Seeing the Axial Line: Evidence from Wayfinding Experiments
Open accessAbstract
Space-geometric measures are proposed to explain the location of fixations during wayfinding. Results from an eye tracking study based on real-world stimuli are analysed; the gaze bias shows that attention is paid to structural elements in the built environment. Three space-geometric measures are used to explain the data: sky area, floor area and longest line of sight. Together with the finding that participants choose the more connected street, a relationship is proposed between the individual cognitive processes that occur during wayfinding, relative street connectivity measured through space syntactic techniques and the spatial geometry of the environment. The paper adopts an egocentric approach to gain a greater understanding on how individuals process the axial map.
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Space syntax-derived segment and axial maps can be analysed as various types of graphs to derive spatial measures, such as connectivity, integration and choice.
“Space syntax-derived segment and axial maps can then be analysed as various types of graphs to derive spatial measures, such as connectivity (measured using the graph-theoretic index of degree centrality), integration (closeness centrality) and choice (betweenness centrality) 175 .”
From From cognitive maps to spatial schemas (2023) · cites this paper as [175]
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- Authors
- Emo, B.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Emo, Beatrix
- ORCID
- Emo, Beatrix
- Venue
- Behavioral Sciences
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2014-07-04
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 167-180
- ISSN
- 2076-328X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4219269
- OpenAlex
- W2093703966
- Semantic Scholar
- 6065a18059c1511b30e01ccffb42be4bb7bc3c7a
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 2.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Behavioral Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Spatial Cognition and Navigation
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Urban Design and Spatial Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Gaze Tracking and Assistive Technology
- Keywords
- wayfinding, gaze bias, fixation, floor area, street connectivity, space syntax, axial maps, built environment
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