Mapping the Urban Image
What is your “image of the city”?
Intangible model of the city Designed for practicality not precision Personal “Under construction” Made up of certain elements (Kevin Lynch 1960)
Paths Landmarks Nodes Districts Edges
What purposes does it serve? Aids navigation Guides social interaction Prevents feeling lost Helps make the city feel like “home”
Alternative names
Image (Kevin Lynch, 1960)
Mental maps
imageability path, edge, landmark, node, district some urban environments are more imageable than others Peter Gould (preference surfaces) Rodney White
Cognitive maps
Roger Downs and David Stea Reg Golledge
Mental Maps Gould and White 1986
Preference Surface from Minnesota
Ignorance Surface from Pennsylvania
What areas do you know: Well Moderately well Not at all
What areas do you consider:
Great Good OK Not so hot Really awful
Why does your image of the city matter? Mental maps
Urban form
Spatial behavior
One example (Los Angeles)
Another example (Los Angeles)
Different Scale
Problems with methodology?
Link between mental map and sketch map is taken for granted, assumed rather than problematized Several variables not examined: artistic
ability (varies by education, age, etc.) practice drawing maps perception of task (e.g. level of probing by researcher) willingness to draw (e.g. amount of free time)
Strengths of methodology? Reveals individual differences in experience Builds rapport between researcher and subject A fun way to initiate broader discussion about the urban environment
Why might mental maps differ from person to person? urban experiences differ from person to person
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience ???
???
???
???
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience age
access to transportation
leisure time
fear/confidence level
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age
???
leisure time
fear/confidence level
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age income profession race residential location
leisure time
fear/confidence level
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age income profession race residential location
leisure time
???
fear/confidence level
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age
leisure time
income
income
profession
profession
race
education
residential location
fear/confidence level
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age income
income
profession
profession
race
education
residential location
fear/confidence level
leisure time
???
Why might mental maps be different scales? urban experience access to transportation
age
fear/confidence level
leisure time
income
income
gender
profession
profession
physical build
race
education
age
residential location
attitude crime victim?
Can you think of any other personal variables related to physical ability?
How would each of these affect someone’s image of the city? blind
or visually impaired partially or completely deaf mobility impaired developmentally impaired mentally ill substance abusers homeless
How could the city be made more accessible for: children elderly women handicapped poor & unemployed those without cars