The effect of visual stimuli of planned residential streetscapes on way finding behavior of first time visitors

Abstract

This paper is concerned the streetscape visual stimuli making streetscape confusions as we" as the visual stimuli making trouble-free bzdirectional movements of first time visitors to an area. Pedestrian/ vehicle streets around Saitama Universiry, Japan iuere selectedfor the stucfy. One fonvard movement movie along a streetscape with 5 movies of baceiuard movements from different streetscapes were displqyed to a group of suo/ects. S uijccts u/ere asked to select the correct bacesiard movement analogous to the fonvard movement and a questionnaire was given to fill Ivith the answers for individual's selection. This method tuas repeated ry changing the fonuard and backward movies along streetscapes and the group of suo/ects. A significant variation could be identified in the backward path selection corresponding to thefonvard movement. Visual stimuli which caused streetscape confusions and the visual stimuli that helpful jor correctpath selection sere identified. The visual stimuli that made streetscape confusions and that made correct selection were significantlY similar among different planned streetscape groups.