Space syntax in a wayfinding task

Abstract

This research aims to deepen the relationship between environmental characteristics and wayfinding behaviours, by comparing, throughout a wayfinding task, typical transport models parameters, such as distance, and space syntax analysis parameters, such as the number of the streets. Since from Lynch’s (1960) seminal work, urban environments are defined in terms of nodes, paths, landmarks and boundaries. Starting from a node-link representation, the purpose of Transport models (Wegener 2004) is to preview the flows and the different wayfinding behaviours in urban environments, finding out the shortest ways regarding distance and time. These two elements are often discrepant because of the effect of different parameters such as traffic and crowding. Space syntax (Hillier and Hanson 1984) is a technique of morphologic analysis of space and his elements such as buildings and urban areas. It is based on the analysis of relational quality of space, with the aim to study the distance between the important elements who constitute urban settings. It also represents a useful instrument for the analysis and the improvement of social quality of urban and architectural projects (Teklenburg et al. 1992). The Syntax concept, derived from linguistic studies, is related to the pattern production and refers to the dynamic relationship across different spaces or between spaces and society. Space Syntax Analysis has been proven predict wayfinding by showing a correlation between integration