Urban Design Optimizer: A Comparative User Interface Study for a Web-Embedded Tool

This paper presents results from a user study evaluating a web-based Urban Design Optimization (UDO) tool. The UDO tool serves urban planners conducting site simulation by providing a combined generative model, multi-objective optimization framework and web interface developed for users with limited technical experience. Two versions of the tool interface, simple and advanced, are introduced, along with a user study framework permitting comparison between them. The study tests a conjecture that the additional information and optimization modalities provided by an advanced interface will improve user confidence in the tool outputs. Results support this conjecture and indicate that user confidence would be improved with a more comprehensive means of evaluating outputs. Additionally, the study indicates that supporting user understanding of the impact of model parameters on optimization outcomes can improve satisfaction.