2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The construction industry is evolving rapidly, driven by sustainability imperatives, technological advancements, and the need for adaptive urban planning. This work-in-progress paper explores how first-year Construction Management students engage with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Future World Vision (FWV) Mega City 2070 platform—a virtual environment depicting a futuristic urban landscape. The study examines how students interact with "callouts" within the platform, representing innovative ideas about the built environment.

The pilot study focuses on the features and 25 callouts within the platform that captured students’ attention and a reflection on how these interactions help students develop competencies vital to the evolving construction industry. A secondary objective of the paper is to present a structured assignment and assessment rubric that guide student engagement with the FWV platform. The assignment is designed to enhance student learning outcomes by encouraging the exploration of innovative, technology-driven concepts early in their academic journey. By immersing students in a virtual environment, this assignment bridges theoretical knowledge with practical, forward-thinking applications, helping students develop a deeper understanding of how environmental, technical, and socioeconomic systems interact in the future of construction and the built environment. The assignment aims to help students identify and reflect on the feasibility, relevance, and implications of specific callouts, with their submissions analyzed through qualitative content analysis.

Preliminary results from this ongoing study suggest that the FWV assignment has successfully inspired students to explore a range of futuristic construction topics. Findings reveal that students prioritized 117 callouts of the 446 included in the platform, emphasizing automation, sustainability, and urban resilience, such as programmable construction sites, green infrastructure, and adaptive transportation corridors. Key themes include integrating renewable energy, modular construction, and advanced safety systems, alongside criticisms of implementation challenges, such as feasibility and cost. It is important to note that many students also raised concerns about job displacement due to automation, expressing a preference for more traditional, low-tech construction methods. This highlights the need for a balanced approach in preparing students for the future of the construction industry. These reflections highlight students’ critical thinking, creativity, and awareness of emerging trends in the construction industry.

This study contributes to construction education by demonstrating how virtual tools like Mega City 2070 can foster engagement with complex, forward-thinking concepts, preparing students for the future of the built environment. Recommendations for enhancing assignment design and expanding the scope of student interactions are also discussed.