Investigation of Men's and Women's Rout-Finding in Urban Spaces

Way-finding in an urban environment can be performed with gathering information. The required information includes the direction or location of the origin point2, the final destination3 and the paths connecting them. Sufficient environmental information eases the decision making process when selecting a route. Routing refers to the situation when different factors are effective in determining the direction of which can be indicators of buildings, street signs, maps, number of intersections, color, architectural styles and noted the coordinates ways. Men and women because of their way-finding differences use different physical parameters to determine the route. Individual and environmental differences of paths are important to discover how they are effective in the way-finding. This paper explains how in different paths, men and women select the route by gathering environmental information and how they differ in utilizing visual cues in way-finding. This study was performed based on descriptive - analytical methods. The qualitative method of questionnaire survey accompanied with images of the environment is used for collecting the required data. The population size equal to 300 men and women on Imam Reza (AS), Imam Khomeini, and University street are analyzed with the Cochrane formula. In each street, 50 questionnaires were answered by women and 50 by men. According to the results of this study, the way-finding is done differently by men and women as they use different visual elements when they are moving in various paths. Men usually pay more attention to the passages whereas signs attract more attention from women. When it
comes to use the passages, men choose the routes by counting the crossings while women do it by name signs of the passages. For routing, the observer receives information from the receiver and analyzes the information while trying to find a destination. On the other hand, in this study, different people received different information from the environment.
Therefore, environmental characteristics of the individual, in male and female is different. Using a variety of factors guide the decision-making process for choosing the path, leads to different routing patterns in men and women. Another difference between men and women in way-finding is in their attention to the different characteristics of landmarks.
Women in routing pay more attention to the signs and elements while men pay more attention to elements such as roads and directions which are given coordinated. Men locate the landmarks with higher stages and in longer distances, more easily. On the other hand, women find the closer landmarks with lower stages, easier. Men in detection and diagnosis of destinations and locations rotate and change direction more easily than women. Color walls in urban space are one of the important factors determining the direction and guidance for women. Women during routing pay attention to wall painting as a guide to determine their destinations. Men prefer the routes in the routing process to pass complex direct routes. Men usually prefer to use different paths to reach the same origin, while women prefer always the same path to reach an origin. Walls are another visual cue in way-finding that men and women pay attention to its features, differently. Usually, men note modern buildings with predominant colors of white and gray; while, women look at older buildings with predominant colors of cream and brown. Men are attracted more to buildings with modern architecture as a guide to determine the course of their choice, while women prefer old buildings and historical consideration for determining the route. Moreover, murals as public art in urban space are considered. There graffiti in urban areas as a guide for users of the environment is favorable. The results show that only women used a graffiti as a guide in routing. The results show the importance of the physical layer based on gender and its importance in the minds of users. Men and women in urban areas are facing with different shapes and forms in routing. Men often are attracted by modern buildings, the curve of upper classes and regular forms of attention. In contrast, women are attracted in old buildings, linear forms, different forms of irregular fields and forms. On the other hand, women prefer buildings with various functions such as: religious, tourism - entertainment, commercial and educational. Most of these buildings have warm colors – like brown, the color that leads to increase the confidence in routing process to choose the right path. Women prefer colors to distinguish between buildings with their surrounding environment as well as the distinction which leads to an increased readability.