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  • © 2016

Community Wayfinding: Pathways to Understanding

  • Brings together international experts to offer multidisciplinary perspectives on community wayfinding

  • Describes relevant design principles and practices by drawing upon architecture, communications, universal design (UD), planning, and engineering

  • Examines wayfinding tools and innovative technologies ranging from maps to apps to complex wayfinding systems

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Foundations of Wayfinding

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction to Community Wayfinding

      • Rebecca H. Hunter, Lynda A. Anderson, Basia L. Belza
      Pages 3-16
    3. Human Wayfinding: Integration of Mind and Body

      • Ann E. Vandenberg
      Pages 17-32
  3. The Community Environment and Wayfinding

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33
    2. Legibility and Continuity in the Built Environment

      • Michael R. King, Elise de Jong
      Pages 61-79
    3. Design for All Users

      • Jon A. Sanford
      Pages 81-101
  4. Tools and Technology

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113
    2. Maps to Apps: Evaluating Wayfinding Technology

      • Sean P. Mullen, Daniel E. Palac, Lucinda L. Bryant
      Pages 137-151
    3. Wayfinding, Mobility, and Technology for an Aging Society

      • Marlon Maus, David A. Lindeman, William A. Satariano
      Pages 153-167
  5. Practice and Policy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169
    2. Promoting Walking via Ease of Wayfinding

      • Chanam Lee
      Pages 171-193
    3. Transportation Systems and Wayfinding

      • Edward R. Stollof
      Pages 213-225
    4. The Role of Advocacy

      • Scott Bricker
      Pages 227-244
  6. Integrative Perspectives

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 245-245
    2. Linking Wayfinding and Wayfaring

      • Ditte Bendix Lanng, Ole B. Jensen
      Pages 247-260

About this book

This book examines wayfinding from a broad public health perspective and articulates what needs to be done to create better wayfinding for all people regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. Addressing both science and the human experience, the book brings together a group of international experts to examine community wayfinding from a variety of viewpoints. 

It first presents a critical foundation for understanding wayfinding from an individual perspective. Next, it describes relevant design principles and practices by drawing upon architecture, environmental graphic design, universal design (UD), and urban planning. The book then goes on to examine wayfinding tools and innovative technologies ranging from maps to apps to complex systems. In addition, coverage includes case studies, lessons from wayfinding improvement initiatives, and recommendations for future research, practice, and policy. 


Overall, the book focuses on the economic and commercial benefits of good wayfinding, its potential impact on the health of individuals and communities, as well as strategies for the journey ahead. It will appeal to numerous professionals across many disciplines from architecture and cartography to public health and urban planning. Additionally, the book can help advance a dialogue among those interested in enhancing the livability of their communities.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Ctr fr HealthPromotion&DiseasePrevention, Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hi, CHAPEL HILL, USA

    Rebecca H. Hunter

  • Division of Population Health, Cntrs for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA

    Lynda A. Anderson

  • Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Basia L. Belza

About the editors

Rebecca H. Hunter, MEd has over 25 years of experience in research, teaching and community service roles at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently affiliated with the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, her expertise falls largely into the categories of mobility, aging and the built environment. Most recently, she led a series of initiatives pertaining to community wayfinding to articulate the relationship between public health and wayfinding and to develop a blueprint for research, practice and policy. She has also actively engaged in research translation and dissemination, collaborating with practitioners, policy makers and researchers in diverse fields such as planning, transportation, architecture, universal design, aging services, engineering, healthcare and public health. 


Lynda A. Anderson, PhD, has worked in the field of aging and public health for over 30 years. She retired from federal service in 2015 having worked at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 23 years, 10 years as the Director for Healthy Aging. She has more than 150 publications and is a co-author on the book, "Public Health for an Aging Society" (2012). Lynda has a long-time passion for gardening and designing gardens using native plants. She is currently engaged in volunteer efforts to help promote cognitive and physical health through community gardening and environmental activities including wayfinding.  


Basia Belza, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Aljoya Endowed Professor in Aging, School of Nursing and Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, and an investigator with the Health Promotion Research Center at University of Washington, Seattle.  She has a sustained record of scholarship related to the dissemination of evidence- and community-based health promotion programs and development and implementation of a research and translation agenda on the public health aspects of healthy aging.  Her particular interests lie at the intersection of increasing older adults’ physical activity and improving access to and safety of the built environments in which they are active. 
     



Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Community Wayfinding: Pathways to Understanding

  • Editors: Rebecca H. Hunter, Lynda A. Anderson, Basia L. Belza

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31072-5

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-31070-1Published: 23 May 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-80955-7Published: 20 June 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-31072-5Published: 11 May 2016

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 282

  • Number of Illustrations: 57 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Public Health, Human Geography, Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning, Urbanism, Community and Environmental Psychology

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access