The Legibility Efficacy of Historical Neighborhoods in Creating a Cognitive Map for Citizens

Reza Askarizad, Jinliao He and Elham Mehrinejad Khotbehsara
Additional contact information
Reza Askarizad: The Center for Modern Chinese City Studies, Institute of Urban Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Jinliao He: The Center for Modern Chinese City Studies, Institute of Urban Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Elham Mehrinejad Khotbehsara: Faculty of Health Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba 4350, Australia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: Nowadays, historical neighborhoods in Iran are in a state of decay due to the lack of spatial legibility with respect to their organic spatial layout. Hence, the level of interaction among people and their perception of the environment has gradually diminished. Historical neighborhoods no longer possess their former prosperity and function, and citizens prefer to inhabit neighborhoods with newer configurations to meet their demands. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the spatial legibility of historical neighborhoods in creating a suitable cognitive map for citizens. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied using a questionnaire and simulation test instruments. In addition, in order to analyze the spatial configuration of the target areas, the Space Syntax method was implemented using Depthmap 10. The findings indicated that landmarks and navigation signs were identified as the most important factors affecting legibility from the viewpoint of users. Furthermore, the correlation between integration and connectivity illustrated that the studied areas possessed poor spatial legibility due to the organic texture of their spatial configurations. Accordingly, solutions such as enhancing the interaction between highly integrated streets and identified landmarks were emphasized to ameliorate the legibility of these spaces. The present study contributes to sustainable urban design with respect to the rejuvenation of historical districts by proposing a set of pragmatic alterations of urban spatial configurations. This research may be fruitful for urban designers, planners and managers seeking to revitalize historical neighborhoods.

Keywords: cognitive map; historical neighborhood; intelligibility; landmark; legibility; mental image; permeability; space syntax; spatial configuration; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9010/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9010/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:15:p:9010-:d:869317

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().