Comparing Methods for Introducing Blind and Visually Impaired People to Unfamiliar Urban Environments

doi:10.1006/jevp.1998.0097

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Volume 18, Issue 3, September 1998, Pages 277-287

https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.1998.0097 Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper reports two experiments which compared the effectiveness of different methods for introducing blind and visually impaired people to the spatial layout of urban environments. In Experiment 1, 30 blind and visually impaired adults learnt a long and complex route through an area of central Madrid (Spain) either by direct experience or by a combination of direct experience and a tactile map or a combination of direct experience and a verbal description of the area. Performance on measures of practical spatial knowledge and of representational spatial knowledge was significantly better in participants in the tactile map condition. In Experiment 2, participants learnt a similar route in an area of Sheffield (Britain) using either just a tactile map or by direct experience. No significant difference was found between the two conditions using the same measures as in Experiment 1.

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Citation Excerpt :
In terms of safety related to walkability, the Pedestrians' Quality Needs Project (PQN) can be found in the literature, demonstrating the added value of a systemic approach compared to sectoral ones, by investigating the quality needs of walking with the structural needs and the related functional interventions and strategies to be adopt for the improvement or mitigation of impacts in Europe (Methorst et al., 2010). The perception of spaces by blind and visually impaired people was assessed in accordance with Espinosa, Ungar, Ochaita, Blades, and Spencer (1998), considering and comparing the judgments provided for long and complex paths to those obtained from direct experience or a combination of direct experience and a tactile map or a combination of direct experience and a verbal description of the area, highlighting better results in the participants in the tactile map condition. The different perception that each person can have related to the characteristics of the environment and the access availability, it influences the walkability environments (Tuan, 1983).
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The following seven explanatory points were set up to explain the environmental information, including the shape and size of the route and the location and content of sensory cues as landmarks to participants: (1) start (a pole of curve mirror); (2) intersection A (crossroad); (3) middle of intersections A and B; (4) intersection B (T-junction); (5) intersection C (T-junction); (6) intersection D (T-junction); (7) goal (stairs). The route included tactile, kinesthetic, auditory, or olfactory cues for walking (Espinosa et al., 1998; Fazzi and Barlow, 2017): down stairs (touch) and corner cutting (kinesthesis) at intersection A; grating cover, stairs, a no-entry sign (touch), rising slope, circular corner cutoff (kinesthesis), motor noise of air exhauster, and voice in the playground (audition) at intersection B; grating cover, a pole of information sign (touch), and triangular corner cutoff (kinesthesis) at intersection C; changes of texture of the ground (touch), corner cutting (kinesthesis), and smell of grove (olfaction) at intersection D; and stairs (touch) at the goal. We compared two conditions for explaining environmental information: verbal and tactile map instruction.
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Regular ArticleComparing Methods for Introducing Blind and Visually Impaired People to Unfamiliar Urban Environments

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Regular Article
Comparing Methods for Introducing Blind and Visually Impaired People to Unfamiliar Urban Environments