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University of Banja Luka, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka , Banja Luka , Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pedestrian route choice in cities depends both on the overall structure of the street network and on local decisions made at points of directional change. While space syntax has shown the importance of configurational relations, wayfinding and navigation tasks point to additional cognitive mechanisms related to landmarks, route legibility, and task-specific strategies. This paper presents a pilot questionnaire study conducted before a larger virtual-survey experiment, aimed at identifying which cues respondents spontaneously use when (i) describing their own walking routes and (ii) giving directions to others. The pilot was administered digitally and included audio-recorded responses. Results show that respondents often structure instructions topologically, rely strongly on landmarks, and use metric or time estimates inconsistently. Route deviations also suggest that comfort and familiarity can outweigh shortest-path logic. The pilot therefore provides a concise set of geometric and cognitive parameters for later controlled testing in visually standardized conditions
Space syntax, wayfinding, cognitive maps, pedestrian networks, route choice, landmarks, topology vs. metric distance.
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