Virtual reality as an emerging field provides a platform to visualize the impact of future urban development scenarios prior any implementation stage, and thereby leads to a significant reduction in the cost, drastic improvement in the environment of the cities (pedestrian thermal comfort/air temperature, transportation) and, finally, further socio-cultural and psychological awareness among urban dwellers. Such decision-making processes are inclusive and require a thorough analysis of big data. Therefore, to create a smart sustainable city all the decisions should be sustainability-based, integrating social, economic, environmental, and cultural considerations. Planning for future urban development is a visionary “debate and decide” process, not a “predict and provide”, computer-driven process. The significant roles of technologies, such as VR, in targeting real-time simulations and visualization requirements for smart cities are emphasized. This study can assist urban planners, stakeholders, and communities to further understand the roles of planning policies in creating a smart city, particularly in the early design stages. This paper presents a review of the capacity of VR to address current challenges in creating, modeling, and visualizing smart cities through material modeling and light simulation in a VR environment. VR is a computer technology that replicates an environment, whether real or imagined, and simulates the physical presence and environment of a user to allow for user interaction. The impact analysis of “what-if scenarios” frequently takes a significant amount of time and resources, and virtual reality (VR) is a potential tool for addressing these challenges. Data modeling and data visualization are integral parts of planning a smart city, and planning professionals currently seek new methods for real-time simulations. The goal of creating a smart city is to improve the quality of life of citizens by using technology and by addressing the environmental, social, cultural, and physical needs of a society.
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A “smart city” is an urban development vision that integrates multiple information and communication technologies to manage the assets of a city, including its information systems, transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management systems, and other community services provided by a local department. With rapid population growth, urban designers face tremendous challenges to accommodate the increasing size of the population in urban areas while simultaneously considering future environmental, social, and economic impacts.