Investigating Different Map Views for Exploring Neighbourhoods

Abstract

Mobile wayfinding and guide applications have become indispensable tools for navigating unfamiliar urban spaces. Such applications address locations targeted, “just-in-time” queries, This thesis reports on research examining mobile tool requirements for discovering neighborhood. In the first phase of the research a preliminary study examining how existing online tools were used for neighborhood exploration. We conducted a second study, considering a home buying scenario in two different two areas, to assess limitations of Google Maps. There were issues with switching between spatial views, search, or Street View required the user to switch to Map View. From these and other results we derive a set of design requirements for mobile tools for neighborhood discovery and present a prototype application called Block Party that addresses a number of these requirements. Block Party supports itineraries with numbered waypoints, easy transitions between synchronized spatial views. Future work will evaluate Block Party’s design in another study.