Visitors' wayfinding strategies and navigational aids in unfamiliar urban environment

Abstract

The way visitors to a new city wayfind in the digital era has been given less research attention than might be expected. The main aim of this study is to examine differences in wayfinding strategies between three groups of participants who used different navigational aids: a group with a paper map, a group with the Google Maps app, and a group relying on local signage only. Methods included GPS tracking, and voice recording of decision-making using the think-aloud method. 38 participants who had never visited Brisbane, Australia, were recruited and placed in one of the three groups. They undertook a two-hour pedestrian wayfinding task and other research activities in the city centre. The results show there are significant differences in wayfinding strategies used by the three groups of participants. The GPS group preferred to follow the suggested route by their navigator, most of them ‘locking in’ as digital navigators throughout the task. By contrast, the local-signage-only group used a diverse range of strategies to wayfind. Local-signage-only and paper map users tried to locate their position in the city by using piloting or path integration strategies, the GPS group just passively followed the guidance line showed by their device. On completion of the task the digital navigators recognized less spatial information. Surprisingly, the digital navigators did not feel less anxious compared with the two other groups. Urban planners and designers may need to re-think their design strategies to interrupt digital navigation. The provision of a more diverse set of digital navigation options, rather than just shortest-path route identification, is likely desirable to assist navigators who wish to experience more on their pedestrian journeys.

摘要

在数字时代, 人们达到新城市的探路方式并没有得到应有的重视。本研究的主要目的是检验三组使用不同导航辅助工具的参与者在寻路策略上的差异:一组使用纸质地图, 一组使用谷歌地图app, 一组仅使用本地标识。研究方法包括GPS跟踪、有声思维方法的决策录音。38名从未到过澳大利亚布里斯班的参与者被招募并分配到三组中。他们在市中心进行了两个小时的步行寻路和其他研究活动。结果表明, 三组参与者的寻路策略存在显著差异。GPS组更愿意按照他们的导航仪建议的路线走, 他们中的大多数人在整个任务过程中都”锁定”在数字导航仪建议的路线。相比之下, 只使用本地信号的那组则使用了各种不同的寻路策略。仅使用本地标志和纸质地图的用户试图通过导航或路径整合策略来定位他们在城市中的位置, GPS组只是被动地跟随他们的设备指示的路线。在完成任务方面, 数字导航仪识别的空间信息较少。令人惊讶的是, 与其他两组相比, 使用数字导航仪的那一组并没有感到更少的焦虑。城市规划者和设计师可能需要重新思考他们的设计策略, 以干预数字导航。数字导航仪提供一套更多样化的数字导航选项, 而不仅仅是最短距离的路线识别, 可能有助于导航人员体验更多的步行旅程。

Keywords:

• Wayfinding strategies
• navigational aids
• visitors
• think-aloud
• spatial recognition
• GPS

关键词:

• 寻路策略
• 助航辅助方式
• 游客
• 有声思维
• 空间识别
• 全球定位系统

Acknowledgment

I would like to gratefully acknowledge Griffith University for providing funds and financial assistance that enabled me to undertake this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.