Ron Bar-Ad

Ron Bar-Ad is a researcher affiliated with the School of Social Sciences at the University of Manchester. His work focuses on urban environments and virtual reality applications, particularly examining how perceived greenery influences urban wellbeing. He leads a study on the impact of roadside tree density on environmental perceptions using immersive virtual environments.

Research Interests: Urban greenspace perception, virtual reality applications in urban studies, and the role of lived experience in shaping environmental evaluations. His work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to sustainable cities and communities.

Publications: One peer-reviewed article in PLoS One (2024) analyzing tree density effects on perceived urban beauty, greenness, and building height perceptions. The study controlled for urban living experience, revealing significant correlations between perceived greenness and other environmental outcomes.

Data Contributions: Created two datasets (2022) on questionnaire responses from urban perception studies, archived on Figshare with DOIs. Collaborations include the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) and Alliance Manchester Business School.