Aesthetic appreciation of Personal Rapid Transit: A new viewpoint

The purpose of this study was to open a new perspective on the aesthetics of elevated urban transit infrastructure with the goal of influencing public preferences and acceptance of this type of infrastructure. It aimed to suggest major implications for city planners and policymakers involved in elevated infrastructure development. A sample of 36 amateur videos was retrieved from YouTube using the Video List tool through the key phrase “Personal Rapid Transit Morgantown WV.” Qualitative methods were used to analyze the video content. The results found that the riders enjoyed the ride and its dynamic and visual experiences, suggesting that riders' levels of appreciation of the elevated transit infrastructure are higher than those of viewers outside the infrastructure. If aesthetics influence general social acceptability of elevated transit infrastructure, studies on the visual assessments that combine the views of the infrastructure with the views from the infrastructure might lead to a new appreciation of the infrastructure and, consequently, to the smoothness of the planning process.