Project 2: An Illustrated Essay With a Cognitive Mapping of a Selected Urban Spaces

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM [ARC 2224] PROJECT 2: COGNITIVE MAPPING

NAME:

KONG REN HENG

STUDENT ID:

0316416

LECTURER:

MR LAM SHEN FEI

SUBMISSION DATE:

23 NOVEMBER 2015

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

Jalan Imbi

Map of Jalan Imbi with red line enclosed the studied area of the project Designed with an idea of a foremost shopping district since the 1950s, Bukit Bintang, literally translated as ‘Star Hill’, is the home to many well-known shopping centres in Kuala Lumpur. Within the boundary of the studied area of the project which is around Jalan Imbi, shopping malls such as Berjaya Times Square, Low Yat Plaza and Sungei Wang are found. Home to many cafés, restaurants, internationally-known brands in fashion and fragrances, computer peripherals and so on, the area has attracted locals and foreigners alike as a gathering spot for either shopping or a tour.

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Times Square Sungei Wang Pavilion Plaza Low Yat

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

In accordance with Wayfinding: People, Signs and Architecture, a cognitive map is “an overall mental image or representation of the space and layout of a setting” and the act of cognitive mapping is “the mental structuring process leading to the creation of a cognitive map” (Arthur and Passini, 1992). Cognitive maps are mental representation of physical locations usually based on impressions. They are used to record and recall the important features of a particular environment. One example of a cognitive map is the map you draw for your friend to navigate to your house. As the map is based on impressions and only the things that is perceived as important are included, a cognitive map can be very different than an actual tangible map. Moreover, different people has different impression of a city, therefore cognitive maps drawn by different people of a city may not be the same.

In order to understand the image of Jalan Imbi, various information was collected in the form of interviews and cognitive maps. Three maps drawn respectively by a white collar man, a girl who works at a cosmetic counter, and a student, are chosen to be discussed and analyzed in this essay. The reason behind the selection is because these maps are the most detailed and better-drawn with clearer similarities and dissimilarities.

Cognitive map drawn by the white collar man (actual map attached at the back of essay) The white collar man claimed that he is not familiar with the surrounding context of Jalan Imbi as he usually took the monorail train straight into Times Square, where he will meet his friends or shopping. Indeed, by studying his cognitive map, only Times Square and Plaza Low Yat are drawn with correct relative location.

Puma is also drawn, but on the wrong side of the road. Pavilion is drawn at a wrong direction relative to the location of Plaza Low Yat. A hotel which he could not remember the name and Jalan Hang Tuah are also drawn. Surprisingly, given his

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

statement that he is not familiar with the site, he did include Heli Lounge Bar in his map. The bar is located outside the edges of the study area, near Pavilion.

Cognitive map drawn by the girl who works at a cosmetic counter (actual map attached at the back of essay) The girl is more observant as the buildings in her map are relatively accurate to each other in terms of their location (Pavilion is drawn at the north of Lot 10 and Fahrenheit only because there is no space on the paper at their east side). This is because she usually hangs out in these shopping malls with her friends after work.

Times Square, Plaza Low Yat, Sungei Wang, Lot 10, Fahrenheit and Pavilion are drawn. Jalan Alor and Jalan Changkat are also drawn, but the location of Jalan Changkat is inaccurate. In addition, when asked about her good and bad impressions of the site, she was able to quickly answer the question, indicating that she has had some thoughts on the question beforehand. Her good impressions consist of renovations and road expansions to ease the traffic jam. Her bad impressions are crowded street, crime rate and street hygiene. All these issues are indicated on her map as ‘black area’ and ‘quite dangerous area’.

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

Cognitive map drawn by the student (actual map attached at the back of essay) The student is not local, therefore he rarely visits the site. However, he does have a moderately clear impression of the site as the buildings in his mental map are also quite accurate in terms of their location. As he does not possess a car, he travels to the site by monorail train. Back alleys are drawn in his mental map, and he mentioned that all the shopping malls are within walking distance to each other.

Cognitive map drawn by me

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

These impressions are coherent with mine. Even without going to the site beforehand, an image of Jalan Imbi with many shopping malls is already formed in my head as I have heard of the place being part of the ‘Golden Triangle’. A few visits to the site further fortify the identity of Jalan Imbi as a shopping district. I also notice the back alleys and the crowd. Although a crowded street may be sufficient to describe Jalan Imbi, walkability is the better word as people can access major landmarks just on foot. The back alleys contributes to the permeability of the site, as mentioned before, they provide alternative accesses. The vehicular traffic is also heavy as the area is a major shopping malls congestion spot.

By analyzing the collected data, one obvious similarity can be found on the three cognitive maps. Shopping malls are always drawn and mentioned in interviews. Although the location of the shopping malls may be incorrectly drawn relative to the surrounding contexts, they show that these malls are perceived as important landmarks among the people. Due to the fact that Jalan Imbi is designed to be a shopping district, it is no surprise that the impression of the people mostly consists of shopping malls that has become the prominent landmarks around the area. Moreover, the function of the district also influence the activities conducted by the people in the area. Therefore it is naturally that the main human activities at these shopping malls is shopping and hanging out with other people. These factors result in the shopping malls playing the role as both landmarks and nodes, as they provide reference point for navigation as well as gathering spot for human activities.

Another thing worth mentioning is that despite the inaccurate location, Times Square and Plaza Low Yat are always drawn first and used as reference points before drawing other shopping malls. This shows a hierarchy in the significance of landmarks. Even though all the malls are used as navigation reference point, Times Square and Plaza Low Yat are perceived as more important than others. The rank order of landmarks are generally based on their prominence, uniqueness and salience (Winter, Tomko, Elias, and Sester, 2008). In accordance with Landmark Hierarchies in Context, “A feature is salient, i.e., stands out in its visible, structural or semantic properties, relative to other features nearby” and “Since salience measures are dependent on prominence as well as on uniqueness, we argue that salience measures reflect to some extent all three reasons for ranked landmarks in cognitive representations” (Winter, et al. 2008). Therefore the reason that Times Square and Plaza Low Yat are more important landmark may be due to their salient strategic location at the heart of Jalan Imbi that enables them to be the best reference point.

The imbi monorail station is also located between Times Square and the back alley leading to Plaza Low Yat, increasing the significance of the spot even more.

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

The Imbi monorail station Another similarity is the crowded street found on the site, or rather, its walkability and permeability. They are seen in the intersecting back alleys which provide alternative accesses to the shopping malls without using the main roads. In addition, the walkable distance between each shopping malls also contributes to this characteristic. One may get the impression that the streets are safe as there are many people walking around, it is not accurate. As stated by the girl as well as in an interview with a security guard, sometimes pick pocketing and other crimes happen.

However, people still choose to walk, probably because at day time it is safer, or that it is more convenient to walk than trapped in traffic jam while driving. The back alleys near Plaza Low Yat and Sungei Wang are more commonly used as they provide access to the two shopping malls, compare to the back alleys near Times Square, which only provide access to the back of shophouses.

Left: Back alley connecting Jalan Changkat to Times Square Right: Back alley near Sungei Wang

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

There are some impressions of Jalan Imbi which are formed by the participants individually, but the dissimilarities are not apparent. The girl has noted down the crime rate and hygiene of the street, which part of it is littered with rubbish.

The cognitive map of the student drew out back alleys, as he felt that there are many alternative routes other than main roads. Interestingly, even though the white collar man claimed that he is not familiar with the site, he included the Heli Lounge Bar in his map, suggesting nightlife. The girl works and spends time in the shopping malls after work, therefore she is more familiar with the area.

The concept of legibility or imageability of a city is that if a city is legit, people are able to understand its layout and form a mental map with ease (Kevin Lynch, 1960). Therefore, Jalan Imbi is considered legit as the participants are able to form a clear mental map and navigate the area with it. The area is a shopping district, the shopping malls are significant landmarks and nodes, and the main vehicular routes surrounding the site are the edges. However, in accordance with Image of the City, “For many people, these (paths) are the predominant elements in their image.

People observe the city while moving through it, and along these paths the other environmental elements are arranged and related� (Kevin Lynch, 1960). The paths are the most important out of these five elements of a city as they organize city mobility. However, when the participant drew a cognitive map, landmarks are placed first. Nevertheless, at Jalan Imbi, paths taken by the people enable it to be permeable and walkable.

Lastly, as a conclusion to the essay, it is clear that shopping malls and the walkability of the site are the main characteristics of Jalan Imbi. The shopping malls as prominent landmarks provides clear directional reference point for people to navigate around the area. The streets are vibrant with people walking to and fro.

Therefore, the landmarks and the paths are the main features of Jalan Imbi.

Project 2: Cognitive Mapping

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism [ARC 2224]

References 1. Tolman, E. (n.d.). Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychological Review, 189-208.

2. Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

3. Winter, S., Tomko, M., Elias, B., & Sester, M. (2008). Landmark Hierarchies in Context. In Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design (Vol. 35, pp.

381 - 398).

4. Arthur, P., & Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding: People, signs, and architecture.

New York: McGraw-Hill Book.

5. Gieseking, J., Mangold, W., Katz, C., Low, S., & Saegert, S. (2013). People, Place, and Space: A Reader. People, Place, and Space: A Reader: Routledge.