Brettel, A.;
(2006)
The effects of "order" and "disorder" on human cognitive perception in navigating through urban environments.
Masters thesis , UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This paper investigates how “order”, “structure”, and “disorder” of street layouts are perceived when navigating through an urban environment. It builds on the assumption that a mixture of “order” and “disorder” might be a key factor for the quality of understanding within an urban context and that an “ordered” environment tends to be more intelligible when broken up by an irregularity occasionally. Knowledge about urban layouts can be accrued by the traveller in different ways: From static viewpoints, from top-down maps, and in travelling through the scenery. Cognitive processes that are involved in organising information about the structure of the built environment are known to simplify and schematise information. Such a “mental map” creates an image of the city, helps in memorising it and facilitates wayfinding tasks. Wayfinding experiments and investigations into the configuration of street networks have so far supported the understanding of movement behaviour and given insight from different perspectives on an urban environment. This paper will attempt to relate two aspects - configurational and sequential experiences of navigation (along a route) - to each other in using a methodological framework that allows for comparison of quantitative measurements and findings from both fields of research. The centre of attention will be the perception of “order”, “structure” and “disorder” from both perspectives: From “above” and from “along within” an urban environment. A virtual movement experiment with pre-chosen routes through six city samples is expected to provide meaningful empirical data with view on the perception of both configurational (view from above) and sequential (moving through scenery) embodiments of “order” and “disorder”, thereby introducing a methodological approach that applies string code computation in the spirit of probabilistic information theory.
| Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Title: | The effects of "order" and "disorder" on human cognitive perception in navigating through urban environments |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | order/disorder, spatial perception, cognitive mapping, types of knowledge, information theory |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/2359 |
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