Virtual Reality
Technology opens the floodgates for city
It’s hard to imagine sea levels rising and creeping over city streets but if you live in Wellington, you no longer have to.
Wellington City Council has developed a virtual-reality (VR) simulator, allowing users to travel anywhere in the city, stand on the street, and see the impact of different levels of sea level rise.
You can stand in the shadow of Te Papa and watch as the whole area is swallowed by the ocean.
Or travel along Oriental Parade and watch the beach get washed away with only a metres rise.
At a rise of 6 metres – the worstcase scenario – you can watch the water creep to the steps of the Beehive or flood Makara.
The system’s creators say it’s the best way to turn something abstract and distant into hard reality. Residents can see a simplified version at home from this afternoon, by visiting the council’s online simulator.
Wellington City Council innovation officer Sean Audain said it was much easier to show people than to explain the impact that sea level rise would have.
‘‘There’s a lot of science that shows us what’s going to happen to the oceans or the ice caps. There is not much science showing what’s going to happen to cities.’’
Gaming technology was overlaid with spatial maps of the city to create an interactive environment.
The technology is so immersive that Audain said he had watched users hold their breath as the water came up around them.
‘‘We had one person who lived in the one of the buildings just across the road from Te Papa.
‘‘Their reaction was really interesting because they started to relate to what does it mean over my lifetime? Can I retire here? It is a little bit sickening to stand in the water.’’
Each user can choose rises of between 300 millimetres and 6m – the expected minimum and maximum levels as a result of climate change.
Chief resilience officer Mike Mendonca said the city was facing some hard decisions in the future, including how to manage retreat or where to build flood defences.
‘‘We’re a long way from making those decisions but there’s no denying the fact that at some time in the future we will have to make some hard calls.’’
The programme, which has multiple other components under development, took two years to construct.
Members of the public can experience a VR headset at the upcoming Tech Week.