Rm. Kitchin et al., UNDERSTANDING SPATIAL CONCEPTS AT THE GEOGRAPHIC SCALE WITHOUT THE USE OF VISION, Progress in human geography, 21(2), 1997, pp. 225-242
In this article we review the literature that has sought to determine
the spatial understanding of people with visual impairments or blindne
ss. In particular, we examine the arguments surrounding whether people
with visual impairments or blindness can understand geographic relati
onships such as distance, configuration and hierarchy. At present, the
conclusions of researchers can be divided into three camps. One group
suggests that vision is the spatial sense par excellence. This group
suggests that congenitally blind individuals (blind from birth) are in
capable of spatial thought because they have never experienced the per
ceptual processes (e.g., vision) necessary to comprehend spatial arran
gements. Another group suggests that people with visual impairments ca
n understand and mentally manipulate spatial concepts, but because inf
ormation is based upon auditory and haptic cues this knowledge and com
prehension is inferior to that based upon vision. The third group sugg
ests that visually impaired individuals possess the same abilities to
process and understand spatial concepts and that any differences, eith
er in quantitative or qualitative terms, can be explained by interveni
ng variables such as access to information, experience or stress. To d
ate, most of the research which has led to these conclusions has been
conducted using small-scale, laboratory environments and, as yet, we a
re still unsure as to how people with visual impairments and blindness
learn, store and process spatial information at the geographic scale.
We suggest that more research is needed to understand more fully the
'mental landscapes' of people with blindness or visual impairments. Su
ch research is necessary, particularly given the rapid growth of orien
tation and navigation aids in recent years aimed at increasing indepen
dent mobility. However, research must move out of the laboratory to ex
amine spatial thought within the geographic environments that people w
ith visual impairments or blindness interact with on a daily basis.