NEC and Meiji University Jointly Research the Impact of Depicting Strollers on City Attractiveness - Verifying that city attractiveness improves by depicting families using strollers in urban redevelopment completion perspectives -
NEC and Meiji University demonstrated through a randomized controlled trial that depicting strollers in architectural renderings of urban redevelopment significantly increases the perceived attractiveness of the area.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: March 30, 2026 at 22:56
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 24, 2026 at 07:39 (584h 43m after Collected)
NEC Corporation (hereinafter NEC) engages in activities to create opportunities to be chosen by consumers by unraveling the context inherent in products and spaces requiring social value (such as environmental products). Focusing on the utilization of data and value proof methods, NEC has been clarifying issues rooted in customers' practical field operations, verifying hypotheses, and conducting academic validation and validity research jointly with Associate Professor Takumi Kato of the School of Commerce, Meiji University.
This time, in considering the improvement of sustainability in urban redevelopment, we focused on what kind of people are depicted in the completion perspective drawings (renderings). To realize a city where diverse people can spend time as they please, it is considered important to have expressions and designs that make the space feel attractive, not just the space itself. In this verification, using a redevelopment space as a subject, we examined the impact that the depiction of strollers has on the attractiveness of the city.
One of the factors to realize sustainability in urban redevelopment is creating places where diverse people feel an attraction and want to visit. Local governments and related companies responsible for redevelopment depict the city in completion perspectives (renderings) to broadcast its appeal to many people. However, in discussions regarding the content of renderings, it is not uncommon for the focus to be solely on spatial configuration elements like buildings and facilities.
This research analyzed the differences in city attractiveness based on the depiction of the people spending time there. The element focused on here is the baby stroller. The presence of children and child-rearing families is expected to bring vitality to the city and lower psychological barriers to entry, similar to the effect seen in family restaurants. As a result of a randomized controlled trial verifying the difference in city attractiveness with and without strollers, it became clear that the depiction with a stroller received a significantly higher evaluation. This effect was valid regardless of gender or age. This finding can be utilized not only for appeal in renderings but also for the institutional design of the city. By creating places that are easy for strollers to enter, it is expected that the city's attractiveness will increase for diverse people.
The results of this research, a joint study by NEC Corporation and Associate Professor Takumi Kato of Meiji University's School of Commerce, have been accepted at the 2026 International Conference on Management, Tourism and Technologies and will be published in Business and Economics (Springer).
Key Points of this Research
- Cities around the world are engaged in fierce competition to acquire residents, making city branding an important policy tool for local governments and urban developers. Parks are positioned as symbols in city branding. Greenery functions as a symbol of the city, represented by Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York. Furthermore, because greenery plays an important role from the perspective of enhancing sustainability, parks and greenery are utilized in many redevelopment projects.
- Sustainability requires not only environmental consideration but also the revitalization of the local economy by gathering diverse people. Therefore, local governments and related companies responsible for redevelopment depict the city in perspectives (completion conceptual drawings) to convey its appeal to a wide audience.
- Discussions on the content of perspectives tend to lean towards buildings and facilities, and sufficient knowledge has not been accumulated regarding what kind of impact the 'people' depicted have. Given that in general marketing communications, consumers tend to pay more attention to the characters using the products/services than the products/services themselves, it is assumed that the depiction of people in the city is also important in perspectives.
- In this study...
This time, in considering the improvement of sustainability in urban redevelopment, we focused on what kind of people are depicted in the completion perspective drawings (renderings). To realize a city where diverse people can spend time as they please, it is considered important to have expressions and designs that make the space feel attractive, not just the space itself. In this verification, using a redevelopment space as a subject, we examined the impact that the depiction of strollers has on the attractiveness of the city.
One of the factors to realize sustainability in urban redevelopment is creating places where diverse people feel an attraction and want to visit. Local governments and related companies responsible for redevelopment depict the city in completion perspectives (renderings) to broadcast its appeal to many people. However, in discussions regarding the content of renderings, it is not uncommon for the focus to be solely on spatial configuration elements like buildings and facilities.
This research analyzed the differences in city attractiveness based on the depiction of the people spending time there. The element focused on here is the baby stroller. The presence of children and child-rearing families is expected to bring vitality to the city and lower psychological barriers to entry, similar to the effect seen in family restaurants. As a result of a randomized controlled trial verifying the difference in city attractiveness with and without strollers, it became clear that the depiction with a stroller received a significantly higher evaluation. This effect was valid regardless of gender or age. This finding can be utilized not only for appeal in renderings but also for the institutional design of the city. By creating places that are easy for strollers to enter, it is expected that the city's attractiveness will increase for diverse people.
The results of this research, a joint study by NEC Corporation and Associate Professor Takumi Kato of Meiji University's School of Commerce, have been accepted at the 2026 International Conference on Management, Tourism and Technologies and will be published in Business and Economics (Springer).
Key Points of this Research
- Cities around the world are engaged in fierce competition to acquire residents, making city branding an important policy tool for local governments and urban developers. Parks are positioned as symbols in city branding. Greenery functions as a symbol of the city, represented by Hyde Park in London and Central Park in New York. Furthermore, because greenery plays an important role from the perspective of enhancing sustainability, parks and greenery are utilized in many redevelopment projects.
- Sustainability requires not only environmental consideration but also the revitalization of the local economy by gathering diverse people. Therefore, local governments and related companies responsible for redevelopment depict the city in perspectives (completion conceptual drawings) to convey its appeal to a wide audience.
- Discussions on the content of perspectives tend to lean towards buildings and facilities, and sufficient knowledge has not been accumulated regarding what kind of impact the 'people' depicted have. Given that in general marketing communications, consumers tend to pay more attention to the characters using the products/services than the products/services themselves, it is assumed that the depiction of people in the city is also important in perspectives.
- In this study...