Urban granularities - A data structure for cognitively ergonomic route directions

Alexander Klippel*, Stefan Hansen, Kai Florian Richter, Stephan Winter

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper addresses a data structure specification for route directions that incorporates essential aspects of cognitive information processing. Specifically, we characterize levels of granularity in route directions as the result of the hierarchical organization of urban spatial knowledge. We discuss changes of granularity in route directions that result from combining elementary route information into higher-order elements (so called spatial chunking). We provide a framework that captures the pertinent aspects of spatial chunking. The framework is based on established principles used-from a cognitive perspective-for changing the granularity in route directions. The data structure we specify based on this framework allows us to bridge the gap between results from behavioral cognitive science studies and requirements of information systems. We discuss the theoretical underpinning of the core elements of the data structure and provide examples for its application.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-247
Number of pages25
JournalGeoInformatica
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Granularity
  • Route directions
  • Spatial chunking
  • Spatial structure

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Urban granularities - A data structure for cognitively ergonomic route directions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this