Literature Review

Notes from readings

The value of a strong image of the city

The Image of the City, Kevin Lynch

The Image of the City (Lynch, 1960) has a strong influence on my interest in my thesis topic. Kevin Lynch introduces the concept of imageability of a city, which is an important area for my research because I believe that developing a strong mental image of the city or urban space is essential for encouraging engagement and participation for people with the city. Lynch makes the argument that a good visual environment may not be simply to facilitate trips but its role may be more relevant “as a guide and a stimulus for new exploration.” Similarly, I believe that the success of maps hinges on the emotional associations that people make with them. In a sense, maps serve as immediate guides for navigation but also “in a broader sense as a general frame of reference.”

This book is a result of a study of three American cities: Boston, Jersey City, and Los Angeles aimed at understanding the imageability of the built environment in cities. Lynch deconstructs the environmental image into identity, structure and meaning. Imageability, or the quality of an object to evoke a strong image, is formed from its structure and identity. The text focuses on understanding urban space through a qualitative lens in contrast to many other cartography authors who focus on the accurate coding and translation of the physical features into the representational map image.

Lynch elaborates the components of the city image from the perspective of how citizens perceive them. He proposes the five elements: paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks as the elemental physical forms that make up the city image. With advances in satellite imagery, object recognition technology and augmented reality, current trends in modern digital mapmaking are moving towards blurring the boundaries between information representation and actual physical structures. This shift may point to a benefit in considering how map visualization and interactions can be made to leave a lasting impression on the minds of users.

Maps show ‘a view’ of the world

How to Lie with Maps, Mark Monmonier

In the book How to Lie with Maps, Mark Monmonier deconstructs the elements of the map and shows how by using those elements an altered or a biased view can be presented. He explains the basic attributes of scale, projection and symbolization and how they’re represented through visual variables. He then describes how information is distorted citing cartographic carelessness, the spreading propaganda, serving individual needs, or misinforming for defense purposes as culprits. The distortion of information can be done through the generalization of map features, geometric operations selection, simplification, displacement, and smoothing.

Monmonier brings out some contentious topics and instances from history to illustrate how maps have been used to tell, at times, white lies or in other instances show complete distortion of the real picture. The book aims to develop a skepticism among map users, which is everyone, about cartographic bias and blunders. It gives insight into the alignment of different kinds of maps visualizations to various purposes. In addition to that, through examples, I gained a deeper understanding of how to represent cartographic attributes through visual variables to direct perception and interpretation of features. Lastly, the text helped me consider cartographic bias in the commercial digital maps we use today — specifically, Google maps.

Understanding the language of maps

Power of Maps, Denis Wood

Power of Maps covers similar ground as How to Lie with Maps but with a more acerbic tone criticizing how, throughout history, maps have been misused as instruments to serve vested interests.

More significantly, this text offers a conceptual foundation for understanding the language of cartography as it provides a detailed analysis of the layers of comprehension for maps. Elaborating on how people make meaning from maps, Wood describes “The map is the product of a spectrum of codes that materialize its visual representations, orient these in space and time, and bind them together in some acceptable form.” Through a breakdown of codes and sign-functions in maps, he provides deep insight into the semiological processes that go into the design of maps.

A code can be understood as a set of rules or conventions that enable the construction and interpretation of map-signs. The described codes can be Extrasignificant and Intrasignificant codes. Extrasignificant codes provide context and meaning to the map-such as-historical, thematic, rhetorical, topic, utilitarian codes. Intrasignificant codes can be categorized into Iconic, Linguistic, Tectonic, Temporal, Presentational codes. Delving into details, depending upon the representation and arrangement, Iconic codes can be either more symbolic(more conventional signifiers) or more iconic (closer resemblance to the signified). The difference between symbolic and iconic visual representation is evident as Wood compares the two examples of Hermann Bollmann’s New York Picture map and the US Bureau Census map. In Bollman’s map, the detailed building forms and angle of the picture plane make the map image very closely corresponding to the visual image of New York City. On the other hand, the census map uses several layers of symbolism-color for land and water features, shapes for urban areas and size for population density. The other significant codes include linguistic codes that deal with the nomenclature of features and tectonic codes that provide scaling functions.

A sign gives meaning through a combination of the representation(signifier) and content(signified). Describing Sign Functions, Wood terms a map as a highly complex Supersign composed of smaller signs and often a synthesis of those smaller signs. Sign functions can be classified on four levels signification: elemental signs, the systemic(sign systems), the synthetic, and the presentational. Elemental signs are the visual elements on a map of a geographic occurrence. Systemic signs consist of the network of elemental signs in maps. Synthetic signs are the map images which are a result of spatially and temporally created Gestalten. Lastly, the presentational layer places a map into context.

Visualizing data and representing the form

Data Points: Visualizing that Means Something, Nathan Yau

Nathan Yau teaches the structural process of data visualization in this book. The text starts with a focus on understanding data, conducting analysis, and exploring and setting the context. Yau then breaks down the visual components and describes the process of visualizing different kinds of data: statistical, temporal, spatial.

By providing a collection of data visualizations, the text serves as an effective reference for visualizing categorical data. Yao demonstrates how patterns of increase or decrease in data, combination of data, outliers and noise in data can be represented effectively using visual cues like position, length, angles, direction, area or volume and color of the representational elements. I found Yau’s methods, along with his examples for visualizing spatial data, like choropleth maps and cartograms, to be useful for designing information visualization in maps. The book also offers points to keep in mind to improve readability, clarity and annotation. Yau presents concepts for using effective visuals to depict different kinds of statistical concepts, which I think will be useful in building narratives. He also explains hierarchy in spatial features at different granularity levels, which is helpful to know in order to understand how those concepts are employed in Signs and Sign Systems (Wood, 1992) which eventually are used to make up the map image (Wood, 1992).

Things that Make Us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine, Don Norman

Lamenting about how increasingly, society is adopting a technology-centered way of life where humans must adapt to machines, Don Norman argues that in the spirit of human-centered design ideally machines should be designed to adapt to humanly ways of thinking and working. He does that by stressing on the importance of technology being human-centered, illustrating how the human cognition and learning works, and describing through examples how technology can be designed to support people’s abilities effectively.

On the subject of human cognition, he describes experiential cognition, that leads people to perceive and react effortlessly and reflective cognition, which includes more intentional thinking and decision making. Both of these cognitive processes can be supported by the appropriate representation of data. To support experiential cognition, he proposes the Naturalness Principle, suggesting that the properties of the representation should match the properties of the represented, and the Perceptual Principle, emphasizing the use of spatial and perceptual representations. These principles are also in line with the previous analysis of visual cues, as described by Nathan Yao, to represent data.

“ The power of abstraction comes from representation: the ability to represent perceptions, experiences and thoughts in some medium other than that in which they have occurred.”

In the context of this study, understanding experiential cognition is significant as it’s heavily used in doing a one-on-one mapping of the map image to the actual environment. For instance, a person reading Google maps can easily understand a residential neighborhood from a market area or green pockets in the city as compared to densely populated downtown areas.

Clay Vision: The (Elastic) Image of the City, Yuichiro Takeuchi and Ken Perlin

Yuichiro Takeuchi and Ken Perlin build on the concepts proposed by Kevin Lynch by introducing a new form of digital way-finding in urban areas. They propose, in this study, an amalgamation of the environment, interaction, and information elements. In their examples, augmented reality is used to transform the wayfinding experience by enhancing or diminishing the actual physical world elements through exaggerated morphing.

The authors propose the concepts of in-situ information in the real world through the modification of the apparent world using digital augmentation. Their understanding of visual attributes is based on the theory of information design by Tufte (2001) and Bertin (2010). They mention “Of the attributes given by Bertin (size, value, texture, color, orientation, shape, position), size and value (i.e., saturation/ brightness of color) appear to be the most helpful in our case, due to their ability to implicitly but powerfully suggest order”(p. 8). In the proof of concept, through various visual transformations, they create emphasis on various built features. For example, with size accentuation, a building becomes more prominent. The relative elasticity of a building doesn’t change its shape in isolation but rather requires its surrounding buildings to morph in the opposite direction to accentuate its size contrast and make the building conspicuous. Takeuchi and Perlin also compare static and dynamic transitions to draw users’ attention (though this approach needs further examination into pedestrian safety if the feature is used by drivers).

In contrast to most approaches of real-world augmentation through information panels and arrows for direction, the authors also advocate reducing the data-ink ratio by giving the environment an indicative visual quality over quantitative information to inform people’s memories in a different way. I find this important because this approach demonstrates information augmentation without occluding the focus on the environment thereby strengthening the environmental image in the interactions.

The role of design

Visualizing Mental Maps of San Francisco, Rachelle Annechino and Yo-Shang Cheng

Visualizing Mental Maps of San Francisco is based on a study by two graduate students at UC Berkeley, who created spatial representations of the neighborhoods of city of San Francisco. These representations focused on depicting individual’s relationships and perceptions of the city of San Francisco neighborhoods in an effort to help people reflect on their communities and neighborhoods. The project consists of two components: a qualitative investigation of the resident’s perception of the neighborhood, and a visualization of the research through an “atlas of ‘mental maps”. Through research interviews, Annechino and Cheng tried to surface individual’s relationships with the city, which are often lost in government or commercial maps.

“Neighborhood narratives contribute to people’s sense of belonging to, or alienation from, a neighborhood, as well as to their senses of investment, or lack of investment, in local spaces.”(Ball-Rokeach, 2001).

They developed San Francisco maps based on participant descriptions for the following themes: Orientation, Corridors, Barriers, Boundaries, Stories, and lastly a game.

Although the primary aim of the resultant map visualizations was to reflect on San Francisco neighborhoods, I think that there is potential in integrating some of the values and perspectives from the locals in maps to aid the exploration of neighborhoods in urban places. This is because visualizations based on more personal themes such as the stories map Quotes around Town, could aid in guiding the reader’s understanding by giving a richer experience. To take a case in point, the SF Wiggle is a 1 mile long zig-zag route in San Francisco that reduces the incline for cyclists. Although it’s quite popular among the residents, it’s not marked at all on Google maps. Evolving narratives could potentially lead to dynamic content that keeps the reader engaged.

Emotional Design, Don Norman

In Emotional Design Norman describes three different levels of design: visceral, behavioral and reflective. Visceral design concerns itself with attracting and engaging a person through outward perception and appearance. Behavioral design focuses on functionality. Lastly, reflective design is about the message that is dependent on cultural influences. I’m most interested in visceral design and its combination with reflective design to study how they can influence the visual quality of the representation in maps of a city.

Some cities are attractive at a visceral level but most often they do not leave an impact. In other cases, certain experiences, like busy places and loud noises, can be viscerally negative but reflectively positive. Nonetheless, I believe that finding beauty in a place can come from conscious reflection and experience. As stated by Norman about reflective processing, “It is influenced by knowledge, learning, and culture”(p.87). It’s important to note that reflective design builds on moments of long-term experience. Thus, I believe considering reflective design moments within the “Experience Cycle” (Dubberly & Evenson, 2008), is interesting in designing how people discover and explore places as positive individual remembrances could establish a deeper connection with specific places. This eventually could lead to a special meaning that a city could have for a person.

The Experience Cycle, Hugh Dubberly, Shelley Evenson

Dubberly and Evenson compare the “sales cycle” model with the “experience cycle” model to design customer engagement with a product or service. They explain the steps of an experience cycle model and highlight evaluation criteria to measure the experience with a product or service. The key steps in describing an ideal experience are-connecting (first impression), becoming oriented (understanding what’s possible), interacting with a product (direct experience), extending perception or skill and use (mastery) and lastly, telling others (teaching or spreading activation).

I believe that the experience cycle can be a strong way to model the experience of a new place as well. Dubberly and Evenson suggest that the experience cycle has a fractal quality in that it has a similar quality at different scales. Each step in the cycle provides a moment to think whether the experience should be designed for the customer’s expectation or consciously disregard it. I believe that the experience cycle can aid my thinking about one’s use of maps at a high level and also inform my work on a granular level in exploring their details and specific features.

Wayfinding Behavior: Cognitive Mapping and Other Spatial Processes, Reginald Golledge

This text delves into the psychological understanding and processing of environmental information through Cognitive Maps, a concept introduced by Tolman (1948), and its application in human wayfinding. A cognitive map is used to describe how humans record and encode of spatial information which can be further used to communicate to others or to get to one place from another.

The understanding of cognitive maps is significant for this study in multiple ways. In addition to place recognition and wayfinding, Golledge supports Lynch’s (1960) argument that cognitive maps can be used to organize spatial experiences as well. Moreover, it is a common understanding that they consist of points, lines, areas, and surfaces. These relate directly to the five elements of the city, i.e, landmarks, nodes, paths, edges, and districts as posited by Lynch. In fact, Golledge emphasizes that landmarks are significant in the wayfinding context as “…landmarks usually act as anchor points for organizing other spatial information into a layout.” In addition to physically distinguishable landmarks, Golledge suggests that certain places gain the same significance as a landmark in peculiar ways (such as the home or the workplace). The importance of landmarks in spatial understanding and wayfinding points to the opportunity for more purposeful visualizations than the common iconic forms of landmarks on maps. As landmarks serve as anchors for understanding spatial layout or understanding the sociocultural texture of a place, they have the potential to help the reader develop a better mental image of the city.