Study of wayfinding behaviours in an outdoor environment

Abstract

Effective wayfinding is important for people to make their way through spaces, as it improves efficiency, accessibility, and safety. This study focusses on understanding the importance of wayfinding behaviours of people in an outdoor environment. The study area is an archaeological heritage site in the city of Delhi, India. Three navigational exercises were conducted to study the wayfinding behaviours among the users. Findings from each of the exercises are compared and evaluated. The correlation between the studied wayfinding measures is calculated and analysed to study the significant patterns in the behaviour of the participants. The results show that verbal directions for wayfinding are found to be the simplest, while directional signs and maps help in strengthening the cognitive maps of users. Users avoid unfamiliar routes, and tend to walk on the routes with more wayfinding aids, and physical structures.