Maps, space and body: connecting mental representations of space to the production of space

Anna Kholina

This exposition investigates the relationship between maps, space and body. It looks at mental maps — images of the environment that we hold in our memory. It argues that a map we store in our minds is not merely a functional device for navigation, but a system of signs, values and meanings that allow us to re-imagine the space, appropriate it and develop new social practices. The study places mental images inside Lefebvre's triad of social space (Lefebvre, 1991). It suggests that mental images are a manifestation of the third component of the triad, the lived space, which includes alternative imaginations, symbolic values and appropriations of space. The exposition explores this claim via a dataset of 37 mental maps created by Masters-level students at Aalto University in Finland in November 2018. By qualitatively analysing the contents and the morphology of the hand-drawn maps, it traces how the lived space is both passively perceived and actively re-imagined. The main contribution of the exposition is bringing the imagined space to the attention of urban planning professionals. It suggests that the distorted, inconsistent and idiosyncratic mental images are more than a reduced schema of a physical environment. They support alternative re-imagining and catalyse the process of creative appropriation, enabling bottom-up urban transformation.

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Table 2. Code categories (top-level codes) with more than 5 references

Figure 4. A hierarchy chart for top-level codes.

1. INTRODUCTION

5. METHODS

9. REFERENCES

2. COGNITIVE MAPS

6. RESULTS

6.1 OVERVIEW

6.2 BUILDINGS

6.3 OUTDOOR PLACES

6.4 MORPHOLOGY OF THE IMAGES

37 mental maps were analysed and a total of 444 codes were found in the images. Some codes were grouped into categories that represent a common theme or an overarching concept, such as buildings, outdoor activities or outdoor places. The maximum number of codes for one map was 28. The code categories are represented in Table 2, and a hierarchy chart for top-level codes is illustrated in Figure 4. A complete code book can be found in Appendix.

However, the number of codes in different categories does not reveal much. It is obvious that students remember buildings, some places outside, transport links and places where they eat. The presence of these elements on the mental images can be explained by their functional value and familiarity (Burgmanis, Krišjane & Šķilters, 2014). The only uncommon observation at this stage was within the "Elements marked as unknown" category. It included question marks, signs labelled "Undiscovered land", "Some unknown buildings" and a lot of elements without any names or markings shaped either as a building or as a tree. This is unusual, as a mental map typically includes the elements which are known or valuable for the person drawing it.

To understand more about the top-level themes, I looked more specifically into each category of codes. Which buildings are represented in the maps and why? How are they shown? What are the outdoor places that everyone marks in their maps?

6.2 BUILDINGS

3. MENTAL IMAGES

7. DISCUSSION

4. RESEARCH QUESTION

8. CONCLUSION

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