Comparing the Complexity of Wayfinding Tasks in Built
Environments
Martin Raubal and
Max Egenhofer Environment and Planning B 25 (6): 895-913, 1998.
Abstract
Wayfinding is a basic activity that people do throughout their
entire lives as they navigate from one place to another. Many
theories of spatial cognition have been developed to account for
this behavior; however, most of the computational models focus on
knowledge representation (e.g., cognitive maps) and do not consider
the process of how people structure wayfinding tasks and space.
This paper presents a computational method to compare the
complexity of wayfinding tasks in built environments. As a measure
for such complexity we use a simple wayfinding model that consists
of two critical elements: choices and clues. We show that elements
of people's perception and cognition can be used to determine the
elements of the wayfinding model and, therefore, to compare the
complexity of wayfinding tasks in built environments. A case study
of wayfinding in airports demonstrates the applicability of the
method. The integration of this method into the computational
design process of built environments will help to identify
architectural problems with regard to wayfinding prior to
construction.
Full article
Martin Raubal and
Max Egenhofer
