Visual Presentation of Mental Images in Urban Design Education:Cognitive Maps

Abstract Being basic concern of urban design education, urban space, can be defined as a livable and perceivable multi-dimensional place that is also has time content. It is formed by buildings, perceived by city-dwellers and has many inter-related urban activities in it. After researches, it can be seen that there has been many approaches that form a basis for urban design education. Among these approaches, this study focuses on cognitive and psychological approaches of urban space which have a great importance in urban design. From this point of view, because of affecting human behavior and activities and considerably important for giving clues to urban designers, the concepts of perceiving space, image ability, spatial legibility and cognitive maps that concretize these mental images or in other words turned these images into drawings were defined in the study. Subject of the study was evaluated within objective and subjective viewpoints. This study chose Selcuk University Campus as a sample area in which we work as an educator and which is the living space of many students. The aim of the study is to find out the undergraduate students’ perceptions and images related to Campus Area in which the students gain experiences every day and in accordance with the results to obtain design clues for Selcuk University Campus Area. For attaining this goal, we searched how the spatial image changes by students’ individual perception? Which spaces in the area are more easily-remembered than the others? Which are preferable and admirable spaces or not for students? Sampling ratio of the study is approximately %15 (30 undergraduate students) within the students who took an urban design education and live in the campus area. Producing cognitive maps of these students and interpreting them by using Kevin Lynch's (1960) „ cognitive urban image’ and Jack L. Nasar's (1997) „ evaluative urban image” elements are the methods of the study. In conclusion; after obtaining and analyzing the cognitive maps, we got some important design clues to produce successful urban spacesfor Selcuk University Campus Area.