The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Mental mapping technique has been used by Lynch (1960) in his study on the legibility of several American cities. However, there is no confirmation of the applicability of the mental mapping technique in studying the legibility of Malaysian cities. This paper discusses the applicability of this t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tan, Lai Kum, Ujang, Norsidah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Design & Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia 2012
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/2/THE%20APPLICATION%20OF%20MENTAL%20MAPPING%20TECHNIQUE%20IN%20IDENTIFYING%20THE%20LEGIBLE.pdf
_version_ 1848847362918711296
author Tan, Lai Kum
Ujang, Norsidah
author_facet Tan, Lai Kum
Ujang, Norsidah
author_sort Tan, Lai Kum
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Mental mapping technique has been used by Lynch (1960) in his study on the legibility of several American cities. However, there is no confirmation of the applicability of the mental mapping technique in studying the legibility of Malaysian cities. This paper discusses the applicability of this technique in identifying the legible elements of the historical district of Kuala Lumpur city centre. In a pilot study, 15 respondents were asked to sketch maps and images they recognise within the study area. Results indicate that landmark, nodes, district, path and edges are legible elements for historical district of Kuala Lumpur city centre. This is consistent with Lynch’s identification of legible elements. It is found that the mental mapping is a reliable technique to record evidence of people’s cognition of the area however respondents find it difficult to interpret the information or their knowledge about the district into drawings. The technique can be improved by restructuring the questions and providing guidelines of the context such as the boundaries and elements that are located surrounding the district
first_indexed 2025-11-15T09:17:24Z
format Article
id upm-32983
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T09:17:24Z
publishDate 2012
publisher Faculty of Design & Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-329832015-10-05T06:38:43Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/ The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre Tan, Lai Kum Ujang, Norsidah Mental mapping technique has been used by Lynch (1960) in his study on the legibility of several American cities. However, there is no confirmation of the applicability of the mental mapping technique in studying the legibility of Malaysian cities. This paper discusses the applicability of this technique in identifying the legible elements of the historical district of Kuala Lumpur city centre. In a pilot study, 15 respondents were asked to sketch maps and images they recognise within the study area. Results indicate that landmark, nodes, district, path and edges are legible elements for historical district of Kuala Lumpur city centre. This is consistent with Lynch’s identification of legible elements. It is found that the mental mapping is a reliable technique to record evidence of people’s cognition of the area however respondents find it difficult to interpret the information or their knowledge about the district into drawings. The technique can be improved by restructuring the questions and providing guidelines of the context such as the boundaries and elements that are located surrounding the district Faculty of Design & Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia 2012 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/2/THE%20APPLICATION%20OF%20MENTAL%20MAPPING%20TECHNIQUE%20IN%20IDENTIFYING%20THE%20LEGIBLE.pdf Tan, Lai Kum and Ujang, Norsidah (2012) The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre. ALAM CIPTA, International Journal on Sustainable Tropical Design Research & Practice, 5 (1). pp. 55-62. ISSN 1823-7231; ESSN: 2289-3687 http://frsb.upm.edu.my/alamcipta/index.php/alamcipta/article/view/81/47
spellingShingle Tan, Lai Kum
Ujang, Norsidah
The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title_full The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title_fullStr The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title_full_unstemmed The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title_short The application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of Kuala Lumpur City Centre
title_sort application of mental mapping technique in identifying the legible elements within historical district of kuala lumpur city centre
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/32983/2/THE%20APPLICATION%20OF%20MENTAL%20MAPPING%20TECHNIQUE%20IN%20IDENTIFYING%20THE%20LEGIBLE.pdf