This increase was significantly higher compared to the VR-Movie and Desktop-Movie groups. Although the Desktop-Game group also showed some increase in interest, this change was not statistically significant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, the \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e to participate in sustainable urban development did not significantly increase in any group. Notably, there was a downward trend in intention, especially within the VR-Movie group. However, the VR-Game group exhibited the greatest potential for increasing participation intention, despite this effect not reaching statistical significance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Immersion vs. Non-Immersive Conditions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis subsection examines the effects of immersion by comparing immersive conditions (VR-Game and VR-Movie) with non-immersive conditions (Desktop-Game and Desktop-Movie). An overview of the results is presented in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig9\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with the previous analyses, we assessed changes in \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e to participate in sustainable urban development from Timepoint 1 to Timepoint 2 using a difference-in-difference approach. The results indicate that immersive experiences significantly increased \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e toward sustainable urban development, with an effect size of η\u0026sup2; = 0.079, representing a medium effect. However, no significant differences between immersive and non-immersive experiences were observed for \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e, or \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e to participate.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Interaction vs. Non-interactive Conditions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to immersion, we examined the impact of interactivity on \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e to participate in sustainable urban development. Interactive conditions included the VR-Game and Desktop-Game, while non-interactive conditions consisted of the VR-Movie and Desktop-Movie. Figure\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig10\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e summarizes these results.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo significant differences were found in \u003cem\u003eattitudes\u003c/em\u003e or \u003cem\u003eknowledge\u003c/em\u003e between interactive and non-interactive experiences. However, \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e in sustainable urban development increased significantly following interactive experiences, with an effect size of η\u0026sup2; = 0.027, indicating a small effect. Additionally, there was a positive trend toward increased \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e to participate after interactive experiences, although this did not reach statistical significance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.5 Experiential Outcomes and Engagement Mechanisms\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo better understand how immersion and interaction influence the learning process beyond outcome measures, we examined four experiential constructs commonly linked to engagement as key mediators of effective virtual learning environments: \u003cem\u003eattention\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003epresence\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003esatisfaction\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eperceived usefulness\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig11\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cb\u003eimmersion\u003c/b\u003e had a strong and consistent positive impact on all four experiential variables:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eAttention\u003c/em\u003e: Participants in immersive conditions (VR-Game and VR-Movie) reported significantly higher attention levels than those in non-immersive conditions (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePresence\u003c/em\u003e: Immersive groups also experienced a significantly stronger sense of presence (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), indicating that they felt more psychologically \u0026ldquo;in\u0026rdquo; the virtual environment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eSatisfaction\u003c/em\u003e: Overall satisfaction with the experience was substantially greater in immersive conditions (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001), suggesting greater affective engagement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePerceived Usefulness\u003c/em\u003e: Participants rated immersive experiences as a more useful tool for participating in sustainable urban development compared to desktop-based formats (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, \u003cb\u003einteraction\u003c/b\u003e showed a more limited but focused effect. Interactive experiences (VR-Game and Desktop-Game) significantly increased \u003cem\u003eattention\u003c/em\u003e compared to non-interactive ones (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.038), but did not have a statistically significant impact on presence, satisfaction, or perceived usefulness. This suggests that while interactivity may enhance cognitive focus or task involvement, it does not necessarily deepen emotional or affective engagement in the same way as immersion.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.6 Long-term Effects (Pre, Post and Follow-Up Changes)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe follow-up survey, conducted eight weeks after the intervention, provides exploratory insights into the persistence of learning outcomes. While statistical power was limited due to the reduced sample size (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;51), several trends can be observed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDue to the reduced sample size, analyses were limited to comparisons between aggregated groups: immersive vs. non-immersive, and interactive vs. non-interactive. To support interpretation, Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig12\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig13\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e present plots of mean scores across the three survey timepoints (pre, post, follow-up) for each construct and group.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs seen in both figures, results show a general decline across most outcome variables compared to immediate post-survey levels, indicating that many of the observed gains were not maintained over time. However, the effects differed by experimental condition.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eKnowledge retention\u003c/b\u003e emerged as the most stable outcome across groups. While knowledge scores declined slightly after the intervention, they remained above baseline in all groups except the non-immersive condition. This suggests that immersion may support knowledge retention, although the strongest effect appeared in the interactive condition, where follow-up knowledge scores remained highest.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, \u003cem\u003eattitude, intention\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003einterest\u003c/em\u003e tended to regress to or even fall below baseline. Mean values for attitude and interest in the \u003cb\u003eimmersive\u003c/b\u003e group were lower at follow-up than at pre-survey, indicating that any initial emotional or motivational lift from the immersive experience was short-lived.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, the \u003cb\u003einteractive condition\u003c/b\u003e showed more promising results. Although declines were also observed post follow-up, \u003cem\u003eattitude, knowledge\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eintention\u003c/em\u003e remained consistently higher in the interactive group than in the non-interactive group. This suggests that interactivity may play a protective role in sustaining engagement and positive orientations, even after the novelty of the intervention wears off.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding \u003cb\u003ebehavioral change\u003c/b\u003e, no significant long-term differences were found between groups.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Discussion and Recommendations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigated the effects of immersive and interactive VR on civic learning outcomes and engagement in the context of sustainable urban development. The results provide a differentiated picture of how virtual experiences affect knowledge, attitudes, interest, and behavioral intention \u0026ndash; primarily in the short term \u0026ndash; and offer preliminary insights into how some of these effects may persist over time. However, due to limited sample size in the follow-up, long-term patterns should be interpreted cautiously. Especially the generally lower scores in the follow-up survey might suggest that the students got annoyed by the repeated nature of the questions, warranting further investigation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcross all experimental groups, \u003cb\u003eknowledge significantly increased\u003c/b\u003e from pre- to post-intervention, regardless of immersion or interactivity. This suggests that the content and structure of the learning intervention were effective in conveying factual information. However, only the immersive and interactive VR conditions showed relatively stable knowledge levels in the follow-up survey, while the non-immersive group\u0026rsquo;s knowledge scores declined. Although these differences were not statistically significant, they indicate that retention may be more robust when participants are exposed to richer experiential formats. This pattern is consistent with previous research emphasizing the importance of content quality in knowledge acquisition (Martarelli et al. 2024), while also suggesting a potential additive effect of immersion for long-term retention. The absence of differential knowledge gains across all experimental groups is also consistent with CAMIL, which suggests that immersive environments do not inherently improve factual learning and may even increase extraneous cognitive load if not strongly scaffolded.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eAttitudes toward sustainable development improved significantly across conditions\u003c/b\u003e, with the most pronounced changes occurring in immersive formats. These findings support the hypothesis that immersive media can foster affective learning and value-based reflection by eliciting presence and emotional resonance, aligning well with the CAMIL framework (Makransky and Lilleholt \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Immersive VR environments likely made the abstract issues of urban development more tangible and personally relevant, contributing to short-term attitude change. Yet, these changes were not sustained at follow-up, suggesting that while immersion can initiate shifts in perspective, sustained change may require reinforcement or repetition over time. However, these results need to be interpreted with care, given the low number of observations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eInterest in urban development increased most strongly in the interactive VR group\u003c/b\u003e, underscoring the motivational benefits of simulated decision-making and user agency, which CAMIL identifies as a central psychological affordance linking interactivity to situational interest and intrinsic motivation. This supports experiential learning theory (Kolb \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1984\u003c/span\u003e) and aligns with findings that interactivity can enhance engagement, especially when learners can explore options and make choices (Brown et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1989\u003c/span\u003e). These results partially confirm our hypothesis that interaction would strengthen learning outcomes \u0026ndash; particularly motivational ones \u0026ndash; though its impact on attitudes or knowledge was limited.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eBehavioral intention\u003c/b\u003e to participate in future urban development processes, however, \u003cb\u003edid not significantly change\u003c/b\u003e across groups, highlighting a key limitation in realizing the study\u0026rsquo;s behavioral aims. Despite some positive trends in the immersive-interactive condition, the results suggest that a single VR experience may not be sufficient to influence future-oriented civic behavior. This reflects a gap between cognitive or affective gains and actionable intention, highlighting the complexity of fostering behavioral change through brief interventions. As hypothesized, the combination of immersion and interaction showed the strongest overall outcome profile, but not all effects reached statistical significance. Repeated exposure, scaffolded activities, or blended learning formats that link virtual experiences to real-life civic actions may be necessary to translate educational engagement into participatory behavior.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eImmersion significantly enhanced experiential outcomes\u003c/b\u003e such as attention, presence, perceived usefulness, and satisfaction compared to non-immersive formats. These results reinforce the idea that media-induced presence is a critical mechanism for enhancing emotional engagement in immersive learning environments (Makransky and Mayer \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). They also align with findings by Martarelli et al. (2024), who showed that immersive VR can improve both short-term learning and long-term retention in younger learners. In our study, immersion appeared to be a key factor in initiating attitude change and enhancing affective response.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese quantitative findings were echoed by qualitative feedback from participants, which provided additional insight into learner perceptions. Many students described the VR activity as \u0026ldquo;very exciting\u0026rdquo; and appreciated its clarity and interactivity, with one noting, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s great that you can directly see the changes \u0026ndash; it makes it easier to imagine transformations\u003c/em\u003e.\u0026rdquo; Another remarked, \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eI especially enjoyed the VR experience and learned a lot.\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo; Such comments underscore the motivational value of immersive tools. However, some participants pointed out limitations and control difficulties in the desktop version (e.g. \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eNo left click to move\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo;). In addition, students from rural areas noted that the urban focus of the simulation felt less relevant to their own lives. These insights highlight that while VR environments can enhance engagement, thoughtful attention to usability and contextual relevance is essential for maximizing their educational impact.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast to the broad emotional effects of immersion, \u003cb\u003einteraction showed a more targeted and selective influence\u003c/b\u003e. While it significantly boosted interest and attentional engagement, it did not produce consistent effects on knowledge or attitudes. The result is consistent with recent findings by Liu et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e), who similarly observed that interactive VR enhanced attention and experiential outcomes compared to non-interactive conditions, while knowledge gains were comparable across groups. This pattern supports prior research suggesting that interactive elements must be carefully designed to avoid cognitive overload and optimize their motivational value (Dall\u0026rsquo;olio et al. 2024). Taken together, the findings suggest that immersion and interaction play distinct but complementary psychological roles \u0026ndash; immersion fosters emotional resonance, while interaction stimulates focused attention and curiosity. Future interventions could benefit from strategically combining both features to balance affective engagement with cognitive manageability, thereby sustaining both motivation and reflection without overwhelming learners.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaken together, these findings address the study\u0026rsquo;s guiding research questions and partially confirm its hypotheses. Immersive and interactive features both contributed to participants\u0026rsquo; learning and engagement in sustainable urban development, but in different ways. Immersion enhanced affective and experiential outcomes, while interaction primarily influenced motivational engagement. The combination of both yielded the most consistent benefits, though not uniformly across all measures or over time. These results underline the importance of aligning VR design with specific educational goals and integrating experiential features in ways that support both cognitive processing and emotional involvement.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn practical terms, combining immersive storytelling with interactive decision-making appears most promising for fostering civic learning. However, such experiences are resource-intensive and must be implemented with careful attention to accessibility, usability, and curricular fit. Educators, urban planners, and policymakers should consider how immersive elements can drive attitudinal change while interactive components sustain interest \u0026ndash; recognizing that long-term change likely requires a broader strategy that includes follow-ups, real-world connections, and ongoing engagement.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"5 Conclusion and future research","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study explored how immersive and interactive VR experiences influence civic learning outcomes in the context of sustainable urban development. The findings show that immersive VR significantly enhances experiential variables such as presence, satisfaction, and attention, and fosters short-term improvements in attitudes toward urban development. These results reinforce the value of immersion in stimulating affective engagement and underscore the importance of emotional resonance in civic education. While interactive features did not uniformly improve learning outcomes, they played a meaningful role in sustaining interest and attention. Notably, knowledge gains occurred across all groups, including those in non-immersive and non-interactive conditions, suggesting that the quality of instructional content remains critical regardless of the delivery medium. However, behavioral intentions \u0026ndash; specifically participants\u0026rsquo; willingness to engage in real-world development \u0026ndash; remained largely unchanged, highlighting the challenge of translating virtual engagement into sustained civic action.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese findings have important implications for both future research and design practice. Immersion and interactivity appear to serve distinct cognitive and affective functions and should not be assumed to exert additive effects across all learning outcomes. Designers of educational VR should therefore pursue a complementary approach, strategically aligning immersive features with emotional and reflective goals, while deploying interactive elements to activate attention and curiosity. Building on CAMIL, Future studies should move beyond single-session interventions and assess how repeated or scaffolded VR use can support durable change. Linking virtual experiences to real-world participatory opportunities may also be crucial in bridging the gap between learning and action. Moreover, further investigation is needed into how different forms and levels of interactivity, such as decision-making, feedback mechanisms, or collaborative tasks, contribute to cognitive depth and motivation. Accessibility and scalability should remain central concerns, especially given the resource-intensive nature of VR. Finally, a stronger theoretical integration between immersive learning, affective engagement, and behavioral change frameworks will be essential to guide the development of pedagogically grounded, socially impactful civic education technologies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe thank Juan Garcia for his invaluable help in programming the virtual environment and Olav Lervik for the sound design. We are also grateful for the support of Mats Ammann in the development of the storyline of the VR experience and Simon Keller and Isabel Florido for lending their voice to the bird and spatial planner avatar, respectively. Finally, we thank all the teachers and students taking part in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was supported by the Digitalization Initiative of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions (DIZH).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics declarations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study was approved by the local ethics committee at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Ref-No. EA-ZHAW 2024-012-T).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInformed consent\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll participants were informed prior to the study and gave informed consent.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAugsberger A, Collins ME, Gecker W (2018) Engaging youth in municipal government: moving toward a youth-centric practice. 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MEC-SPQ, English and German version): short documentation and instructions for application\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Virtual reality, immersion, interactivity, urban design, civic engagement","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506341/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506341/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eVirtual reality (VR) offers unique opportunities for immersive and interactive learning, yet its application in civic education \u0026ndash; particularly in the context of sustainable urban transformations \u0026ndash; remains underexplored. This study examines how immersive and interactive VR experiences influence students\u0026rsquo; attitudes, knowledge, interest, and intention to participate in sustainable urban development. A 2\u0026times;2 experimental design compared four conditions (immersive vs. non-immersive; interactive vs. non-interactive) among high school and vocational students in Switzerland (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;162). Pre- and post-surveys, as well as a follow-up after eight weeks, measured changes across cognitive, affective, and motivational dimensions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results show that immersive VR significantly improved attention, presence, satisfaction, and perceived usefulness compared to desktop conditions. Immersive experiences also yielded the strongest short-term improvements in attitudes toward sustainable urban development. Meanwhile, interactive elements significantly improved attention and boosted learners\u0026rsquo; interest but had limited impact on knowledge or attitudes compared to non-interactive conditions. Knowledge increased across all groups, with the follow-up survey suggesting slightly higher retention in the interactive VR group; however, these differences were not statistically significant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese findings highlight the potential of combining immersive and interactive features to foster engagement and attitudinal change in civic education. At the same time, they underscore the need for repeated or scaffolded interventions to translate short-term learning into lasting motivation and participation. The study contributes to the instructional design of VR-based civic tools and advances understanding of how experiential media can support learning for sustainable development.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Shaping Cities in a Headset: Exploring the Role of Virtual Reality Immersion and Interactivity in Civic Education","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-16 11:01:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8506341/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bcf4c9d9-90b7-48a3-b0a1-581b042a4cdf","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 16th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-16T11:01:58+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-16 11:01:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8506341","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8506341","identity":"rs-8506341","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}