Psycho-

Geography
Mental Map

Lecture: March 21, 2024

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https://mappingweirdstuff.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/owjl-finalmap2.jpg
 Behavioral Geography

• Cognitive maps are one technique used in the study of

behavioral geography, or the study of how humans
perceive and behave in space. Behavioral geography
developed out of human geography as a response to the
“rational people” assumed in the quantitative models used
to describe human activity (Bunting and Guelke 1979, 448-462).
• Behavioral geographers believed, for example, that spatial
interaction models would be more accurate accounting
for perceived geographic distances and not actual
distances. Their hope was that “the use of empirical models
of actual human preferences and perceptions would lead to
the development of general theories in geography which were
both deductively sound and empirically valid” (Bunting and
Guelke 1979, 448-462).
• Since the 1960s, researchers across disciplines have
worked to develop the theoretical framework and
quantitative methodologies of acquiring information about
what humans think about a space and how humans behave
in a space (Kitchin and Freundschuh 2000, 1-8).
• Lynch (1960), an urban planner, would have the residents of
a city draw through different techniques to describe their
knowledge of that city. Lynch’s work was an attempt to
analyze cognitive images empirically by identifying how
people make spatial relationships through primary
experience and secondary media (Kitchin 2000, 9-23).
• After Lynch published his work in The Image of the City,
1960, the use of cognitive mapping and spatial behavioral
research exploded across several disciplines. Those
disciplines included but were not limited to psychology,
geography, planning, architecture, anthropology, computer
science, information science, and neuroscience (Kitchin 2000,
9-23).
• As a theoretical precedent, cross disciplinary research
analyzing the many forms of secondary media to
communicate space and spatial relationships throughout
history also occurred, looking at images like, “cave paintings,
three-dimensional models, maps constructed of various natural
materials (sticks, shells, rocks sand) and man-made materials
(paper, mylar, ink), satellite images, computer-generated worlds,
and virtual environments”(Kitchin and Freundschuh 2000, 1-8).
 Psycho-Geography,

• A subfield of geography, was defined in 1955 by Guy

Debord as "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of
the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on
the emotions and behavior of individuals.“
• Another definition is "a whole toy box full of playful, inventive
strategies for exploring cities...just about anything that
takes pedestrians off their predictable paths and jolts them into
a new awareness of the urban landscape."
• In practice, psycho-geography inherently resists any narrow
definitions.
• It encompasses diverse activities that raise awareness of
the natural and cultural environment, is attentive to senses
and emotions as they relate to place and environment, is
often political and critical of the status quo, and must be
both very serious and fun.
• Psycho-geography overlaps with Kevin Lynch’s work
on mental maps, as nicely reviewed in Denis Wood’s
article.
 Mental Maps & Psychogeography

Learning the world around us starts when we are very

young and continues throughout our lives.
• Process of sensory data >> abstraction / categories >>
representation / symbols
Cognitive mapping: gathering of environmental knowledge
with all of our senses and direct experience of the
environment
Initially things are understood from an egocentric perspective.
• Egocentric: self-centered; things in relation to us (we are the
center)
Change from an egocentric to a geocentric understanding of
environment.
• Geocentric: orienting ourselves to the external
environment.
 Concept of a Mental Map

• The concept of a mental map may refer to a person's

personal point-of-view perception of their own world.
• Although this kind of subject matter would seem most
likely to be studied by fields in the social sciences, this
particular subject is most often studied by modern day
geographers in order to determine from the public such
subjective qualities as personal preference and practical
uses of geography like driving directions.
• Mass media also has a virtually direct effect on a person's
mental map of the geographical world.
• The perceived geographical dimensions of a foreign nation
(relative to one's own nation) may often be heavily
influenced by the amount of time and relative news
coverage that the news media may spend covering news
events from that foreign region.
• For instance, a person might perceive a small island to be
nearly the size of a continent, merely based on the amount
of news coverage that he or she is exposed to on a regular
basis.
• In psychology, the term names the information maintained
in the mind of an organism by means of which it may plan
activities, select routes over previously traveled territories,
etc.
The rapid traversal of a
familiar maze
depends on this kind of
mental map if scents or
other markers laid
down by the subject are
eliminated before the
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 Background

• Mental maps are an outcome of the field of behavioral

geography.
• The imagined maps are considered one of the first studies
that intersected geographical settings with human action.
• The most prominent contribution and study of mental
maps was in the writings of Kevin Lynch.
• In The Image of the City, Lynch used simple sketches of
maps created from memory of an urban area to reveal five
elements of the city; nodes, edges, districts, paths and
landmarks.
• Lynch claimed that “Most often our perception of the city is
not sustained, but rather partial, fragmentary, mixed with other
concerns. Nearly every sense is in operation, and the image is
the composite of them all.” (Lynch, 1960, p 2.)
• The creation of a mental map relies on memory as
opposed to being copied from a preexisting map or image.
• In The Image of the City, Lynch asks a participant to create a
map as follows: “Make it just as if you were making a rapid
description of the city to a stranger, covering all the main
features.We don’t expect an accurate drawing- just a rough
sketch.” (Lynch 1960, p 141).
• In the field of human geography mental maps have led to
an emphasizing of social factors and the use of social
methods versus quantitative or positivist methods.
• Mental maps have often led to revelations regarding social
conditions of a particular space or area.
 Research Applications

• Mental Maps have been used in a collection of spatial

research.
• Many studies have been performed that focus on the
quality of an environment in terms of feelings such as fear,
desire and stress.
• A study by Sorin Matei in 2005 used mental maps to
reveal the role of media in shaping urban space in Los
Angeles.
• The study used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to
process 215 mental maps taken from seven neighborhoods
across the city.
• The results showed that people’s fear perceptions in Los
Angeles are not associated with high crime rates but are
instead associated with a concentration of certain
ethnicities in a given area. The mental maps recorded in
the study draw attention to these areas of concentrated
ethnicities as parts of the urban space to avoid or stay
away from.
• Mental maps have also been used to describe the urban
experience of children.
• In a 2008 study by Olga Besten mental maps were used
to map out the fears and dislikes of children in Berlin and
Paris.
• The study looked into the absence of children in today’s
cities and the urban environment from a child’s perspective
of safety, stress and fear.
• Peter Gould and Rodney White have performed
prominent analyses in the book “Mental Maps.”
• The book is an investigation into people’s spatial desires.
• The book asks of its participants: “Suppose you were suddenly
given the chance to choose where you would like to live- an
entirely free choice that you could make quite independently of
the usual constraints of income or job availability.Where would
you choose to go?” (Gould, 1974, p 15)
• Gould and White use their findings to create a surface
of desire for various areas of the world.
• The surface of desire is meant to show people’s
environmental preferences and regional biases.
(5) Five Senses

1. Touching
2. Hearing
3. Seeing
4. Smelling
5. Tasting
Tactile
I.Tactile (Touch)

• Temperature- the degree or intensity of heat or cold.

• Humidity- moistness, dampness.
• Wind and breezes.
• Precipitation- result from atmospheric condensation.
• Benches and seat walls.
• Sittable ground surfaces.
• Bars, knobs and handles
• Hand railings and armrests
• Telephones, vending and banking machines
• Textures under foot
• Vegetation within reach
• Water
• architectural facades
• Food and drink
• Human contact
Auditory
II. Auditory (Hear)

• Normal traffic noise

• Excessive truck traffic
• Underground rumblings
• Air traffic
• Distant highway noise
• Echo
• Conversation
• Play activity
• Music and song
• Professional and amateur entertainment
• Wind
• Water
• Wildlife
• Bells, chimes, and whistles
• Wind-blown flags and fabric
• Movable furniture
• Vendors
• Machinery
• Heating, ventilation and cooling systems
• Foot traffic on various pavements
Visual
III.Visual (See)

• Spatial perception (form, scale, etc)

• Form of objects
• Proportion and scale of objects
• Social activity
• Vehicular activity
• Prominent landform
• Vegetation
• Water features
• Miscellaneous natural features
• Sun and shadow
• View sheds from important vantage point
• Rain, snow, fog, mist
• Smoke
• Litter
• Signage
• Storefront advertisement
• Window displays
• Posted bills
• Billboards
• Walls and fences
• Street furniture and features
• Overhead wires and cables
• Architecture
• Vegetation
• Wildlife
• Overall character of a place
• Sites under construction
• Surface textures
• Color compositions
• Tonal contrasts
• Diurnal change- of the daylight hours happening everyday.
• Seasonal change
• Moonlight
• Night-lighting
• Glare and albedo
Olfactory
IV. Olfactory (Smell)

• Vehicular emissions
• Odorous smoke
• Fresh air
• Fragrant vegetation
• Restaurant doorways
• Outdoor cafes
V. Metaphysical (Perception)

• Form of objects during nighttime.

• Fragrant vegetation
• Wind/air
• Moonlight
• Night-lighting
• Night vision
• Noise/sound
Emotional map
of an interview
following the list
of emotions and
subsequent
textures.
Sensory Maps

I. Tactile map (What do you touch? Rough? Smooth?)

II. Auditory map (What do you hear? Noise? Bird chirping?
Water falling?)
III.Visual map (Eyesore? Scenic?)
IV.Olfactory map (what do you smell?
V. Metaphysical (Feeling: Fear, happy, uneasiness, etc)
SAMPLE 5
 Therapeutic
Garden

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 ACTUAL PROJECTS

SAMPLE NO. 1. Sibayan, Rojayne Q. (2014). Clustered

Housing Subdivision in Tuba Benguet.
Q. What do you feel for the place/site?
BASE MAP
SUN PATH ANALYSIS
WIND ORIENTATION
LOT CONTOUR
HYDROGRAPHICAL
MAP
VEGETATION MAP
SLOPE MAP
VISUAL MAP
OLFACTORY MAP
TACTILE MAP
AURAL MAP
METAPHYSICAL MAP
SAMPLE NO. 2
The design process “Before shot”
• This before image shows the area of focus for the
conceptual design.
• The client is looking for some sort of dramatic water
feature into the sub-division and golf course.
• In order to make that happen designers are going to build
something between 8’ (2.40 m.) and 12’ (3.65 m.) high.
• Then in order to sell the illusion of the falls we will need
to add a dynamic and believable backdrop.
The Warm-up sketch, Initial thoughts, or Day-dreaming.
The Concept sketch on a copy of photo (direct).
• Lay down some tracing paper and start looking at
possibilities, try to have a pretty good idea of what you
wanted to do in this area and started drawing away.
• The key here is to try and make the ratios look right, and
to not mess up proportions of what you after.
• Especially the relationship of the falls and the lagoon, or
pond. Remember the goal here is to wet the appetite of
the client by showing them the potential of what their
site has to offer based on 3 things.
1. Their request for what they need, and or want.
2. The site itself, what will it allow or not allow-what it is
capable of.
3. The Designers talents, skill level, knowledge.
SAMPLE NO. 03
SAMPLE NO. 04
Sample: Terrace Design
Waterscape (Before development)
After development
• The source of the stream flows onto a flat rock and gathers in a
pooling area before drifting down the stream. Granite boulders in
various sizes line the pond and stream.
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 4.Vocabulary of Space.

• Stahl (Citation2005), ‘vocabulary knowledge equals to

knowledge; the knowledge of a word does not only imply a
definition, but it also implies an understanding of how that
word fits into the world’.
• Words make people aware of a certain phenomenon and
each word implies a conscious observation and
identification. In other words, a landscape architect’s level
of understanding of spatial-visual aspects is related to the
vocabulary a landscape architect uses.
A spatial-visual design vocabulary cloud generated from various research fields.

https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/tandf/journals/content/rfdj20/2022/rfdj20.v025.i02/14606925.2021.2021672/20220318/images/large/rfdj_a_2021672_f0002_b.jpeg
Network analysis showing the relations between the spatial-visual design vocabulary

https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/tandf/journals/content/rfdj20/2022/rfdj20.v025.i02/14606925.2021.2021672/20220318/images/large/rfdj_a_2021672_f0004_c.jpeg
Layers describing the nature of spatial-visual design vocabulary.

https://www.tandfonline.com/na101/home/literatum/publisher/tandf/journals/content/rfdj20/2022/rfdj20.v025.i02/14606925.2021.2021672/20220318/images/large/rfdj_a_2021672_f0003_c.jpeg
Plan List Sample
Plant Listings
A. Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii)
Alternative: Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) or other small accent tree
B. Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
Alternative: Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum), salal
(Gaultheria shallon) or other specimen plant with winter interest
C. Basin wildrye (Leymus cinereus)
Alternative: Other tall grass
D. Sage (Salvia spp.), appropriate to area
Alternative: Other medium-height, scented, woody or herbaceous plant
E. White mountain heather (Cassiope mertensiana)
Alternative: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva- ursi) or other groundcover plant
F. Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis foliosa)
Alternative: Other small grass
Key:
1. Stone-edged patio (patio surface can be pea gravel, concrete or flagstone)
2. Water feature (bowl or fountain)
3. Boulder
4. Bamboo fence, 2' x 6' panels
5. Bamboo fence, 2' x 4' panels
6. Bamboo fence, 2' x 2' panels
7. Candle lantern (or solar light)
8. Steppingstones
9. Entrance
10.Bench
GIS - A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer
system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data
related to positions on Earth’s surface.
• Since human eyes are wired to respond to different colors
and shapes, a GIS map usually transforms real-world
geospatial data into colored patterns or shapes. This speeds
up processing of information, which leads to faster and
better-informed decisions.
• As far as the purely technical side of GIS mapping goes, the
system ties a geospatial point containing latitude and
longitude to a specific data element. Then a spatial analysis
measures the distance between these points and
determines the relationship between them, to better
understand the planet.
• Using this technology, geographers and other GIS
professionals can visualize various kinds of statistics,
including client base distribution and demand for a product
or service, demographic facts, and other data.
Data gathering using technology

https://images.nationalgeographic.org/image/upload/t_edhub_resource_key_image/v1638886493/Educ
ationHub/photos/gis.jpg
GIS Mapping: Types Of Interactive Maps &
Applications
https://creeksidescience.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/gis_layers_edit.jpg
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tri-
Acharya/publication/337653747/figure/fig3/AS:842257263517696@1577821188266/Color-online-GIS-and-data-layers-
from-the-real-world-Source.png
END!
 References:

• Loerts, Rachel Smith (March 23, 2017). #4 Behavioral Geography

• http://makingmaps.net/category/unmaking-maps/
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tri-Acharya/publication/337653747/figure/fig3/AS:842257263517696@1577821188266/Color-online-GIS-
and-data-layers-from-the-real-world-Source.png
• Sibayan, Rojayne Q. (2014). Clustered Housing in Tuba Benguet.