SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine some of
San Francisco's most iconic
locations submerged in water. Hard to picture? An innovative new
campaign aimed at raising awareness around sea level rise is
helping San Franciscans envision what things could look like
without action to address climate change.
Launched today, Look Ahead - San
Francisco uses a customized virtual reality app to
give the public a first-person look at future sea level rise in
three locations in San Francisco -
the Embarcadero, Mission Creek and Heron's Head Park - as well as
how those sites stand to benefit from climate solutions.
"The launch of the Look Ahead SF campaign and virtual reality
app provides a new way for our City to raise awareness about future
sea level rise and involve community members in efforts to increase
our resilience and meet our climate action goals," said Mayor
Edwin M. Lee.
Developed by the nonprofit Climate Access in partnership with
the City and County of San
Francisco, the Look Ahead app downloads onto
smartphones or tablets and provides a 360-degree tour of the
affected landscapes. Users can access the app via Google Play or
the Apple App Store.
The Look Ahead app also makes it easy to sign up for more
information and invitations to city events, and take steps to
reduce risks from flooding as well as help cut the carbon emissions
driving climate change including switching to 100% renewable energy
via the City's SuperGreen service.
"Virtual reality provides a powerful tool for communicating
about climate risks and motivating action. The Look Ahead app makes
it easy to understand what's at stake and what's possible, and for
San Franciscans to share their opinions and get
involved." - Cara Pike,
Climate Access.
Climate Access will officially launch the Look Ahead
app and campaign on Dec. 5 with a
kickoff event at the Embarcadero site (at Howard St.) from
11am-12pm. The event will include
a media event with speakers from Climate Access, the
City of San Francisco and project
partners, and include a live demonstration of the technology. The
launch is open to the public and free Look Ahead cardboard
VR glasses will be given out.
Climate Access worked with:
- Tactic to develop the Look Ahead app and virtual reality
scenarios
- Nate Kauffman from the Climate
Infrastructure + Resources Group on the conception of the
scenarios
- Nutter Consulting on the creation of the Look Ahead
outreach campaign
Climate Access is collaborating with Susanne Moser of Dr. Susanne Moser Research and
Consulting, and Christa Daniels of
Antioch University to test the use of
virtual reality in climate outreach through this project. Funding
for Look Ahead was provided by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA).
For more information on the Look Ahead - San Francisco campaign and for the events
calendar, please visit https://www.lookahead-sf.org. Follow
us on twitter @lookaheadsf or on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/lookahead.sf.1
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SOURCE Look Ahead - San
Francisco