Virtual reality is still more virtual than real, but new technologies may soon change that.
"Typically, a user steps inside an eight-foot chamber, surrounded on all sides (sometimes including floor and ceiling) by video screens. Wearing 3-D glasses and gripping a joystick, the user navigates through a virtual world, such as the interior of a blood vessel or pre-Vesuvian Pompeii. But moving around with a joystick hardly mimics realitynor does banging into a laboratory wall while strolling across a virtual open field. Also, because movement through the virtual world is not directly correlated with the user's body movement, it's easy for someone to lose track of their navigational path, essentially getting "lost" in the virtual world. And that's where locomotion interface comes in.The Treadport that Hollerbach and his team are developing is a virtual reality cave in which the user controls the flow of imagery by moving on a treadmill. 'There's a physical cost to moving,' says Hollerbach. 'The ability to walk or run makes the whole thing far more natural.'"
Thanks to Technology Review Editor
FULL STORY: Keeping It Real

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont