Enhancing the image of a city

Abstract

The scale of efficiency of a city depends on its imageability for the ease with which people can get about. This is closely related to its legibility, that is, the ease with which distinctive images produce a sequence that can be followed. On a small scale these qualities become related to any single building. For the city it depends upon the organization of different city elements like paths, nodes, edges, landmarks and districts. Several concepts have evolved as a part of urban design studies, of these the most prominent ones are of Imageability, Mental Maps and Space Syntax. Imageability refers to the quality of a physical object which gives it a high probability of becoming a strong mental image in the minds of the viewers. Cognitive map refers to the spatial representation of the outside world that is kept within the mind. Mental map is the materialization of the cognitive map. Space Syntax is a set of theories and techniques for analysis of spatial configurations. The aim of the thesis is to enhance the image of a part of a city. Two case study areascommercial area and heritage area- in Cochin, Kerala were selected in order carry out the study in which imageability of a place was assessed using mental maps. Cochin the present day commercial capital of Kerala has been a port city of commercial and historical importance since the 1400s. In both the study areas, residents and non residents were asked to make mental maps of the area, following which they were interviewed. These mental maps which are very subjective and qualitative in nature were converted into quantitative data by giving them scores based on certain fixed parameters. The mental map scores reflect the accuracy of individual mental maps. A relative scoring system for mental maps was also devised in order to identify which among the two study areas is more imageable. Axial maps showing the integration of roads were prepared for both the areas. An online questionnaire was circulated among the students of planning, architecture and urban design. It was primarily a photo appreciation questionnaire which sought the students’ expert opinion on imageability enhancement. Analysis of typical built forms was also done with the help of photographs. The final outcome of the thesis is urban design recommendations which aim at strengthening the image of the study area.