Studies on environmental perception during locomotion—a review of empirical studies by the Ohno laboratory

AbstractNatural and man‐made landscapes cannot be seen all at once; they must be experienced in a temporal sequence. Most previous studies, however, discuss and evaluate landscapes in terms of static scenes facing the observer. As an attempt at the scientific investigation of the dynamic nature of perception during locomotion, this paper first discusses theoretical considerations on environmental perception and constructs a hypothetical model. It then presents a new research tool to describe and analyze both the continuous stream of sequential visual information received from the physical environment and the human response to it during locomotion. This is followed by a brief review of some of the major empirical studies conducted by the Ohno Laboratory at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Experimental studies involving a Japanese garden, outdoor space at a university campus, and building exit areas generally support the model's validity and tools for environmental design.