Imagination and representation: cognitive mapping of Merida Historic Centre by students at Yucatan Autonomous University

The article presents the results of an academic research conducted in Merida, Mexico, in which 130 students attending different schools at Yucatan Autonomous University were asked to do cognitive maps from Merida Historic Centre. Researchers sorted all maps into four different categories and analyze...

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Autores:
Fuentes-Gómez, José
Tipo de recurso:
Article of investigation
Fecha de publicación:
2012
Institución:
Universidad Antonio Nariño
Repositorio:
Repositorio UAN
Idioma:
spa
OAI Identifier:
oai:repositorio.uan.edu.co:123456789/5554
Acceso en línea:
http://revistas.uan.edu.co/index.php/nodo/article/view/73
http://repositorio.uan.edu.co/handle/123456789/5554
Palabra clave:
City perception
urban space psychology
social representation of the city
Percepción de la ciudad
psicología y espacio público
representación social de la ciudad
Rights
openAccess
License
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
Description
Summary:The article presents the results of an academic research conducted in Merida, Mexico, in which 130 students attending different schools at Yucatan Autonomous University were asked to do cognitive maps from Merida Historic Centre. Researchers sorted all maps into four different categories and analyzed the marked distinctions towards place perception, the physical/spatial correspondence between maps and reality, the absences and presences of architectural and urban landmarks, the relation between the map and the specific studies in which students are involved in, and the main objects and references included in the maps, as well as their frequency. Researchers conclude that cognitive maps are an appropriate instrument for studying human settlements, since they clearly show how city dwellers perceive and provide meaning to architectural and urban structures in the places they inhabit.