ABSTRACT
Walking without vision, or with impaired vision, while sometimes challenging, can be accomplished efficiently and safely by most people most of the time. This chapter is about the perceptual information and the associated strategies that people who are blind and visually impaired use to move about safely and efficiently in outdoor environments. It focuses on changes in recent years in the “information stream” that is available in urban street environments and the relevance of those changes for the task of crossing streets without vision or with impaired vision. The strategies that may be useful in reducing the impact of these changes when they result in limitations to travel efficiency and safety are also discussed.
