DOCSLIB.ORG

Investigating Wayfinding Using Virtual Environments

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Investigating Wayfinding Using Virtual Environments INVESTIGATING WAYFINDING USING VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ebru Cubukcu, B.C. P. (Hons.), M.C.R.P. * * * * * The Ohio State University 2003 Approved by Dissertation Committee: Professor Jack L. Nasar, Adviser Adviser Professor Steven I. Gordon Graduate Program in Professor Kenneth Pearlman City and Regional Planning Program ABSTRACT Wayfinding is the spatial knowledge about one’s current location, destination, and the spatial relation between them. Wayfinding problems threaten people’s sense of well-being, and cause loss of time and money. Designers and planners can improve wayfinding when they understand how physical environmental factors affect people’s wayfinding performance. This study explores the effect of personal and physical environmental characteristics on wayfinding performance. The personal characteristics include gender, age, and familiarity. The physical environmental characteristics include plan layout complexity, physical differentiation and its components vertical and horizontal differentiation. The experiment had eighteen (2 x 3 x 3) simulated environments, with two plan layouts (complex and simple), three kinds of vertical differentiation (no differentiation, object landmarks, and building landmarks) and three kinds of horizontal differentiation (no differentiation, road width variation, road pavement variation), and it also had four different question orders. ii 166 volunteers (98 male, 68 female) were tested individually. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the question orders and to one of the simulated environments with the constraint that there would be equal number of people in survey types, in plan layout conditions, in vertical differentiation conditions, and in horizontal differentiation conditions. The experiment had a learning phase and a test phase. In the learning phase, participants actively explored one of the simulated environments at their leisure up to four minutes. In the test phase the participants completed three spatial knowledge tasks (a direction estimation task, a navigation task, and a sketching task) and a survey which had questions on gender, age, frequency of playing computer game, realism of the simulated environment judgement and wayfinding strategies used in the navigation task. As expected, the Simple layouts, Higher Physical Differentiation, Vertical or Horizontal differentiation yielded better wayfinding performance than Complex layouts, Lower Physical differentiation, and No Vertical or Horizontal differentiation. Males performed better than Females, and performance improved with Familiarity. iii DEDICATION To my parents and my husband iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my adviser, Professor Jack L. Nasar, for his expert and timely advice, guidance, inspirations, and encouragement throughout the research. I thank Professors Steven I. Gordon and Kenneth Pearlman for serving on the advisory committee and providing their helpful insights and comments. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Harry Heft for his helpful comments on the early draft of this dissertation. I thank Dr. Peter Hecht for allowing me to involve in wayfinding projects, which I truly enjoyed and benefited, towards the end of this dissertation. I would like to thank Dokuz Eylul University for the scholarship, and Selin Koroglu and Filiz Dincyigit for handling all the administrative work in Turkey regarding this scholarship. I also thank the Center for Mapping for the assistantship. I am also grateful to Jenny Klein, from the Office of Residence Life, who was very helpful in providing the site to conduct the surveys, and to people who participated as respondents in this study. I also extend my gratitude to Misun Hur, v In-Young Yeo, and my other fellow Doctoral students in the Department of City and Regional Planning for their positive reinforcement; to students in the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD) for their help to discover the simulation tool in this dissertation; and to friends I met in Columbus for their friendship. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Fulden and Ziya Demirayak, my brother, my sisters-in-law and my niece, Yasemin, for being everlasting supporters of my studies and believing in my capabilities. My special thanks go to my husband, Mert, for everything. vi VITA February 24, 1974.………………….Born – Antalya, Turkey 1997…………………………………B.C.P. (Hons.), City Planning School of Architecture Middle East Technical University Ankara, Turkey. 2001…………………………………M.C.R.P., City and Regional Planning Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. 1998-present………………………...Graduate Research Associate Dokuz Eylul University Izmir, Turkey. 2002-present...………………………Graduate Research Associate The Center For Mapping The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: City and Regional Planning Minor Field: Environmental Psychology vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................ii Dedication .................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgments...................................................................................................... v Vita...........................................................................................................................vii List of Tables............................................................................................................xii List of Figures .......................................................................................................xviii Chapters 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 2 Literature Review.................................................................................................... 5 2.1 The Concepts Related to Wayfinding............................................................... 6 2.2 Significance of the Wayfinding Research......................................................... 9 2.3 The Physical Environmental and Personal Characteristics Affecting Wayfinding Behavior ...................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 The Plan Layout........................................................................................ 11 2.3.2 The Level of Physical Differentiation ...................................................... 12 2.3.3 The Vertical Differentiation ..................................................................... 13 2.3.4 The Horizontal Differentiation ................................................................. 15 2.3.5 Age............................................................................................................ 15 2.3.6 Gender ...................................................................................................... 18 viii 2.3.7 Familiarity (Experience)........................................................................... 21 2.3.8 Summary of Factors Effecting Wayfinding Performance ........................ 21 2.4 Tools to Simulate Environment ...................................................................... 22 2.4.1 Use of Photographs and Simulation Booth............................................... 23 2.4.2 Full Scale Models ..................................................................................... 25 2.4.3 Small Scale Models .................................................................................. 26 2.4.4 Computer Models (Virtual Environments)............................................... 28 2.4.5 Summary of Tools for Studying Wayfinding........................................... 30 2.5 Measures of Wayfinding Performance ........................................................... 31 2.5.1 Self Report Tests ...................................................................................... 31 2.5.2 Memory Tests........................................................................................... 32 2.5.3 Recognition Tests ..................................................................................... 33 2.5.4 Spatial Orientation Tests .......................................................................... 34 2.5.5 Navigation Tests....................................................................................... 39 2.5.6 Summary of Wayfinding Measures.......................................................... 41 3 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 43 3.1 General Procedures and Equipment................................................................ 43 3.1.1 Introductory Procedures ........................................................................... 43 3.1.2 Equipment and Setting.............................................................................. 44 3.2 Virtual Environments...................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Software.................................................................................................... 44 3.2.2 Physical Environmental Characteristics ................................................... 45 3.2.3
Load more

Recommended publications
  • MDOT Access Management Guidebook
    ReducingTrafficCongestion andImprovingTrafficSafety inMichiganCommunities: THE ACCESSMANAGEMENT GUIDEBOOK COMMUNITYA COMMUNITYB Cover graphics and ROW graphic by John Warbach, Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. Photos by Tom Doyle, Michigan Department of Transportation. Speed Differential graphic by Michigan Department of Transportation. Road Hierarchy graphic by Rossman Martin & Associates, Inc. Reducing Traffic Congestion and Improving Traffic Safety in Michigan Communities: THE ACCESS MANAGEMENT GUIDEBOOK October, 2001 Prepared by the Planning & Zoning Center, Inc. 715 N. Cedar Street Lansing, MI 48906-5206 517/886-0555 (tele), www.pzcenter.com Under contract to the Michigan Department of Transportation With the assistance of three Advisory Committees listed on the next page The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Michigan State Transportation Commission or the Michigan Department of Transportation or the Federal Highway Administration. Dedication This Guidebook is dedicated to the countless local elected officials, planning and zoning commissioners, zoning administrators, building inspectors, professional planners, and local, county and state road authority personnel who: • work tirelessly every day to make taxpayers investment in Michigan roads stretch as far as it can with the best possible result; and • who try to make land use decisions that build better communities without undermining the integrity of Michigan's road system. D:\word\access\title
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 3: Design an Interconnected Street System
    Chapter 3: Design an Interconnected Street System [Figure 3.1 in margin near here] Street systems either maximize connectivity or frustrate it. North American neighborhoods built prior 1950 were rich in connectivity, as evidenced by the relatively high number of street intersections per square mile typically found there.1 Interconnected street systems provide more than one path to reach surrounding major streets. In most interconnected street networks two types of streets predominate: narrow residential streets and arterial streets. In this book, for reasons explained in chapter two, we call these arterial streets in interconnected networks “streetcar” arterials. On the other end of the spectrum are the post WWII suburban cul-de-sac systems where dead end streets predominate and offer only one path from home to surrounding suburban arterials. This cul-de-sac-dominated system can be characterized as dendritic or “treelike”, the opposite of the web of connections found in interconnected systems. Streets in this system all branch out from the main “trunk”, which in Canadian and U.S. cities is usually the freeway. Attached to the main trunk of the freeway are the major “branches”, which are the feeder suburban arterial streets or minor highways. These large branches then give access to the next category down the tree, the collector streets or the minor branches in the system. Collector streets then connect to the “twigs and branch tips” of the system, the residential streets, and dead end cul-de-sacs. The major advantages of the interconnected system is that it makes all trips as short as possible, allows pedestrians and bikes to flow through the system without inconvenience, and relieves congestion by providing many alternate routes to the same place.
    [Show full text]
  • Transportation Master Plan
    District of West Kelowna Transportation Master Plan February 20, 2014 District of West Kelowna Transportation Master Plan FORWARD This document represents the work of three independent consultants: Boulevard Transportation Group; Strategic Infrastructure Management Inc.; and Urban Systems Ltd. The experience of each of these consultants was drawn upon to develop and interpret available transportation system data to produce a long‐term strategy and plan intended to achieve a diverse, affordable and sustainable transportation system based upon the vision and goals described herein. District of West Kelowna Transportation Master Plan Revision Log Revision # Revised By Date Revision Description 1 Boulevard Transportation February 27, 2014 Table 7 amended District of West Kelowna Transportation Master Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Transportation Master Plan (TMP) builds upon the goals and objectives of the District’s Official Community Plan (OCP) to support the social and economic health of the District. The TMP uses current and future travel patterns and public expectations to determine incremental system improvements, and integrates these with existing infrastructure maintenance and renewal needs, to present a practical and affordable long-term transportation strategy. The recommended goals for the West Kelowna TMP are separated into the short-term and long-term. Short-term goals reflect supporting the gaps in the existing road network system as priority. The long-term goals focus on the improvements that will refine the transportation network and the efficiency of the system. Goals and Objectives The TMP’s 3 short term goals are: Connect residential, business, and industrial communities effectively and efficiently; Promote the safety and security of the transportation system; and Reduce vehicular travel with higher degree of mixed land uses.
    [Show full text]
  • Guide to Traffic Management Part 1: Introduction to Traffic Management
    SUPERSEDED PUBLICATION This document has been superseded. It should only be used for reference purposes. For current guidance please visit the Austroads website: www.austroads.com.au Guide to Traffic Management Part 1: Introduction to Traffic Management Sydney 2015 Guide to Traffic Management Part 1: Introduction to Traffic Management Third edition project manager: Jill Hislop Publisher Austroads Ltd. Level 9, 287 Elizabeth Street Third edition prepared by: Clarissa Han and James Luk Sydney NSW 2000 Australia First and second edition prepared by: Peter Croft Phone: +61 2 8265 3300 [email protected] Third edition May 2015 www.austroads.com.au Second edition November 2009 First edition published November 2007 About Austroads This third edition includes updated descriptions of each Part in Section 2 and Table 2.1. It also includes additional information on the functional road Austroads’ purpose is to: hierarchy in Section 3.4 and a new Section 4.5 on road environment safety. • promote improved Australian and New Zealand This edition also includes updated referencing to relevant legislations, transport outcomes standards and guidelines. • provide expert technical input to national policy development on road and road transport issues Pages 13 ISBN 978-1-925294-38-5 • promote improved practice and capability by Austroads Project No. NT2004 road agencies. • promote consistency in road and road agency Austroads Publication No. AGTM01-15 operations. © Austroads Ltd 2015 Austroads membership comprises: This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the • Roads and Maritime Services New South Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without Wales the prior written permission of Austroads.
    [Show full text]
  • Line Structure Representation for Road Network Analysis
    Line Structure Representation for Road Network Analysis Abstract: Road hierarchy and network structure are intimately linked; however, there is not a consistent basis for representing and analysing the particular hierarchical nature of road network structure. The paper introduces the line structure – identified mathematically as a kind of linearly ordered incidence structure – as a means of representing road network structure, and demonstrates its relation to existing representations of road networks: the ‘primal’ graph, the ‘dual’ graph and the route structure. In doing so, the paper shows how properties of continuity, junction type and hierarchy relating to differential continuity and termination are necessarily absent from primal and dual graph representations, but intrinsically present in line structure representations. The information requirements (in terms of matrix size) for specifying line structures relative to graphs are considered. A new property indicative of hierarchical status – ‘cardinality’ – is introduced and illustrated with application to example networks. The paper provides a more comprehensive understanding of the structure of road networks, relating different kinds of network representation, and suggesting potential application to network analysis. Keywords: Network science; Road hierarchy; Route structure; Graph theory; Line structure; Cardinality 1 1 Introduction Road network structure is routinely interpreted in terms of the configuration of roads in structures such as ‘trees’ or ‘grids’; but structure can also be interpreted in terms of the hierarchical relations between main and subsidiary, strategic and local, or through and side roads. In fact, these two kinds of structure – relating to configuration and constitution – are in some ways related. However, despite the proliferation of studies of road network structure, there is not a consistent basis for representing and analysing this dual nature of road network structure, either within traditions of network science or network design and management.
    [Show full text]
  • LOCAL AREA TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT POLICY and GUIDELINES
    LOCAL AREA TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT POLICY and GUIDELINES DM#295899 June 2003 PNCC Local Area Traffic Management(LATM) Policy and Guidelines CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 3 2 OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................... 5 3 BENEFITS AND EFFECTS ................................................................................................ 6 4 TYPES OF CONTROLS ..................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Signs ........................................................................................................................... 9 4.1.1 Stop and Give Way .............................................................................................. 9 4.1.2 Prohibited turn signs .......................................................................................... 10 4.1.3 One way streets ................................................................................................. 10 4.2 Vertical Displacement Controls (Speed Humps) ....................................................... 11 4.3 Horizontal Deflection Controls ( Chicanes ) .............................................................. 14 5 SCHEME IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS....................................................................... 18 5.1 Step 1 - Initial Inquiry ................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Road Markings Sadc - Rtsm - Vol 1 May 2012 Guidance 7.4.5
    7.4.4 GUIDANCE BICYCLE GUIDE LINES For dimensions COLOUR: ref. Vo/4 White page 12.1.2 to 12.1.7 GM5 7.4.5 Bicycle Guide Lines 1 BICYCLE GUIDE LINES guidance marking GM5 is a ation, OR where a bicycle lane running parallel to one transverse marking which may be used to indicate to roadway crosses an intersecting side road (see Sub• road users the section of roadway to be used by section 7.2.13). cyclists to cross the roadway. 4 Bicycle crossings will frequently be adjacent to pedestrian 2 BICYCLE GUIDE LINES shall comprise a pair of broken crossings. In such situations, if space is limited, one white lines with a minimum width of 300 mm and a line- BICYCLE GUIDE LINE of the marking may be omitted to-gap ratio of 1 to 3 using dimensions of 300 mm and and that side of the bicycle crossing may be defined by 900 mm. For the normal application of this marking the the PEDESTRIAN CROSSING LINES marking RTM3, or pairs of lines shall be spaced at least 1,5 m apart. BLOCK PEDESTRIAN CROSSING marking RTM4. If there is insufficient space for two separate crossings a 3 Bicycle crossings may require to be marked when an pedestrian crossing should be marked and both exclusive bicycle path, or shared bicycle/pedestrian pedestrians and cyclists directed to use it. path, crosses a roadway, normally in a mid-block situ- ROAD MARKINGS SADC - RTSM - VOL 1 MAY 2012 GUIDANCE 7.4.5 ROAD MARKING SYMBOLS COLOUR: For dimensions ref.
    [Show full text]
  • A Framework for Classification and Assessment of Arterial Streets
    ARTISTS Arterial Streets Towards Sustainability Contract no. EVK4-CT-2001-00059 D1 A Framework for Classification and Assessment of Arterial Streets Status: Final (Public) Prepared by: Stephen Marshall, Peter Jones and Ian Plowright University of Westminster Date: 2nd July 2004 Project Duration: 1 December 2001 to 30 November 2004 European Commission Fifth Framework Programme Key Action: City of Tomorrow and Cultural Heritage ARTISTS D1 Preface The research reported in this document has been conducted by the ARTISTS consortium, funded by the European Commission and is part of Key Action “City of Tomorrow” in the 5th Framework. The ARTISTS consortium consists of the following contractors; Co-ordinator: Lund University, Sweden As sistant Co-ordinator: Atkins, Denmark Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Endresz Kft, Hungary Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal INTRA, Ingenería de Tráfico, Spain Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium University of Kaiserslautern, Germany University of Westminster, UK City of Malmoe, Sweden City of Copenhagen, Denmark Municipality of Kalamaria, Greece City of Porto, Portugal City of Girona,Spain City of Freiburg, Germany Transport for London, UK Danish Transport Research Institute This document is written by Stephen Marshall, Peter Jones and Ian Plowright of the University of Westminster, for the first work-package within the ARTISTS project. WP1 was led by Ian Plowright at the University of Westminster and deals with the design of an Assessment Framework. Besides the University of Westminster, specific task contributors to WP1 are Christine Krämer and Ulrike Huwer at the University of Kaiserslautern and Emmanuel d’Iteren and Sylvaine Morelle at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Road Acceptance Ordinance (PDF)
    Town of York, Maine Public Road Acceptance Ordinance 1. Purpose. This Ordinance details the standards and procedures for the Town to accept ownership of roads. This Ordinance shall also provide non- binding direction for any Town road construction projects. 2. Minimum Road Standards. Any road which is presented for Town acceptance shall meet the following standards: A. Right of way shall extend a minimum of 20 feet on each side of center line of road, except right of ways approved by the York Planning Board under subdivision review procedures shall extend 25 feet from center line. B. No stumps, wood debris or organic matter shall be covered in the road bed at any depth and no ledge or large boulders shall be left within 18" of the finished road surface. Where necessary to facilitate drainage, line of sight or snow removal, all ledge, large boulders, trees and tree stumps shall be removed from the right of way to a depth of not less than 12” below the road surface. Road grades shall conform in general to the natural terrain. C. Culverts shall be reinforced concrete, corrugated aluminum alloy, or high density polyethylene pipe. Culverts and drainage system shall be sized to meet the criteria of a fifty year storm event. D. Base gravel shall contain no stones larger than 4" in diameter, shall comply in thickness with the table of standards in §2.J and shall extend the full width of the pavement and shoulders. Crushed gravel that will pass through a 2" square sieve shall be placed over the base gravel, shall comply in thickness with the table of standards in §2.J, and shall extend the full width of the pavement and shoulders.
    [Show full text]
  • A Four Level Road Hierarchy for Network Planning and Management
    Eppell, V.A.T. (Tony) and McClurg, Brett A and Bunker, Jonathan M (2001) A four level road hierarchy for network planning and management. In Jaeger, Vicki, Eds. Proceedings 20th ARRB Conference, Melbourne. A FOUR LEVEL ROAD HIERARCHY FOR NETWORK PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT V.A.T. Eppell, J.M. Bunker and B.A. McClurg Eppell Olsen & Partners Eppell Olsen & Partners has been at the forefront of developing and applying road hierarchy concepts throughout Queensland. One of the objectives of such application is to assist with the management of the road network. Tony Eppell is a director of the firm and has been instrumental in the development of road hierarchy concepts and the application of such in diverse areas. He has presented numerous papers on the subject since 1980. Jon Bunker and Brett McClurg are associates within the firm and have both been involved in the development and application of road hierarchy principles to areas such as Ipswich, Maroochydore and Mackay. ABSTRACT A road hierarchy has, for some time, been accepted as one of the important tools used for road network and land use planning. It is a means of defining each roadway in terms of its function such that appropriate objectives for that roadway can be set and appropriate design criteria can be implemented. These objectives and design criteria are aimed at achieving an efficient road system whereby conflicts between the roadway and the adjacent land use are minimised and the appropriate level of interaction between the roadway and land use is permitted. The introduction of a four level road hierarchy, as presented herein, expands the use of the road hierarchy as a tool for a broad spread of uses ranging from network/land use planning to asset management.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 16: Interchanges
    Department of Main Roads Chapter 16 Road Planning and Design Manual Interchanges 16 Chapter 16 Interchanges December 2005 i Department of Main Roads Chapter 16 Road Planning and Design Manual Interchanges Manual Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 12 Frame of the Road Planning and Vertical Alignment Design Manual Chapter 2 Chapter 13 16 Design Philosophy Intersections at Grade Chapter 3 Chapter 14 Road Planning and Design Roundabouts Fundamentals Chapter 4 Chapter 15 Application of Design Principles and Auxiliary Lanes Guidelines Chapter 5 Chapter 16 Traffic Parameters and Human Interchanges Factors Chapter 6 Chapter 17 Speed Parameters Lighting Chapter 7 Chapter 18 Cross Section Traffic signals Chapter 8 Chapter 19 Safety Barriers and Roadside Intelligent Transport Systems Furniture Chapter 9 Chapter 20 Sight Distance Roadside Amenities Chapter 21 Chapter 10 Railway and Cane Railway Level Alignment Design Crossings Chapter 11 Chapter 22 Horizontal Alignment Bridges, Retaining Walls and Tunnels December 2005 ii Department of Main Roads Chapter 16 Road Planning and Design Manual Interchanges Table of Contents 16.1 Introduction 16-1 16.1.1 General 16-1 16.1.2 Scope of Chapter 16-2 16.2 Glossary of terms 16-3 16.3 Planning considerations 16-4 16.3.1 General 16-4 16 16.3.2 Warrants 16-5 16.3.3 General spacing 16-6 16.3.4 Access control 16-9 16.3.5 Basic lane numbers and lane balance 16-9 16.3.6 Pedestrian and bicycle requirements 16-13 16.3.7 Level of Service 16-14 16.3.8 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes 16-15 16.3.9 Ramp metering 16-16 16.3.10 Very
    [Show full text]
  • A National Road Hierarchy – Are We Ready?
    A National Road Hierarchy – Are We Ready? Andrew G. Macbeth , BE, MEng, CPEng, FIPENZ (Civil) Director, ViaStrada Ltd Level 6, Link Centre, 152 Hereford St PO Box 22 458, Christchurch, New Zealand Phone (03) 343 8224; 027 2929 888 [email protected] www.viastrada.co.nz Abstract Functional road classification systems or road hierarchies are widely used in all aspects of traffic planning, traffic operations and road asset management. Considerable effort should be invested to keep them current, relevant and consistently applied within and across jurisdictions. With increasing emphasis being placed in New Zealand on cost-effective and equitable management of transport infrastructure and sustainable transport systems, road hierarchies should be better designed and implemented than is currently the case. This paper identifies and compares a variety of functional road hierarchies from both the national and local sectors, including those used by Land Transport New Zealand, Transit New Zealand and six metropolitan areas. Many of the systems analysed use traffic volumes as indicators of road class but widely different definitions exist. Besides traffic volumes, the hierarchies have a number of criteria used to classify roads, although these are not explored in any detail in this paper. The paper makes a case for reviewing New Zealand’s various functional road hierarchies to develop a road hierarchy for application across the country. Rational transport planning and traffic engineering decision making will be greatly enhanced by such a move. New Zealand is a small enough country that a national road hierarchy could be developed with relative ease, whereas other, larger countries will have much greater difficulty aligning the systems of many more agencies.
    [Show full text]