A heuristic model of bounded route choice in urban areas
Open accessAbstract
There is substantial evidence to indicate that route choice in urban areas is complex cognitive process, conducted under uncertainty and formed on partial perspectives. Yet, conventional route choice models continue make simplistic assumptions around the nature of human cognitive ability, memory and preference. In this paper, a novel framework for route choice in urban areas is introduced, aiming to more accurately reflect the uncertain, bounded nature of route choice decision making. Two main advances are introduced. The first involves the definition of a hierarchical model of space representing the relationship between urban features and human cognition, combining findings from both the extensive previous literature on spatial cognition and a large route choice dataset. The second advance involves the development of heuristic rules for route choice decisions, building upon the hierarchical model of urban space. The heuristics describe the process by which quick, ‘good enough’ decisions are made when individuals are faced with uncertainty. This element of the model is once more constructed and parameterised according to findings from prior research and the trends identified within a large routing dataset. The paper outlines the implementation of the framework within a real-world context, validating the results against observed behaviours. Conclusions are offered as to the extension and improvement of this approach, outlining its potential as an alternative to other route choice modelling frameworks.
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A city street network is transformed into a network of lines using its topological properties.
“First, a city street network is transformed into a network of lines using its topological properties 34,[173][174][175] .”
From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [174]
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- Authors
- Manley, E. J., Orr, S. W., & Cheng, T.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Manley, E.J.
- Venue
- Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-07
- Volume
- 56
- Pages
- 195-209
- ISSN
- 0968-090X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2008688250
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 10.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Transportation Research Part C Emerging Technologies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/G023212/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Transportation Planning and Optimization
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Urban Design and Spatial Analysis
- Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
- Keywords
- route choice, urban travel behavior, bounded rationality, heuristic decision making, spatial cognition, decision making under uncertainty
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