Can a shared virtual heritage help rebuild a sense of place? a case study in virtual heritage and urban renewal in Tucson, Arizona

Abstract

The rationale for the development of digital models of cultural features (virtual heritage) should by now, to the attendees of this fourth annual session on virtual heritage at the VSMM conference, need no further explanation. From the previous sessions we can all, hopefully, agree upon the benefits of well designed, and well developed virtual heritage projects, the work of D. Sanders (2000) and many others is proving the suitability of virtual heritage modeling in research and public interpretive settings. How then, with the practice of virtual heritage modeling becoming more common, can we best utilize our efforts? What is the best way to make share our work with an increasingly interested public? This paper examines a virtual heritage project in Tucson, Arizona to examine some of these issues. I posit that virtual heritage can play a crucial role in building a sense of community place.