Thesis Title: 
“Inclusive Approach Towards Understanding Wayfinding by People with Vision Impairments in Mumbai Suburban Railway”

Abstract: As the word speaks for itself, ‘Universal’ means for everyone. It is a fact that design cannot completely serve everyone on this globe; it will serve in specific contexts. Within the context, universal design thinking encourages designers to push the boundary of design to ‘include’ more and more types of people under the broader umbrella of ‘Universal’. This concept challenges many existing consumer products, public environments and public services that are designed only for users who are ‘fully functional’.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway network is an example of a public environment known for an overcrowded station environment, with a complex and diverse station layout. Wayfinding, a user-oriented process, involves cognition, behaviour, and strategic planning of movement from point A to B. Access to information is vital to all train commuters, including those with disabilities. Poor or complete absence of vision significantly restricts efficient wayfinding since information display formats on railway stations are mostly visual. Apart from vision loss, issues like familiarity with the environment are another important dimension in wayfinding research. Low level of familiarity with the station and trains further handicaps commuters with vision impairments in a railway station and on the trains.

Though there are few evidence-based studies on wayfinding in real-life environments with real-life participants, very little research has been conducted in mass transit environments related to economically developing nations like India. Past research in wayfinding has been either focused on visual impairment or spatial familiarity, separately, and no research conducted to study how level of familiarity and vision impairment together affect wayfinding behavior.
This doctoral research, rooted in behavioural design, emphasizes comprehensively understanding the wayfinding experience within the rail commuting system, encompassing individuals with varying visual capabilities.