Wayfinding Patterns in Informal Traditional Market at Night

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-717-0_8How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Informal Traditional Market; Nighttime; Wayfinding Behaviors; Wayfinding Strategies; Wayfinding Performance

Abstract

Shopping in informal traditional markets at night poses challenges for visitors in locating traders due to dynamic spatial arrangements and limited visibility. Moreover, the lack of lighting also increases the perception of potential sexual crimes, particularly among female visitors. In this situation, wayfinding, or navigational ability becomes essential for selecting effective routes to reach destinations. This paper aims to observe visitors’ wayfinding behaviors and strategies, along with the environmental elements within the market that interact with them during nighttime shopping. Data were collected using a qualitative approach through the author’s observation, observation with participants, and pre- and post-shopping interviews. The findings indicate that wayfinding patterns are shaped by the interaction between visitors’ individual traits and the condition of environmental elements, resulting in subjective wayfinding behavior. Nevertheless, similarities were observed across participants, including the use of route strategies, experiences of disorientation, and a tendency to choose paths or stalls based on lighting intensity. These findings also emphasize the importance of consistent and easily recognizable visual elements along the informal traditional market paths to support the process of spatial cognition. Furthermore, visual contrast must be carefully considered to ensure that the environmental image remains legible both during the day and at night.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Khonsa Khoirunnisa
AU  - Enira Arvanda
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/06/25
TI  - Wayfinding Patterns in Informal Traditional Market at Night
BT  - Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Quality in Research (QiR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 97
EP  - 107
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-717-0_8
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-717-0_8
ID  - Khoirunnisa2026
ER  -