Post on 15-Jan-2016
transcript
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment
Abd Elbaseer A. Mohamed, CUAS
Outline
Overview
- Urban Legibility
- Ineligibility
- Related Works In Legibility and Intelligibility
Method and Findings
- Mapping Case Studies According to Lynchian Method
- Mapping Case Studies According To Space Syntax Technique
- The Juxtaposition Between Legibility And Intelligibility
Visual Form
Kevin Lynch in The Image of The City (1960, MIT Press) categorized urban Legibility into:
- Paths: highways, railroads, canals.
- Edges: rivers, shores, railroad cuts.
- Districts: commercial, residential, industrial.
- Nodes: squares, intersections.
- Landmarks: Pyramids, Empire state building.
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Legibility: “…the ease with which a city's parts can be recognized and organized into a coherent pattern ”
Urban Legibility
The visual form of Boston as seen in the field .)Lynch, 1960(
Figure 3.12.a. Intelligible spatial layout (source: Kim Y O, 1999)
Figure 3.12.b. Unintelligible spatial layout (source: Kim Y O, 1999)
Intelligibility
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
The intelligibility is defined as “ the degree to which what can be seen and experienced locally in the system allows the large–scale system to be learnt without conscious efforts” ( Hillier, 1996: 171).
Intelligible spatial layout) Kim Y O, 1999(
Unintelligible spatial layout
) Kim Y O, 1999(
Related Works in Legibility and Intelligibility
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
[Dalton and Bafna, 2003]
[kim and Penn, 2004]
[Long and Baran, 2006]
[Turner, 2007]
Case Studies
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Cairo CBD Maadi H eliopolis
CriterionHeliopolis Cairo CBD Maadi
Character It has a unique character of Islamic look in facades that were ornamented by arcades.
It has a unique western-style designed in a combination of art deco, art nouveau, baroque and, a little later, neo-Islamic styles. It looks as a part of Europe.
It was built in English countryside cottage style. Its unique villas reflects its distinct character.
Urban fabricIt has a western urban layout presented in radical urban fabric with rigid grid pattern
It has a French touch in its layout like Hussman planning of Paris. It has a radical urban fabric.
It has a radical urban fabric with rigid grid pattern.
Social aspects It is filled mostly with cosmopolitans and native aristocratic Egyptians.
It shows a variety of residential districts ranging from slum areas within which low or middle class live to distinct housing as upper class and collar bills live.
It is filled with Americans, plus an assortment of wealthy Egyptians, Gulf Arabs, and other nationalities that together comprise a distinct and broad international community.
Results of a questionnaire distributed amongst 70 subjects. They were asked at what area they had most difficulties in wayfinding.
Area Counts %
Heliopolis2130
Maadi 5781
Cairo CBD3448
Kevin Lynch’s mapping methods
Field Reconnaissance
Mental map
Interviews and questionnaires
Measuring Urban Legibility
physical form map
Legibility
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Cairo CBD image as seen in the field Cairo CBD image as derived from sketch maps
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Cairo CBD problems
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Maadi image as seen in the field Maadi image as derived from sketch maps
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Maadi problems
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Heliopolis image as seen in the field Heliopolis image as derived from sketch maps
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Heliopolis problems
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Design elementCairo CBDMaadiHeliopolis
PathModerateLow Low
EdgeLow High Moderate
LandmarkHigh Low Moderate
NodeHigh Moderate Moderate
DistrictLow Low Low
Table 2. Overall Legibility Score for the case study areas. Legibility of the five elements for each area is derived form mental maps and interview responses using the following:High: 50or more respondents thought the element had high legibility. Moderate: 50or more respondents thought the element had moderate legibility. Low: 50or more respondents thought the element had low legibility.
Mapping Case Studies according to Lynchian Method
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique
Global & Local Integration Values
Cairo CBD
Connectivity Integration R-3Global Integration
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique Cairo CBD
Map showing degree of appearance of axis in
mental maps. The map of the high-integrated axis.
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique
Global & Local Integration Values
Maadi
Connectivity Integration R-3Global Integration
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Maadi
Map showing degree of appearance of axis in
mental maps. The map of the high-integrated axis.
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique
Global & Local Integration Values
Heliopolis
Connectivity Integration R-3Global Integration
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Mapping Case Studies according to Space Syntax Technique Heliopolis
Map showing degree of appearance of axis in
mental maps, Heliopolis. The map of the high-integrated axis, Heliopolis.
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
0 2.25373
0
28 R² = 0.303849
Integration [HH]
Con
nect
ivity
0 2.81804
0
35 R² = 0.418085
Integration [HH]
Con
nect
ivity
0 2.25373
0
4.02504 R² = 0.813792
Integration [HH]
Inte
grat
ion
[HH
] R
3
Intelligibility scattergram, Maadi
0 2.81804
0
4.11941 R² = 0.859836
Integration [HH]
Inte
grat
ion
[HH
] R
3
Synergy scattergram, Maadi
0 3.88606
0
65 R² = 0.303577
Integration [HH]
Con
nect
ivity
0 3.88606
0
4.57272 R² = 0.881197
Integration [HH]
Inte
grat
ion
[HH
] R
3
Intelligibility scattergram, Cairo CBD Synergy scattergram, Cairo CBD
Intelligibility scattergram, Heliopolis Synergy scattergram, Heliopolis
Findings
The spatial configuration of an environment and spatial cognition are closely related.
There is a juxtaposition between legibility and intelligibility; and there is a positive relation between them.
In a special case like Maadi where longer and shorter axial lines have the same width, the results of spatial analysis using axial map won't be accurate and therefore space syntax methodology won't be appropriate for analyzing this kind of axial maps. This means that road hierarchy enhances wayfinding ability, and that Cities should be legible visually and structurally for better wayfinding ability.
Evaluating Wayfinding Ability Within Urban Environment SSS8 2012
Special Thanks to DAAD and CNRD