PEOPLE and PLACE

Introduction to
Environmental Psychology and
Cultural Landscape Theory

Prepared by Jeannie Sim

(2008)
Combined PDF created September 2015.

PLACE Lecture Topics:

PLACE 1: introduction to cultural landscape theory
PLACE 2: Analysing Urban Form
(late 20th century approaches)
PLACE 3: Understanding Sense of Place
(Phenomenology, Topophilia, Iconography,
Landscape Meanings)
PLACE 4: Aesthetics
(Visual Qualities and Landscape Visual Assessment)
PLACE 5: Landscape Interpretation
(Reading the landscape and Different Viewpoints) 2
PEOPLE Lecture Topics
PSYCH 1: introduction to environmental psychology
PSYCH 2: PERSONAL SPACE
(territoriality, crowding, and privacy)
PSYCH 3: WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
(vandalism, neglect, homelessness + transience)
PSYCH 4: COGNITIVE MAPPING
(spatial and non-spatial cognition)
PSYCH 5: PERCEPTION
+ Terrain Vague
3

TUTORIAL WORKSHOPS

PLACE 1: PSYCH 1: Group Work

Queensland Cultural (strategies & application)
Landscapes PSYCH 2:
PLACE 2: Recording Public Space
Exploring Townscape Form PSYCH 3:
PLACE 3: Documentary evidence
Exploring Meaning of Place (Aust. Bureau of Statistics)
PLACE 4: PSYCH 4:
Visual Landscape Analysis Cognitive Mapping
4
 PLACE 1: Introduction to SESSION OUTLINE
Cultural Landscape Theory
LANDSCAPE and its INTERPRETATION
DLB310 People and Place
what is (cultural) landscape?
Form, Content, Meaning
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE THEORIES:
(1) VISUAL interpretations of Place

(2) Analysing Urban FORM

(3) 'Sense of PLACE' and 'placelessness'

(4) Landscape MEANINGS

Important Reminder:
APPLICATION of THEORY What is landscape?
Also refer to explanation in "Landscape Design Theory Primer"
Theory is the basis of responsible design & planning Everything around us
So that is why we consider it in this course!
Understanding 'landscapes' helps with:
that we can see or physically
sense
long-term & short-term problem solving
regional and urban planning including what we want to see or
detail landscape design imagine
broad scale landscape planning
conservation of built heritage
& involves cultural influences and
improvement in QUALITY of community life
biases
to name a few !
(i.e. how we interpret what we see)
3 Source of sketches: Great Brisbane Walks 4

Natural landscape and cultural landscape (after Carl O. Sauer, 1925).[1

FACTORS MEDIUM FORMS
Cultural Landscape is
{ geognostic } >TIME> { climate }
{ climatic } { land } =
{ vegetational} { surface }
NATURAL
{ X other } { soil }
LANDSCAPE
{ drainage }
{ mineral resource }
{ sea and coast }
{ vegetation }
FACTOR MEDIUM FORMS
culture >TIME > + { population }
natural { density } =
landscape > { mobility }
CULTURAL
{ housing }
LANDSCAPE
{ plan } Big Scale: Sugar
{ structure }
{ production }
Cane Farms near
{ communication } Logan River
{ XX other }
Estuary, c.1980
Source: Cosgrove, Dennis (1994), "cultural landscape" 5 6
In Johnston, R.J. et al (eds) Dictionary of Human Geography, pg. 114
Cultural Landscape is
Cultural Landscape is (and so on)

7
Snapper Rocks & Pat Fagan Park, Coolangatta
Small Scale: King Edward Park, Wickham Terrace. 8

What is What is Cultural Landscape?

CULTURAL LANDSCAPE? In smaller chunks
The cultural landscape is constantly evolving, humanised
landscape. It consists of a dialectic between the natural
The cultural landscape is constantly evolving,
physical setting, the human modifications to that setting, and HUMANISED LANDSCAPE.
the meanings of the resulting landscape to insiders and It consists of a DIALECTIC [an interaction] between the
outsiders. Continuous interaction between these three natural PHYSICAL SETTING,
elements takes place over time. Cultural landscapes can be the HUMAN MODIFICATIONS to that setting,
represented as stories, myths, beliefs, which may be applied
and the MEANINGS of the resulting landscape
to wilderness landscapes, ordinary landscapes or designed
landscapes. The concept of cultural landscape therefore to insiders and outsiders.
embodies a dynamic understanding of history, in which the CONTINUOUS INTERACTION between these three
past, present and future are seamlessly connected. elements takes place OVER TIME
After OHare (1997) & Armstrong (1998).
9 10

What is Cultural Landscape? Wilderness Landscapes

In smaller chunks

Cultural landscapes can be REPRESENTED as stories,

myths, beliefs, which may be APPLIED to
WILDERNESS landscapes,
ORDINARY landscapes or
DESIGNED landscapes.
The concept of cultural landscape therefore embodies a
DYNAMIC UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY, in which
the past, present and future are seamlessly connected."
After OHare (1997) & Armstrong (1998).
11 12
http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/kakadu/visitor-information/regions.html#1
Ordinary Landscapes Designed Landscapes
Parliament House gardens,
Canberra

Hyde Park, Sydney

www.aila.org.au
13 14
Uluru Resort

LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE THEORY
Summary
Landscapes can be interpreted (understood) through Numerous theoretical
their... PARADIGMS over time and
FORM through history...
= overall visual character Today, there are many
CONTENT approaches to choose from
= components of form & their arrangement or combine or consider
MEANING Lets review some of these
= messages / purposes / values
major theories
15 16

(1) [Western]
Types of Cultural Landscape Theories Visual interpretations of place
(1) VISUAL INTERPRETATIONS of PLACE LANDSCAPE AESTHETICS Renaissance

(2) ANALYSING URBAN FORM LANDSCAPE PAINTING 17th century

(3) 'SENSE OF PLACE' & 'PLACELESSNESS' ROMANTIC IDEALS 18th century

= phenomenological approaches PICTURESQUE THEORIES Late 18th C

MODERN AESTHETIC THEORIES 20th century
(4) LANDSCAPE MEANINGS
LANDSCAPE VISUAL
ASSESSMENT Mid 20th C
Lets look at these in more detail... 17 18
LANDSCAPE (1) Visual interpretations (1) Visual interpretations
LANDSCAPE PAINTING
AESTHETICS
WESTERN ART: 'landskip
Traditional art VISUAL TOOLS & PRINCIPLES painting (17th Century)
language of art (e.g. colour, texture, mass, line, position, landscape painting
symmetry, balance, tension)
fundamental to forms of ART & CRAFT major early proponents:
fundamental to all DESIGN professions CLAUDE LORRAINE
In the Western World, AESTHETICS began with Ancient Gaspar Poussin
Greek PHILOSOPHY, but it was considered also in the John Constable
Eastern World much more aligned to Spiritual beliefs Thomas Gainsborough
(Ancient China, India, Japan, etc.) J.M.W. Turner
Many refinements & additional theories or approaches compare with EASTERN
since Renaissance in particular Claude Lorraine's "Landscape with a Sacrifice to
ART: e.g. traditional Apollo" (1662), see Phaidon's The Art Book (1996:101)
First western 'landscape drawing': da Vinci (1473) But
painting/calligraphy/poetry
what about Ancient Roman frescoes of garden scenes? 19 of China & Japan 20

(1) Visual interpretations PICTURESQUE (1) Visual interpretations

ROMANTIC IDEALS THEORIES, related to Romantic Ideals
18th C - initially promoted by Landscape Picturesque derived from a view that would make a
Henri Rousseau (e.g. concept of 'Noble design style: good picture (landscape art)
Savage') 'ENGLISH
Alexander Pope & Genius Loci different writers (English) have different meanings

LANDSCAPE
(English poet / essayist / critic) from mid 18th -19th C
SCHOOL'
Horace Walpole (English essayist) Rev. William Gilpin
where design,
19th C - further development Richard Paine-Knight
landscape
William Wordsworth (English poet)
appreciation Uvedale Price
Johanne von Goethe (German poet)
and philosophy Humphry Repton
John Ruskin (English writer & architectural critic)

etc
combined. Etc.
21 22

20th Century Aesthetics (1) Visual interpretations

beyond the picturesque (2) ANALYSING URBAN FORM

Read the contemporary art sections Various 'visual' approaches to analysing urban form,
of your Landscape Design Theory e.g.
Primer ! TOWNSCAPE (Gordon Cullen)
Landscape Visual Assessment will IMAGEABILITY/LEGIBILITY (Lynch)
be discussed in a later Place RESPONSIVE ENVIRONMENTS (Bentley et al)
Theory lecture!
FIGURE-GROUND (various)
PATTERN LANGUAGE (Alexander)

23 24
 (2) Analysing Urban Form IMAGEABILITY (2) Analysing Urban Form
'TOWNSCAPE' & LEGIBILITY
Gordon Cullen's PUBLICATIONS
Kevin Lynch:
Townscape first published
RELEVANT PUBLICATION:
1961, revised 1971;
The Image of the City first published 1960
Concise Townscape
CONCEPTS include
CONCEPTS include serial legibility of urban places
vision, identifying townscape imageability of place
qualities
spatial characteristics definition by
And recognising the details and edges, nodes, landmarks, districts,
context in urban fabric and paths
More on this next week! More on this next week!
25 26

RESPONSIVE (2) Analysing Urban Form FIGURE / GROUND (2) Analysing Urban Form
ENVIRONMENTS patterns
Ian Bentley et al book:
"using figure/ground plans are an abstract
Responsive Environments, 1985.
representational technique for urban form analysis &
Describes these CONCEPTS: design"
permeability
variety figure = solid = mass
legibility (Lynch's)

robustness
ground = void = space
visual appropriateness Ref: Cooper, Wayne (1983) "The Figure/Grounds"
richness The Cornell Journal of Architecture 3: 42-53
personalisation. Compare graphical approaches
More on this next week! black & white : shaded & white
27 28

FIGURE / GROUND
for urban form analysis & design
"the medieval voids cut out of solids as For example
contrasted with the modern solids placed in a Plan of city of
void." [Cooper pg. 44] Jolpur, India in

"If history is a continuum, then the notion of Cooper (1983:47)

context may be effectively argued and may
reasonably demand attention." [Cooper pg. 53]
"One wants to improve what has been built, and
not to spoil what is yet to be done." [Alberti]

29 30
SOLID & VOID Dominant solids in
Relationships (mass and space) a void
dominant solids (mass) in a void (space)
dominant voids (spaces) shaped by solids
(masses)

Other issues:
REVERSIBILITY
(e.g. white objects in black background)
[Image Cooper 1983]
HIERARCHY: inside / outside / between
31 [Image Mann 1993:225]32

Dominant voids (2) Analysing Urban Form

PATTERN LANGUAGE
shaped by solids
Doge's Palace
Christopher Alexander et al PUBLICATION:
Church of San Marco A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings,
Construction, first published 1977
Campanile
theories of 'ARCHETYPAL' patterns (i.e.
(detached bell
tower) universally appropriate design solutions)
in the built environment Akin to
Piazza
vernacular
Venetian Lagoon design (?)
(water in canals = black)

[Image Mann 1993:149] 33 34

Pattern Language &

Archetypal patterns
the timeless way of building
The elements of this language are entities called
patterns. Each pattern describes a problem
which occurs over and over again in our
environment, and then describes the core
solution to that problem, in such a way that you
can use this solution a million times over, without
ever doing it the same way twice.
Alexander et al (1977), pg. x
35
Archetypes are used to solve recurrent problems in a
satisfactory manner to suit human needs etc.
the successes of vernacular architecture
Archetypes so called by Tom Turner about
Christopher Alexander's (et al) Pattern Language
AIM of this sort of design: to achieve "the quality
without a name" (i.e. a Taoist approach)
The closest Alexander got to naming this quality
was TIMELESS (after trying alive, whole,
comfortable, free, exact, egoless & eternal). 36
Comments from Tom Turner
1996:24-28
ENEMIES of pattern language:
positivism & empiricism, capitalism & consumerism,
individualism & totalitarianism, postmodernism &
formalism, relativism & gigantism etc. (epistemological,
political, aesthetic & ideological enemies)
FRIENDS of pattern language:
psychology & behavioural studies, ecology & landscape
ecology, oral traditions (storytelling), geomorphological &
growth patterns, visual & design patterns.
SOURCE: Turner, Tom (1996).
City as Landscape. London: Spon.
37
CAUTIONARY POINTS
(about Pattern Language):
Scientific method /positivism objects to the
inability of Pattern Language type design to be
"objectively quantifiable">> THUS,
TREAT EACH PATTERN CRITICALLY
ignore the proscriptive/absolutist tone
scrutinise for aptness to local circumstances
(especially climatic suitability ; e.g. #105 south-facing
outdoors not good in tropics / southern hemisphere.
THESE PATTERNS CONTAIN RELATIVE
TRUTHS NOT ABSOLUTE TRUTHS 38

samples from Alexanders

A Pattern Language # 31 = Promenade pp.168-173
"Each subculture needs a center for
ARCHETYPAL PATTERNS (ex total of 253!!) its public life: a place where you can
go to see people, and to be seen."
# 31 = Promenade "encourage the gradual formation of
# 59 = Quiet Backs a promenade at the heart of every
community, linking the main activity
# 61 = Small Public Squares nodes, and placed centrally, so that
# 106 = Positive Outdoor Space each point in the community is within
10 minutes' walk of it. Put main
# 119 = Arcades points of attraction at the two ends, to
# 121 = Path Shape keep a constant movement up and
down."
# 176 = Garden Seat
39 40

# 59 = Quiet Backs # 61 = Small Public

pp.301-303 Squares pp. 310-314
"A town needs public
"Any one who has to squares; they are the
work in noise, in offices largest, most public rooms,
with people all around, that the town has. But when
needs to be able to they are too large, they look
pause and refresh and feel deserted."
[themselves] with quiet usually 45-60 ft (15-20m)
in a more natural across and never more than
situation" 70 ft (c.24m) across and
longer in the other direction
OK.
41 42
 # 106 = Positive Outdoor # 119 = Arcades
Space pp. 517-523 pp. 580-584
"Outdoor spaces which are merely
'left over' between buildings will, in "Arcades covered
general, not be used." walkways at the edge of
"Make all the outdoor spaces which buildings, which are partly
surround and lie between your inside, partly outside play
buildings positive. Give each one
some degree of enclosure; a vital role in the way that
surround each space with wings of people interact with
buildings, trees, hedges, fences, buildings.
arcades, and trellised walks, until it
becomes an entity with a positive
quality and does not spill out
indefinitely around the corners."
43 44

# 121 = Path Shape # 176 = Garden Seat

pp. 589-592 pp. 815-817
"Streets should be for "Somewhere in every
staying in, and not just for garden, there must be at
moving through, the way least one spot, a quiet
they are today." garden seat, in which a
"Make a bulge in the middle person or two people
of a public path, and make can reach into themselves
the ends narrower, so that
the path forms an enclosure and be in touch with
which is a place to stay, not nothing else but nature."
just a place to pass
through."
45 46

(3) Phenomenological approaches

Sense of Place & placelessness (4) LANDSCAPE MEANINGS
PHENOMENOLOGY W.G. Hoskins (UK) 1955:
= searching for empathetic understanding ORDINARY (countryside) LANDSCAPES
(part of HUMANISTIC GEOGRAPHY) J.B. Jackson (USA) 1986:
'Topophilia' (YI-FU TUAN) VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE
'Placelessness' (E. RELPH) D.W. Meinig (USA) 1979:
ORDINARY LANDSCAPES
Phenomenology of architecture (NORBERG-SHULTZ)
Following to be covered in FUTURE Lectures
People Places (MARCUS & FRANCIS)
J. Appleton (UK): 1975
Power of Place (DELORES HAYDEN) Biological response to l'scape aesthetics
to be covered in FUTURE Lectures Cosgrove & Daniels (UK) 1988:
47 ICONOGRAPHY 48
 The Making of
the Landscape
W.G. Hoskins (1955):
The Making of the
English Landscape
(revised 1989, editor
Christopher Taylor)
HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
MEET and transform the
understanding of generations
of academics & ordinary folk
about their own surroundings
ORDINARY
LANDSCAPES
D.W. Meinig (USA) 1979:
different authors' essays on
interpreting cultural landscapes
recognising the value of the
ordinary AS WELL AS the
masterwork!
Acknowledges pioneering studies
by Hoskins & Jackson
More later from Lewis & Meinig
Common Ground (UK) discussed in week 1
http://www.commonground.org.uk/
(3) Landscape Meanings VERNACULAR (3) Landscape Meanings
LANDSCAPE
J.B. Jackson (USA) 1986:
compilation of essays
exploring the everyday
surroundings of USA
landscape historian
considering cultural
geographical subjects &
making them of interest to
many different disciplines &
people
49 50
(3) Landscape Meanings
SUMMARY so far
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE THEORY !
It is of multi-disciplinary interest:
e.g. geographers, landscape architects, planners,
historians (including environmental, landscape and
social specialisations), etc.
There are MORE WAYS of FINDING MEANINGS
associated with landscapes considered
NOW LET'S LOOK AT THE APPLICATION of these
51 THEORIES 52
CLERMONT
Investigating Queensland's Cultural
Landscapes
http://www.dbe.bee.qut.edu.au/research/CLRU
/projects/contestedterrains/index.html
QUT Cultural Landscapes Research Unit [CLRU]
53
54
http://www.dbe.bee.qut.edu.au/research/CLRU/ DEFUNCT!
 Dr. Helen Armstrong, Professor Emerita, QUT
http://www.culturallandscapes.org/

Contested Terrains Project Reports:

Available from QUT Bookshop+Library
Check out PICTORIAL pdf

Restoring the Waters project

http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iSubCatID=5
67&iNavCatID=157
http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=2746&iNavCatID=1
609&iSubCatID=1619 55 56

LANDSCAPE VIEWPOINTS: Finally, a DESIGN reminder

reminders... AUTHORSHIP of CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Different views or interpretations of the landscape are rarely is both planned & unplanned and BY BOTH:
held in isolation FOLK CULTURE
Generalists using vernacular traditions or popular fashions
CLASSIC (PROFESSIONAL) CULTURE
Specialists such as Landscape Architects, Urban
Designers, Planners, Architects, Engineers, etc.
Observer Biases or beliefs & attitudes affect both DESIGN & We all contribute to the built environment and
INTERPRETATIVE processes
more approaches to understanding our world are being
cultural landscape!
constantly devised
you need keep up to date! 57 The End. 58

Further Reading:
Motloch, John L. (2001) An Introduction to Landscape
Architecture, 2nd edition,
NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Chapter 1, pp. 7-21
PLUS, other works briefly cited on previous slides.

59
 UNDERSTANDING Purpose of Lecture
To introduce Gordon Cullen's ideas about
URBAN FORM 'TOWNSCAPE' part (1)
To introduce Kevin Lynch's theories of
LEGIBILITY & IMAGEABILITY part (2)
To introduce the RESPONSIVE
TOWNSCAPE ideas of Ian Bentley et al
PLACE 2 part (3)
Understanding visual character of cities
DLB310 People and Place 2007 helps designers and planners
Hardcopy of this presentation available in Resource Lab. to make better new places
2 to know what to keep of existing places/things

UNDERSTANDING CITIES DESIGN PROCESS

" beholding [seeing with
understanding] is just not a
mirror which always SUMMARY OF TRADITIONAL (Rational)
remains the same, but a
living power of
METHOD of problem solving:
apprehension which has its 1.data gathering e.g.
own inward history and
has passed through many 2.ANALYSIS of data Townscape analysis
stages."
Source: Heinrich Wfflin, 3.SYNTHESIS of solution
Principles of Art History, 4.EVALUATION of aptness of solution
1915, trans. by M. D.
Hottlinger, cited in Edmund
N. Bacon's Design of
Cities. London: Thames &
3 Hudson, 1982 [1967]. 4 Townscape analysis is about understanding urban form

"Townscape": Gordon Cullen TOWNSCAPE:

1961 first published slow down and smell the flowers!
"townscape" = a term to
POST World War 2 "The speed of change
(after 1945) = prevents the environment
describe the physical form
& content of urban areas rapid change organisers from settling
rapid expansion & down and learning by
PART (1)

his book was a reaction to
development experience how to
postwar (WW2)
sometimes destructive humanise the raw
destruction of cities ideas of Modernist material thrown at them.
Subsequently published architects/planners! In consequence the
as "Concise Townscape" need to improve living environment is ill-
(1st published 1971, conditions digested."
1999 reprint; still in print!) need for continuity as well
5 6 as progress Cullen (1971:13)

1
 "pedestrian priority"
"a victim of
prairie planning
the whole city does not have to be
traces out his for fast traffic flows (Cullen 1991:122)
public protest,
the reminder of a
properly
concentrated
town."

Cullen 1991: 132-133

7 8

"Concise Townscape" Structure 1st part: CASEBOOK

Cullen's concepts about VISUAL CHARACTER OUTLINING THE MAJOR CONCEPTS
embrace 3 dimensional space & movement through
space not just a 2D understanding of visual
elements & design principles
Numerous illustrations
Cullen's observations about enjoyable urban
qualities are given photographic form or through
evocative quick sketches
Concise captions explain illustration & concept
1st part = CASEBOOK
Serial vision + place + content + functional tradition
2nd part = GENERAL STUDIES
9 10
Concerning OPTICS: serial vision
Concerning PLACE
considerations about where our bodies are as we
travel through spaces (outside it, entering it, the
middle of it)
Concerning CONTENT
considerations of the 'fabric of towns'
functional tradition
The intrinsic quality of made things structures,
bridges, paving, lettering and trim that help to
define distinctiveness

2nd part: Now Some Examples of Townscape

GENERAL STUDIES Qualities from the Casebook
Squares for all tastes Street lighting Including: PLACE QUALITIES
Cross as Focal Point Outdoor publicity SERIAL VISION focal point
Closure The wall CONTENT outdoor room & enclosure
QUALITIES multiple enclosure
Line of life The English climate
exposure defining space
Legs and wheels Casebook precedents silhouette
intimacy
Hazards Trees incorporated (grandiose) vista
animism
The floor Change of level (contrasts in) scale mystery
Prairie planning Here and there trees incorporated the maw
Rule of thumb Immediacy publicity hazards

11 12

2
 SERIAL
Townscape: focal point
VISION
coupled with enclosure
movement through vertical symbol of
space congregation
sequence of views
confirms
sudden revelations this is spot ; it is here
progressive changes Cullen 1999:26
of scale, texture,
shadows, etc.
= an enjoyable (?)
journey & story
through horizontal
13 and/or vertical space 14

Townscape: Townscape:
outdoor room & enclosure multiple enclosure
embodies hereness Spatial variations on
enclosure
enclosure
Layers of here and
device to instil sense
beyond, then cloister
of position walls
Cullen 1999:29 i.e. interpenetrating
spaces
especially useful in
warmer climates where
shaded/roofed outdoor
spaces are for living in
Cullen 1991:30
15 16

Townscape: Defining Space
Walls, hedges, roofs are
obvious ways
Subtler ways include:
Tree canopies
Lattice or trellis work
Metal lighting frameworks, etc
NB. Even the slightest
gesture (fragility of material)
can provide a sense of
enclosure
Cullen 1991:32
17
Townscape:
Silhouette
Reacting against the Modernist
building as a drab slab block
"whereas the tracery, the
filigree, the openwork ridge
capping all serve to net the sky,
so that as the building soars up
into the blue vault it also
captures it and brings it down to
the building"
Cullen 1991:40
['Points' that pierce the sky also
exciting]
18

3
 Townscape: Townscape:
grandiose vista mystery
exploits Here & There glimpses of the
concepts unknown / half
links foreground to revealed other
background puzzles &
produces sense of power paradoxes
e.g. Royal Palace at where anything
Versailles, France could happen
Cullen 1999:41 Cullen 1999:51

19 20

Townscape:
the maw
"Black, motionless and
silent, like a great animal
with infinite patience, the
maw observes
nonchalant people
passing to and fro in
sunlight. This is the
unknown which utter
blackness creates."
especially possible in
strong light of
sub/tropical climates
21 Cullen 1991:52 22
Townscape:
'hazards'
to prevent physical
access (linking of
spaces)
but continues visual
access (visibility)
semi-public spaces
=sharing the private
cv. the ha-ha device
Cullen 1999:56

Some Examples of Townscape Townscape CONTENT: intimacy

CONTENT: exposure [within urban built environment]
enclosure
emptiness
little sky
expanse of sky
friendly materials
openness
(bricks, timber etc.)
e.g. top of hill, beside
contrast of luxuriant
sea, middle of large
plants
square
full of life
little evidence of life
Cullen 1999:69
Cullen 1999:69

23 24

4
 Townscape CONTENT : Townscape CONTENT :
animism contrast in scale/distortion
This is That
scale as tool in
suggestion of a
juxtaposition
face on buildings
scale is not size
animals/people
in building similar scales or
decoration contrasts in scales
="Caryatids"
fun or annoying variety of moods evoked

Cullen 1999:72 by scale

Cullen 1999:79-81
Cole 1922:24
25 26

Townscape CONTENT : Townscape CONTENT:

trees incorporated publicity
mostly = signage
organic life (trees)
combined with built can add vitality / humour
environment to scene
can overwhelm if too
can make buildings small
much
can make buildings large
(ie. intrusive)
provides extra ornament
can be offensive or
provides sense of evocative
connection with nature or boring
Cullen 1999:82 Cullen 1999:85
27 28 Seen in the City of York, 1990

Townscape Townscape
ANALYSIS: ANALYSIS:
"kinetic unity" disrupted Example of text &
by ubiquitous quick sketch
standardized problem combination
solving (street lighting) excellent
communication of
beware of standard
ideas
solutions ruining local
Cullen 1991:165
distinctiveness
Cullen 1991:147

29 30

5
 TOWNSCAPE:
Closing remarks on Cullen
affirmations
"RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENT Cullen helps us see towns/cities more deeply,
I AM HERE. I am in this room, it is now.
Awareness of Space.
more exactly, encouraging the detective in us all
THEY ARE THERE. That building is charming or ugly. The more you look, the more you see
Awareness of mood or character. The more you read Cullen, the more you will get
I UNDERSTAND BEHAVIOUR. We walk about inside a from him, for your professional practice
web of perspective that opens before us and closes
behind us. There is a time structure. REFERENCE: Cullen, Gordon (1999),
I ORGANISE. I can manipulate Spaces and Moods,
The Concise Townscape, (first published 1971),
Knowing their Behaviour, to produce the home of London: Architectural Press.
[people]."
Cullen (1999:194-5) Emphasis added The end of Part (1)
31 32

Who was Kevin Lynch? Kevin Andrew Lynch, 1918-1984,

He was an American Planner who studied at Yale University, 1935-1937; Taliesin (under Frank Lloyd
Wright), 1937-1939; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1939-
pioneered townscape analysis in the 1940; and received the B.C.P. degree from the Massachusetts
1960s. Institute of Technology in 1947. He was appointed instructor in
city planning at MIT in 1948, assistant professor in 1949,
Many publications on planning and
PART (2)

associate professor in 1955, and professor in 1963. Lynch

influenced the field of city planning through his work on the
urban design including: theory of city form, and on the perception of the city environment
Good City Form and its consequences for city design. ... Lynch's seven books
and many articles include Image of the City (1960), which
The Image of the City summarizes a 5-year study he co-directed with Gyorgy Kepes on
Site Planning how people perceive their cities; What Time is This Place (1972),
which examines how time may be passed in cities, as well as
Coined terms legibility and imageability urban conservation; and Growing Up in Cities (1977), which he
edited and which explores how environments affect children.
33 Also refer to Essay "Good City Form" (OLT site) 34 [http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/memory.html downloaded 5 July 1999]

CONTEXT:
post-WW2 Modernist
architecture & planning
Lynch noted that way-finding was
easier in traditional older cities
where
Important public buildings were
bigger & different
Biggest open spaces related to
most important buildings
Passers-by could see the
activities inside where privacy
allowed it (e.g. blacksmithies),
etc.
This 'way-finding' he called
35 LEGIBILITY
'LEGIBILITY'
the ease with which [cityscape] parts can be recognized
and organized into a coherent pattern. i.e.. a city can
be legible like a printed page of language symbols or
graspable the visual clarity of the cityscape
Lynch (1997:3)
IMAGES: Bentley 1985:42 Legibility is more than way-finding residents need
emotional security (the opposite of fear or
disorientation); "the sweet sense of home is strongest
when home is not only familiar but distinctive as well."
Lynch (1997:5)
36

6
 'IMAGEABILITY' CITY IMAGE ELEMENTS
"that quality in a physical object which gives it a high probability
of evoking a strong image in any given observer. It is that shape, Lynchs 5 elements or
colour, or arrangement which facilitates useful mental images of features for determining
the environment."
Lynch (1997:9)
city image (to the
Workable IMAGE = Identity, Structure, and Meaning: "observer") :
distinctiveness + spatial or pattern relation of the object and PATHS
observer and other objects + individual and common meanings
Lynch (1997:8-9)
EDGES
"Since image development is a two-way process between DISTRICTS
observer and observed, it is possible to strengthen the image NODES
either by symbolic devices, by retraining of the perceiver, or by
reshaping one's surroundings." LANDMARKS
Lynch (1997:11)
37 38

1. Paths 2. Edges
Edges are the linear elements not
Paths are the channels along which used or considered by the observer.
the observer customarily, They are the boundaries between
occasionally, or potentially moves two phases, linear breaks in
People observe the city while moving continuity
through it, and along these paths the
Lynch (1997: 47)
other environmental elements are
arranged and related. e.g. walls, shorelines, railway
Lynch (1997: 47)
cuttings, edges of development
may be penetrable [= seam] or
e.g. streets, walkways, transit lines, not [= barrier]
canals, railways . . . important organizing features (such as
paths = the predominant image of holding together areas)
city for many people
39 40

3. Districts 4. Nodes
"medium-to-large sections of the city,
conceived of as having two- "Nodes are points, the strategic
dimensional extent, which the points in a city into which an
observer mentally enters 'inside of', observer can enter, and which are
and which are recognizable as having the intensive foci to and from
some common, identifying character. which he (sic) is travelling."
Always recognizable from the inside,
Lynch (1997: 47-48)
they are also used for exterior
reference if visible from the outside." e.g. major junctions in roads, or
Lynch (1997: 47) concentrations or condensation of
e.g. for Brisbane: Bayside [Redland or character (street corners) ...
Bramble?]; Gardens Point . . . what cores of districts can be like a node
others?
41 42

7
 Examples of ANALYSIS:
5. Landmarks LEGEND
"Landmarks are another type of
point-reference, but in this case
the observer does not enter within
them, they are external."
Lynch (1997: 48)
e.g. a physical object such as a
building, sign, store, mountain,
statue . . .
can be close-by or far distant
may be atop other objects (towers)
frequently used clues of IDENTITY Bell Tower (Campanile)
and STRUCTURE in St. Mark's Square
(Piazza San Marco),
43 44 [Lynch 1997:145]
Venice [Lynch 1997:79]

Examples of ANALYSIS: Examples of ANALYSIS:

BOSTON (derived from Sketch Maps) BOSTON (derived from verbal interviews)

[Lynch 1997:146]
[Lynch 1997:146]
45 46

Examples of ANALYSIS: Examples of ANALYSIS:

Beacon Hill, Boston Beacon Hill

[Lynch 1997:161]
[Lynch 1997:161]
47 48

8
 Examples of ANALYSIS: Beacon Hill CONCLUSIONS
districts, landmarks, etc. Lynchs method of townscape analysis is applicable to
both :
UNDERSTANDING existing urban form, and
DESIGNING proposed urban form
[both Lynch 1997:169] Also Refer to Bentley et al (1997) for discussion of
LEGIBILITY
REFERENCES:
Lynch, Kevin (1960): The Image of the City, Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press. [25th printing in 1997!]
Bentley, Ian et al (1985): Responsive Environments : a
manual for designers,
Oxford: Architectural Press, pp. 42-47+
[6th printing 1997]

49 50 The end of Part (2)

RESPONSIVE TOWNSCAPE "Responsive Environments"

REFERENCE: Bentley, Ian et al (1985):
Responsive Environments : a manual for
designers, Oxford: Architectural Press.
PART (3)
"the design of a place affects the choices people
can make "
aimed at designers (public & private), to help

Authors = Ian Bentley, Alan Alcock, Paul

Murrain, Sue McGlynn & Graham Smith.
They are a collaborative group of
architects, urban designers, landscape
architects, planners, etc.
NB. Authors believe that giving people lots of
51 choices is the key to successful place-making!
them make urban places more useful, enriching,
exciting and understandable for users.
these ideas useful for both ANALYSIS of existing
situations & for new DESIGNS.
7 KEY ISSUES in making places 'responsive'
52

7 KEY ISSUES: PERMEABILITY

"Only places that are accessible to people can offer
PERMEABILITY them choice. The quality of permeability - the number of
VARIETY alternative ways through an environment - is therefore
central to making responsive environments."
LEGIBILITY (remember Lynch?)
[Bentley 1985: 10]
ROBUSTNESS
2 permeability types: PHYSICAL & VISUAL
VISUAL APPROPRIATENESS
need to balance public / private access
RICHNESS
need for both fronts & backs
PERSONALISATION.
but be warned : these words have special meanings smaller block size & more entrances increases
according to these authors . . . permeability

53 54

9
 VARIETY LEGIBILITY (Lynchs ideas)
"Permeability is of little use by itself. Easily "In practice, the degree of choice offered by a place
accessible places are irrelevant unless they offer depends on how legible it is: how easily people can
a choice of experiences. Variety - particularly of understand its layout."
uses - is therefore a second key quality." [Bentley 1985: 10]
[Bentley 1985: 10] Lynchs 5 elements or features for determining city image
variety of experience from places with varied (to the "observer") :
forms, uses & meanings PATHS
planning at large scale here (land uses) and EDGES
consideration of feasibility (functional, political & DISTRICTS
economic) of projects NODES
LANDMARKS
55 56

ROBUSTNESS VISUAL APPROPRIATENESS

"Places that can be used for different purposes
offer their users more choice than places whose
design limits them to a single fixed use . . . a
quality we call robustness."
[Bentley 1985: 10]
large-scale = buildings as a whole/ large part
able to be changed for another use
small-scale = particular spaces able to be used
in a variety of ways.
57
Now for the DETAIL appearance of things
"whether designers want them to or not, people
do interpret places as having meanings. A place
has visual appropriateness when these
meanings help to make people aware of the
choices offered by the [other] qualities ..."
[Bentley 1985: 10]
visual interpretation of meanings
>> 'contextual cues'
58

RICHNESS PERSONALISATION
By now dealing with SMALLEST DETAILS "It is . . . essentially important that we make it
"increase the choice of sense-experiences which possible for users to personalise places; this is
users can enjoy . . . called richness." the only way most people can put their own
[Bentley 1985: 11] stamp on their environment."
SENSES: [Bentley 1985: 11]
VISUAL personalising IMAGE of places
motion
in private sphere & public sphere (including
smell
hearing
public face of private buildings = fronts)
touch constraints: tenure, building type, & technology
59 60

10
 Final Comments on Bentley APPENDIX 1
ABOUT 1st steps in process:
contextual cues to support LEGIBILITY
use cues to support VARIETY & ROBUSTNESS
plus users experience & motivation
>> A RESPONSIVE DESIGN
putting it all together = Chapter 8 of Bentley et al. e.g.
links to site analysis
(mapped & photos of each link)
users & their compatibility matrix
legibility analysis, etc.

61 The Very End! 62

Cullen's Townscape Qualities of Cullen's Townscape Qualities of

PLACE (complete listing) PLACE (complete listing)
1. possession 25. division of space 37. recession
12. multiple enclosure
2. occupied territory 26. screened vista 38. anticipation
13. block house
3. possession in movement 27. handsome gesture 39. infinity
14. insubstantial space
4. advantage 28. closed vista 40. mystery
15. defining space
5. viscosity 29. deflection 41. the maw
16. looking out of enclosure
6. enclaves 30. projection & recession 42. linking & joining : the floor
17. thereness
7. enclosure 31. incident 43. pedestrian ways
18. here and there
8. focal point 32. punctuation 44. continuity
19. looking into enclosure
9. precincts 33. narrows 45. hazards.
20. pin pointing
10. indoor landscape & outdoor 34. fluctuation
21. truncation
room
22. change of level 35. undulation
11. outdoor room & enclosure
23. silhouette 36. closure

63 24. grandiose vista 64

Cullen's Townscape Qualities of Cullen's Townscape Qualities of

CONTENT (complete listing) CONTENT & Functional Tradition:
the categories : metropolis, CONTENT continued: FUNCTIONAL TRADITION:
9. propriety
town, arcadia, park, geometry
10. bluntness & vigour structures
industry, arable, wild 11. entanglement multiple use
1. the categorical landscape 12. nostalgia foils railings
2. juxtaposition 13. the white peacock relationship fences
14. exposure
3. immediacy scale steps
15. intimacy
4. thisness illusion scale on plan
16.
black & white
5. seeing in detail 17. metaphor distortion
6. secret town 18. the tell-tale trees incorporated lettering
animism calligraphy
7. urbanity 19.
trim
8. intricacy
20. noticeable absence
publicity The
21. significant objects the road. REAL
building as sculpture taming with tact.
65
22.
66 End.

11
 PLACE 3
More on 'Sense of Place'
and Landscape Meaning
DLB310 People and Place
2007
Hardcopy of presentation in Resource Lab.
More About Understanding Cultural Landscapes:
~A~ SENSE of PLACE
'Sense of Place' and PHENOMENOLOGY
phenomenological approaches = searching for empathetic
understanding
'Topophilia' (YI-FU TUAN)
'Sense of Place' & 'Placelessness' (E. RELPH)
3 4
Phenomenology
A philosophy which is founded on the importance of
reflecting on the ways in which the world is made
available for intellectual inquiry: this means that it
pays particular attention to the active, creative
function of language and discourse in making the
world intelligible
It rejects any assumption of separation of subject (the
observer) and object (the observed).
It is a powerful critique (even alternative) to Positivism
5 6
Johnston, R.J. et al (1997). Dictionary of Human
Geography. pp.438-441
SESSION OUTLINE
More on cultural landscape theories:
PART A ~ 'SENSE OF PLACE'
PHENOMENOLOGY
Yi-Fu Tuans TOPOPHILIA
Relphs PLACELESSNESS &
INSIDENESS & OUTSIDENESS
PART B ~ LANDSCAPE MEANINGS
Appleton's Prospect-Refuge Theory
Cosgrove & Daniels' Iconography
meanings of meaning: messages / intentions / values
garden meanings
2
PHENOMENOLOGY
originating within the realm of philosophy; phenomenology is a
movement growing in popularity because it challenges the primacy
of Cartesian logic and Hegel's idea of 'absolute knowledge'.
now widely used, particularly in Post-Structuralist studies where
the data, visual or discursive, are referred to as 'texts'.
applications are seen in cultural studies, sociology, cultural
geography, art and design, and even legal studies.
In the area of cultural geography, this has opened the door to
complex INTERPRETATIONS OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPES.
Source: Armstrong, Helen (2001) in Thematic Studies of Queensland
Cultural Landscapes (in preparation)
Yi-Fu Tuan & 'TOPOPHILIA'
Yi-Fu Tuan (b.1930); Chinese-American human geographer
1974 : Topophilia: A study of environmental perception, attitudes, & values
1977 : Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience
TOPOPHILIA = "Literally, love of PLACE. The term was introduced
into geography by Yi-Fu Tuan (1961) from its original use by the
French phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard in La Poetique de
l'espace (1958), who coined it with reference to the sense of poetic
reverie stimulated by our affective ties to the elemental world and
emotionally charged places."
[Source: Cosgrove, Denis, " Topophilia," In Johnston, R.J. et al,
eds. (1994), The Dictionary of Human Geography, 3rd ed. Oxford,
UK: Blackwell. pg. 633]
Topophilia (2)
"These [ties between human beings and the environment] differ greatly
in intensity, subtlety, and mode of expression Topophilia is not the
strongest of human emotions. When it is compelling we can be sure that
the place has become the CARRIER of emotionally charged events
or perceived as a SYMBOL."
(Tuan 1974:93)
"Topophilia gestures towards aesthetic, sensual, nostalgic and utopian
aspects of geographical awareness and investigation. It is thus an
important dimension of the symbolic significance of places and
landscapes Although topophilia refers primarily to positive emotions
about the world, the concept encompasses the ENTIRE RANGE OF
FEELINGS ABOUT PLACES, LANDSCAPES AND ENVIRONMENTS,
INCLUDING FEAR, DREAD AND LOATHING." (Cosgrove 1994:634)
emphasis added
7 8
Valued place: The Shingle Inn, Brisbane
9 10
Relph 1979:29-40
PROPERTIES OF PLACE
location
landscape (physical form)
time (continuity of involvement, repetition, flux)
community (shared interactions & identity)
private & personal spaces
rootedness and care for place (important human need to belong)
home as profound centre of human existence
drudgery of place (sense of place tied to hardships, meanness or
distance from preferred place of attachment)
essence of place (lies largely in unselfconscious intentionality that
defines places as profound centres of human existence)
11
Topophilia (3) >>> Sacred Places
"The garden is a type of the sacred place sacred places are the
location of hierophany [sacred appearance or manifestation]. A
grove, a spring, a rock, or a mountain acquires sacred character
wherever it is identified with some form of divine manifestation or
with an event of overpowering significance." (Tuan 1974:146)
Randy Hester, developed a term
'subconscious landscapes of the heart'
to describe the sacred places of urban communities. He reckons
that spatial values being "more useful to designers than our
present idea of landscape aesthetics."
[Source: Hester, Randy (1985) "Subconscious Landscapes
of the Heart," Places 2 (3), pp. 10-22. pp. 10-11]
Edward Relph & 'Placelessness'
1976 : Place and Placelessness
1981 : Rational Landscapes & Humanistic Geography
Place and sense of place do not lend themselves to scientific analysis
because they are inextricably bound up with all the hopes, frustrations,
and confusions of life, and possibly because of this social scientists
have avoided these topics. Relph 1976 Preface
PLACELESSNESS = a lack of a 'sense of place
Places are experienced in different ways:
relationship between space and value
different components and intensities of place experience
nature of the identity of places and the identity of people with places
sense of place and attachment to place are manifest in the making of
places and landscapes
Relph: 1979:49-55
INSIDENESS & OUTSIDENESS
EXISTENTIAL OUTSIDENESS = sense of not belonging or knowing a
place due to its unfamiliarity (physically or psychologically)
OBJECTIVE OUTSIDENESS = deliberate adoption of dispassionate
attitude towards places for purposes of academic consideration
INCIDENTAL OUTSIDENESS = deliberate attitude to experience places
as little more than background to the real focus (activities)
VICARIOUS INSIDENESS = experience of place in second-hand way
BEHAVIOURAL INSIDENESS = being in place & seeing it as a set of
objects, activities arranged in certain ways; qualities of appearance
EMPATHETIC INSIDENESS = emotional & empathetic involvement in a
place demands deliberate effort of perception
EXISTENTIAL INSIDENESS = truly within a place, implicitly knowing
that you belong, deep and complete identity with the place.
12
 More About Understanding Cultural Landscapes:
Sense of Place & Urban Design ~B~ LANDSCAPE MEANINGS
SOURCES of THEORY & PRACTICE: J. Appleton (UK) 1975: Prospect-Refuge Theory
NORBERG-SHULTZ, Christian (1979), Genius Loci : towards a Biological responses to l'scape aesthetics
phenomenology of architecture, New York : Rizzoli
Cosgrove & Daniels (UK) 1988: ICONOGRAPHY
MARCUS, Clare Cooper & Carolyn FRANCIS (1998), People
Places: design guidelines for urban open space, 2nd edition, New MEANING: Messages, Intentions & Values
York : Van Nostrand Reinhold.
GARDENS and meanings
HAYDEN, DELORES (1997), Power of Place: Urban Landscapes as
Public History, Cambridge MA: MIT Press
SPIRN, ANN WINSTON (1998), The Language of Landscape, New
Haven: Yale University Press.

This is your opportunity to learn more, now or later.

13 14

PROSPECT-REFUGE Prospect/Refuge Theory

Jay Appletons MAJOR PUBLICATION:
The Experience of Landscape (1975) PROSPECT =
Aesthetic experience based on intrinsic biological needs, thus, outward looking, view from
Habitat & PROSPECT-REFUGE Theories vantage point
"to see without being seen" Lorenz (1964) REFUGE =
lots of evidence found in present day behavioural observation, inwardly protected, secure
literature & art history
and safe, hideaway
based on environmental psychology research into 'primitive
behaviour' (e.g. hunting, escaping danger, shelter-seeking,
exploring)

MOST COMFORTABLE places are HIGH in prospect & refuge 15 16

With & without high prospect-refuge Mt Coot-tha Lookout c.1940

17 18
Fruit Barrow near
Botanic Gardens (1998) ICONOGRAPHY
Dennis COSGROVE & Stephen DANIELS (eds)
(1988) The Iconography of Landscape.
ICONOGRAPHY maintains that there is an over-riding
influence of CULTURE on landscape experience
(authors criticise/reject 'biological generalisations' of
Appleton's ideas & others)
Interpretation of landscapes based on original method
(iconology) devised by art historian (Erwin Panofsky)
around 1972 (see next slide)
19 20

ICONOLOGY Definition of Iconography

derived from work of ART HISTORIAN
Erwin Panofsky who devised this system to interpret
Medieval/Renaissance paintings:
1. primary meanings
(forms, motifs or styles);
2. secondary meanings
(themes, concepts or types); and,
3. the third layer of message-type
meaning (= iconology).
21
"Landscapes, both on the ground and represented on
various surfaces, are thus regarded as deposits of
cultural meanings. The iconographic method seeks to
explore these meanings through describing the form
and composition of landscapes, interpreting their
symbolic content and re-immersing landscapes in
their social and historical contexts."
Cosgrove, Denis (1994), "Iconography," In Johnston, R. J., Derek
Gregory, and David M. Smith, eds. (1994). The Dictionary of Human
Geography. 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. pg. 269
22

Landscape images evoke meanings Landscape images evoke meanings

http://www.subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au/designGallery.html

http://www.subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au/designGallery.html

Margate Beach
23 24
Landscape images evoke meanings
Other works of interest
http://www.subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au/designGallery.html

Further reference from Denis Cosgrove:

Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape
Originally published 1984, revised 1998
Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press
Also, landscape architect Geoffrey Jellicoe has
published numerous works on landscape meaning,
symbolism and HISTORY >> e.g. "Landscape of Man"

25 SEARCH THE LIBRARY for more works! 26

The Meanings of MEANING!

Searching for Landscape Meaning Meaning and Landscapes
When we find a meaning it is because we feel that it connects
intellectually, emotionally or spiritually with something deep but central Thus described as 4 aspects of landscape meaning:
within us the symbol connects with reality and the intention connects
with the action. Meaning, I conclude, is a sense of vital connection. as MESSAGES in the landscapes
STANFORD 1994: 285 emphasis added. (meanings signified)
THUS, 3 aspects of understanding MEANING... landscape as MEDIUM
as MESSAGES, which use symbols to connect ideas & information (the conveyor or expression of meanings)
to other people
as PURPOSES, which use actions to connect product and use as INTENTIONS
as SIGNIFICANCE, which uses the intellect, emotions or spirituality (purposes, originally and subsequently)
to connect values between people and other people, or things, or as landscape VALUES
places or events.
(meaningfulness and meaninglessness).
27 28

Landscape Meaning
Landscape MESSAGES (1)

MESSAGES Meaning resides in the power of the garden to express,

clarify, and reconcile oppositions and transform them into
inspirations. At any time, vastly different oppositions may be
critical. Today, they are six oppositions that the garden
transforms into muses, the spirits that inspire our time. These
six involve faith, power, ordering, cultural expression,
personal expression and healing
Francis, Mark and Randolph T. Hester Jr, eds. (1990), The Meaning
of Gardens: Idea, Place and Action. Cambridge, MA/London: MIT
Press. pg. 10 emphasis added
29 30
Landscape MESSAGES (2)
While not denying the landscape may indeed be a text on which
generations write their recurring obsessions [environmental
historians] are not about to rejoice in the fact. An arcadian idyll, for
example, seems just another pretty lie told by propertied
aristocracies (from slave-owning Athens to slave-owning Virginia)
to disguise the ecological consequences of their greed. Before it
can ever be a repose for the senses, landscape is the work of the
mind. Its scenery is built up as much as from strata of memory as
from layers of rock.
Schama, Simon (1995), Landscape and Memory. London:
HarperCollins. pp. 6-7
31
Landscape Meaning
INTENTIONS
33
Landscape INTENTIONS (2)
A functioning field or forest in a [Capability] Brown landscape
may have agricultural production as its program, but because
of its formal arrangement it may be experienced as an
evocation of a selected set of cultural values about the
landscape in general. That experience added a covert
function to the overt function of 'productive landscape'.
Bull, Catherin (1996), "A Purposeful Aesthetic? Valuing Landscape
Style and Meaning in the Ecological Age," Landscape Australia 18
(2, February), pp. 24-30. pg.26
35
Landscape MESSAGES (3)
SUMMARY:
a landscape is never an isolated creation.
It stands as the result of the culture that produced and
maintains it.
It is part of a collection of ideas, attitudes, and perceptions
about humanity, life and nature, that exist within varying
socio-political contexts.
Whether the landscape is 'designed' or created for
agricultural, forestry, mining or other purpose, this contextual
reality remains applicable.
32
Landscape INTENTIONS (1)
2 basic sorts of intentions:
OVERT INTENTIONS (or purposes)
Most overt intentions (the purposes that guide design choices) are
easily identified. They are expressed in the location, connections
and meaning of elements within a building or landscape.
COVERT INTENTIONS
(or supplemental meanings; hidden agendas).
The covert intentions, on the other hand, take a longer time to
recognise, due to their complexity, mutability and their connectivity.
34
Landscape Overt Intentions (3)
One approach for studying 'overt intentions' (use or purpose)
expressed in the landscape was instigated by architects
Moore, Mitchell and Turnbull.
They devised four categories for arranging the historic
gardens and landscapes under investigation, namely:
"settings, collections, pilgrimages, and patterns."
Moore, Charles W. et al (1989), The Poetics of Gardens. Cambridge,
Mass: MIT. pg. 49
36
Landscape Overt Intentions (4)
SETTINGS are metaphors
"some affinities to metaphor in literature, are places where the
relationship of things is so moving or so clear that the rest of the
world is illuminated for us." Moore et al (1989:49)
the setting can act as a medium to convey ideas or messages
about the human condition, life and meaning. These are settings
for meditative, reflective activities, among a variety of other more
prosaic functions.
Their examples of settings included:
Uluru (Australia), Ryoan-ji (Japan), Capability Brown's Parks
(Eng.), Isola Bella (Italy)*, and Bali. pp. 51-79
* Used as background for some Naboo scenes in Star Wars #2 movie !!
Find out more on these places in LANDSCAPE HISTORY texts 37
Landscape Overt Intentions (6)
PILGRIMAGES are narratives
"Some great gardens unfold like a narrative or a piece of
music as we move through them and view their carefully
choreographed wonders. [Pilgrimages] occur in nature, too, at
places where devotees journey to see some sacred spot."
Moore et al (1989:50)
Their examples of pilgrimages included:
Amarnath Shrine (Java), Lamayuru (Kashmir), Rousham
(England), Stourhead (England), Villa Lante (Italy), Safavid
Isfahan (Iran), and the Forbidden City (Beijing, China).
pp. 117-157
Find out more on these places in LANDSCAPE HISTORY texts 39
Landscape Covert Intentions (8)
central idea of SOCIAL VALUE is "attachment to place."
Johnston, Chris (1992), What is Social Value? A Discussion Paper. Technical
Publications Series, 3. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission / AGPS.
pg. 7.
Other 'covert intentions' are less concerned with attachment or
emotional responses to meanings, for instance, the representation
of power and status. These kinds of intentions were addressed by
Francis and Hester with their identification of 'forces' of meaning
("faith, power, ordering, cultural expression, personal expression
and healing").
Francis, Mark and Randolph T. Hester Jr, eds.
(1990), The Meaning of Gardens. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press. pg. 10 [emphasis added]
41
Landscape Overt Intentions (5)
COLLECTIONS are metonymies
METONYMY = name for another name, e.g. sceptre for sovereignty.
"If settings are metaphors, collections might be seen as
metonymies, made of fragments and relics that evoke their
origins. Nature occasionally collects startling arrays of natural
wonders at some special spot, but collection is mostly a
human game." Moore et al (1989:49)
Their examples of collections included:
Death Valley (USA), Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli (Italy), Yuan Ming
Yuan (China), Disneyland at Anaheim (USA), Summer Palace
(China), Katsura Imperial Villa (Japan), Sissinghurst (England),
and some botanical gardens (European and Sydney,
Australia). pp. 79-117.
Find out more on these places in LANDSCAPE HISTORY texts 38
Landscape Overt Intentions (7)
PATTERNS are verse
"Patterns" in gardens "are laid out in geometric shapes and
express visions of order of symmetry about a center or an
axis, perhaps, or of regular, repetitive rhythm. These have
affinities with verse, in which meter and rhyme create patterns
of sound."
Moore et al (1989:50)
Their examples of patterns included:
Ram Bagh at Agra (India), Lake Dal & adjacent gardens: Shalamar
Bagh, Nishat Bagh (Kashmir), Mughul tomb gardens: Humayan's,
Akbar's, Taj Mahal, etc. (India), The Alhambra & The Generalife
(Spain), Vaux-le-Vicomte (France), and Studley Royal (England).
pp. 158-205
Find out more on these places in LANDSCAPE HISTORY texts 40
Landscape Covert Intentions (9)
Historian Richard Grove identified several concepts ('icons') revered
and desired about the natural world in his study of European colonial
expansion: "two symbolic (or even totemic) forms seem to have proved
central to the task of giving a meaning and a epistemology to the
natural world and to western interactions with it. These are the
PHYSICAL OR TEXTUAL GARDEN and the ISLAND."
(Grove 1996:13)
"The GARDEN organised the unfamiliar in terms of species. The
TROPICAL ISLAND allowed the experiencing of unfamiliar processes in
a heightened sense, both because of the symbolic role which the island
was expected to perform and because of the first rate geomorphic
change in the tropics. The landscapes of island and garden were
metaphors of mind." Grove (1996:14)
42
 Landscape Meaning
VALUES
43
Landscapes VALUES (2)
2 Aspects of VALUING LANDSCAPES
APPRECIATING the landscape
ASSESSING THE VALUE(S) of the landscape.
both mutually dependent and influential.
APPRECIATION of the landscape is reflected in artistic endeavours
and expressions which in turn become influential factors on landscape
design and its appreciation.
Traditionally, the ASSESSMENT of landscape values was a principal
duty of conservation practitioners, but this activity has gradually
widened to include community consultation within the assessment
process.
45
Landscapes VALUES (4)
Valuing Historic Buildings:
[Useful tool / analogy for valuing landscapes]
3 KINDS OF POSITIVE VALUE (HARVEY 1972)
as "A WORK OF ART"
in the case of "great or exceptional buildings." pg. 18
for "PERMANENCE" or sense of stability:
"a building which has existed since before memory of those now alive
provides an anchorage." pg.18
for "CONSONANCE" or local distinctiveness:
"All buildings put up before c. 1900 tended to vary largely according to
local materials used and to display regional qualities in their design.
This applied to works of architecture and not merely to the vernacular
products of continuous tradition." pg. 19
47
LANDSCAPE VALUES (1)
"I MAY NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ART, BUT I KNOW WHAT I
LIKE!" says much about the way people apply significance, whether to
things, places and other people.
The emotional response is not the province of the intellectual aesthete
alone: everyone can (and should) have the right to hold an opinion and
express it.
'VALUE' IS A HUMAN CONSTRUCT part of the broad area of
'meaning' associated with human beings conferring significance on
places and things. This process of conferring significance can involve
value judgements, scientific logic, economic rationalisations or pure
guesswork, either singly or in various combinations.
44
Landscapes VALUES (3)
Landscape appreciation
term 'appreciating' is used here to denote a positive response, a
valuing of landscape.
is one of the key themes in many forms of literature and the fine
arts.
The history of describing and finding value in the landscapes
(whether more natural or cultural in character) is almost as old as
gardening itself.
E.g. travel accounts describing the landscape of Australia: the
unusual and bizarre, the huge and mighty, and the delicate and
beautiful, have all featured in these accounts.
Perceiving the landscape is the first step in appreciating it. And
there are many ways of understanding perception.
46
GARDEN MEANINGS
48
GARDEN MEANINGS (1)
"Hortus derives from gher, and one is struck by the fact that the concept
of garden was, in the early days, closely involved with the concepts of
family or household, of property, of defence, and even of community
layout, and though the becomes more closely identified in the course of
centuries with the growing of plants, WE CAN NEVER ENTIRELY
DIVORCE THE GARDEN FROM ITS SOCIAL MEANING; when we do
so, run the risk of defining the garden in strictly [a]esthetic or ecological
terms which is what many people are doing now." J.B. Jackson
(1980:21, emphasis added)
NOTE: In Indo-European gher meant 'fence' and ghort meant
'enclosure.' The descendants of these words included the Latin
hortus meaning 'garden.'
[Source: van Erp-Houtepen, Anne (1986), "The etymological origin of the garden,"
Garden Meanings (2)
"The power of the garden lies in its simultaneous existence as
an idea, a place, and an action. While each has value as a
way of thinking about gardens, viewing them together offers a
deeper, more holistic perspective on garden meaning The
garden exists not only as an idea of a place or an action but
as a complex ecology of spatial reality, cognitive process, and
real work."
Francis, Mark and Randolph T. Hester Jr, eds. (1990), The Meaning
of Gardens: Idea, Place and Action. Cambridge, MA/London: MIT
Press. pg. 8

49 50
Journal of Garden History 6 (3), pp. 227-31.]

Finally about meanings SUMMARY

"You can get too preoccupied with the exotic and rare In some This has been only an introduction to this area of
cases, it is just as IMPORTANT THAT WE MAINTAIN LOCAL
ASSOCIATIONS OR REGIONAL VARIETY OR NATURAL
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE theory
ABUNDANCE conservation whether of natural or cultural >>> YOU need to read more to understand more fully
heritage is legitimately ABOUT FAMILIARITY, PERSONAL hence the future readings and seminars!
VALUES AND MEANINGS, LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND
ASSOCIATIONS. Historians and ecologists would agree that Remember, there is no SINGLE way of interpreting
conservation is concerned ultimately with intimate relationships, landscapes, just as each person has a different set of
human and non-human. History that stubbornly contextual and values and preferences.
relativist craft may be the tool that enables us to grope for a
conservation ethic that is social as well as ecological." So, what are YOURS?
(Griffiths 1996:276-7, emphasis added)
51 52

REFERENCES: REFERENCES continued

Jackson, John Brinckerhoff (1980),
Francis, Mark and Randolph T. Hester Jr, eds. (1990), The Necessity for Ruins and other topics. Amherst, USA: University of
The Meaning of Gardens: Idea, Place and Action. Cambridge, Massachusetts Press.
MA/London: MIT Press.
Griffiths, Tom (1996), Johnston, R.J. et al, eds. (1994),
Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia. The Dictionary of Human Geography, 3rd ed. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moore, Charles W. et al (1989),
Grove, Richard H. (1996), The Poetics of Gardens. Cambridge, Mass: MIT
Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Stanford, Michael (1994),
Origins of Environmentalism, 1600-1860. Cambridge: Cambridge A Companion to the Study of History. Oxford UK: Blackwell.
University Press.
Harvey, John (1972),
Conservation of Buildings. London: John Baker.
53 The end! 54
Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

PLACE 4
Purpose of Session
AESTHETICS:
To provide a reminder about basic
DESIGN TOOLS (Language of Art)
Visual Qualities
To explore the basics of visual qualities
and (as used by designers) PART 1
Landscape To understand the basics of Aesthetics
Visual Assessment (from designer's viewpoint) PART 2
To understand what the term 'Landscape
Visual Assessment' means PART 3
To introduce some of the different LVA
DLB310 People and Place approaches (models) and their philosophical
paradigms
2

Traditional DESIGN TOOLS:

VISUAL ELEMENTS:
That can be manipulated by the designer to
meet client/user needs and evoke moods
point, line, 2D shape/3D form, colour/tone, texture.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES:
That govern the manipulation of elements to
certain effects; also, they influence the way we
perceive compositions and space
unity/variety; balance; emphasis/focalization; scale;
proportion; contrast/tension; movement/rhythm
3 4

John Ormsbee Simonds: (A)SITE VOLUMES or SPACES

Visual Qualities
Some ideas about the visual SITES have
and spatial environment, i.e. areas (2 dimensions) &
(A) SITE VOLUMES ex chapter 11 volumes (3 dimensions)
(B) VISUAL LANDSCAPE ex VOLUMES have
chapter 12
base plane
(C) CIRCULATION ex chapter 13
overhead plane
SOURCE: Simonds (1997)
Landscape Architecture: verticals
A Manual of Site Planning and 4D = time
Design. > infers change & movement !
5 Simonds pp. 177-215 6
PART (1)

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 1

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

Kinds of spatial impact

IMPACT of SPACE
SPACE IMPACTS HUMAN CHARACTER OF SPACE
PERCEPTION CAN CREATE
85% of perception is tension
VISUAL ! relaxation
Designers can create fright Simonds pp. 179-181
volumes for good or bad gaiety
(PLEASURE & contemplation
DISPLEASURE) dynamic action
preferably for the GOOD sensuous love
of clients/users! sublime, spiritual awe

What do such spaces look like? 7 8

Space size + preferred uses... Impacts and enclosure

Simonds pg. 192

Simonds pg. 186 9 10

Abstract line expression Overhead Space Definition...

Simonds pg. 193
Simonds pg. 198
space character
can suggest
suitable uses... "The form, height,
density, solidity,
translucence,
reflectivity, sound
absorbence,
texture, color,
symbolism, and
degree of overhead
enclosure all have a
telling effect on
the spatial quality."
11 12

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Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

Enclosure & screening (B) VISIBLE LANDSCAPE

A VIEW has 2 aspects

(in reality or rendering)
SPACE
Simonds pg. 202
perspective
(> cone of vision)
background
middle ground
foreground
LIGHT
brightness
shade
13 shadow Simonds, Chapter 12, pp. 218-237 14

Visible Landscape Aspects of VIEWS

COMPONENTS Simonds pg. 218

VIEW
power of suggestion ; conceal;
reveal [borrowed landscape] introducing
VISTA ENFRAMEMENT
enframement ; terminus (focus)
AXIS
directional, orderly, dominating
SYMMETRY
plan elements in equilibrium about a point or area or
axis or plane, e.g. bilateral, trilateral,
quadrilateral, or multilateral introducing BORROWED
Asymmetry LANDSCAPE = beyond
irregular, ?closer to nature your property boundary
15 16

Views & VISTAS ENFRAMEMENT & Vista

Simonds pg. 221 compatibility Simonds pg. 221

Human
peripheral Small and MASSIVE and
vision makes cute (twee) BRUTAL
views artefacts in artefacts in
experienced front of a front of a
MUCH GRAND small and
BIGGER than LANDSCAPE dainty view is
a graphic or look silly and equally
photographic detract from inappropriate
rendering the view - -> interior and
could ever ruining the exterior
conjure! experience designers
of both should be
artefacts & working
More on view! together!
ENFRAMEMENT 17 18

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 3

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

AXIS (plural axes) Also see

Cullens
Simonds pp. 227 & 228 Enframed vista
GRANDIOSE along AXIS
VISTA
e.g.
Palace of Versailles,
near Paris, France

19 20

SYMMETRY ASYMMETRY
Simonds pg. 230 Occult Balance
Simonds pg. 233

Occult means
secret, mysterious,
or not apparent on
mere inspection but
discoverable by
21 experimentation. 22

Lines of Approach
Simonds pg. 241
(C) CIRCULATION

MOTION is nearly always involved in experience

people, things, nature on the move
Circulation design includes pedestrian ways,
vehicular traffic (bicycle, car, truck, train, tram),
equestrian rides, etc.
SOME ASPECTS OF CIRCULATION
(1) lines of approach
(2) factors controlling movement
through space
Simonds, Chapter 13, pp. 240-277
23 24

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 4

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

CIRCULATION factors:
More lines we tend to move
Simonds pg. 241 Simonds pg. 242
along lines of least resistance
along easiest grades
toward that which pleases /
things wanted / excite curiosity /
points of highest contrast
to attain goal
toward the beautiful, the picturesque
as suits our moods or needs

25 26

CIRCULATION factors: CIRCULATION: we are directed

we are repelled by or guided by
Simonds pg. 242 Simonds pg. 242
Obstacles
implied patterns of
steep grades
circulation
the unpleasant
dynamic plan lines
the monotonous,
the uninteresting, Baffles / screens
the dull, the obvious / space dividers
the undesirable signs
the forbidding symbols
the demanding, danger, mechanical controls (gates,
friction, disorder, kerbs, barriers)
the ugly, the unsuitable 27 28

CIRCULATION: CIRCULATION: motion

we are induced to repose by...
Conditions of comfort / enjoyment /
rest
opportunity for privacy or fuller
appreciation of view, shape or detail
restriction of movement,
inability to proceed
imposed indecision
pleasant arrangements
of forms and space
functions related to rest
and repose
attainment of optimum
position.
horizontal, downward & upward
Simonds pg. 242 Simonds pg. 244
horizontal motion
easier, freer & more efficient, safer,
visual interest is in the vertical plane
downward motion or decline
easy but care needed, can give sense of refuge,
privacy vision is oriented to the base plane
upward motion or incline/rise/climb
hardest but ?exhilarating / sense of accomplishment,
implies military advantage, expanding views & vistas
it offers visual interest in the overhead plane, using sun
and sky to full effect
29 30

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 5

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

SEQUENCE
Finally about Simonds
Simonds
pg. 251
The terms used here are
further examples of the
"Progressive 'language of art' as applied to
sequential the built environment
realization get to know these ideas and
of a concept practice using the words and
or the concepts in your design
conditioned projects
attainment Simonds offers much more for
of a goal." the budding designer
please read his book and
Refer to
see for yourself enjoy!
Gordon Cullens
Serial Vision 31 32

OUTLINE of this section

"Aesthetics"
meanings of aesthetics
taste & learning
Notes & comments taken from the
likeable qualities: order &
lecture prepared by variety
Professor TOM HEATH (1989). perceptual order & variety
"Part 4, Aesthetics" in figure-ground
Introduction to Design Theory. seeing groups
Brisbane: QUT publication. ornament
symbolism
rational & irrational order
Arnheim's 4 organising
principles
A stimulation table!
PART (2) 34

meanings Heaths meaning...

"aesthetic Adjective. 1. Relating to the sense of
the beautiful or the science of aesthetics.
2. Having a sense of the beautiful; characterised
by a love of beauty. [Gk. aisthetikos perceptive] "
"aesthetics Noun. 1. Philosophy the science
which deduces from nature and taste the rules
and principles of art; the theory of fine arts; the
science of the beautiful, or that branch of
philosophy which deals with its principles or
effects; the doctrines of taste"
SOURCE: Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd edition 1997
Aesthetics deals with the affective or
emotional aspects of our response to
situations. Generally, we want people to like
our designs"
Are aesthetics subjective responses?
Or perhaps more accurately, are they an
individuals [private] response
35 [Heath pg. 53] 36

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 6

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim
POPULAR TASTE etc.
WHY ARE SO MANY RESPONSES SHARED?
ie 'shared likings'? Perhaps because of...
CONDITIONING -
or rather, because you are TOLD to!
PERSUASION - through advertising, educators,
peer group pressure, etc.
CONCLUSION: PEOPLE LIKE THINGS
BECAUSE THEY ARE LIKEABLE [!]
[Heath pp. 53-54]
LEARNED LIKES
Cultural Learning:
"A culture consists of habits or tendencies to act
shared by members of a society or social group."
(Murdock 1956) these habits are learned...
not very strong limitations because of 'cultural
borrowing "the main cause of social change"
Individual Learning - the selection of
possibilities depends on:
chance
persuasion
choice
[Heath pp.54-55]
Evolution, order & variety
Order is rewarding we need it...
"We may be sure that any animal which could
not or did not classify things effectively
would not have a chance of surviving for
long."
(Humphrey 1973)
Variety is also rewarding it creates an
opportunity to learn we need that too
[adaptation to change helps animals to
survive]
[Heath pp. 55-56]
PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7
12 April 1999
Its all a matter of taste?
WHAT ABOUT PEOPLES LIKINGS or
PREFERENCES DIFFERING? - due to
psychological differences:
introverts: high level of arousal \ avoid stimulation
extroverts: low level of arousal \ seek stimulation
physiological differences:
colour blindness ie. available/working senses
age ie. perceptual/info. processing capacities
MOSTLY DUE TO LEARNING [& experience]
37 [Heath pg. 54] 38
LIKEABLE QUALITIES
perhaps the 2 most important
likeable qualities are ORDER &
VARIETY.
"ORDER is the quality of containing
relatively little information."
"VARIETY is the quality of containing
a lot of information."
contrary but true WHY?
an evolutionary explanation
a psychological explanation
39 [Heath pg. 55] 40
Psychology, order & variety
AROUSAL:
There is NO 'ideal' level of arousal
extremely low levels of arousal = unpleasant
('sensory deprivation')
low levels of arousal = tends to go to sleep
intermediate levels = something interesting
very high levels of arousal = also unpleasant
('sensory overload')
arousal varies with amount & intensity of
stimulation
41 [Heath pg. 56] 42
7
Lecturer: Jeannie Sim
ART & SPORT
Art & Sport are both human creations that
produce pleasurable changes in arousal
"In sport, order (the rules) is mingled with an
element of chance (variety)."
" In representational art, order (form) is given
some content (what is represented). In
decorative and abstract art purely perceptual
order and variety are manipulated."
" since art and sport serve essentially the
same ends, those who are interested in one
are often uninterested in the other."
[Heath pp. 56-57]
PERCEPTUAL ORDER
PERCEPTUAL PSYCHOLOGY
2 findings were: Figure-ground
relations & formation of groups.
FIGURE & GROUND
The most basic form of
organisation of visual input from
the environment is its division into
figure and ground.
The fewer re-entrant angles the
contour of an object has, the
stronger its 'figure quality' and the
more it will stand out from its
background. (Law of Closure)
[Heath pg. 58]
PERCEPTUAL VARIETY
POINTS OF INTEREST: increase the information
content of a setting and therefore increase its variety.
Kinds of perceptual features shown to be 'visual
attractors':
CORNERS (very attractive > they give lots of information)
top contours (try line of type test: cover Top half cv.
Bottom)
vertical contours (more than horizontal)
sloping contours (more than vertical or horizontal)
face-like shapes (very strong attractors,
innate - demonstrated in infants only hours old!)
MOVEMENT (strongest attractor)
[Heath pg. 59]
PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7
12 April 1999
Perception & Cognition
PERCEPTION is not a passive but an active process,.
We construct the world we experience, and we
construct it according to rules which are common to
all people, because they are 'wired' into the brain.
Perceptual order and variety are thus relatively
reliable bases on which to design.
AND schemata are the basis for cognition
schemata may vary considerably between cultures,
and to some extent between individuals Cognitive
order and variety are somewhat less reliable bases
on which to design.
43 [Heath pg. 57] 44
Perceptual Order
SEEING GROUPS: In the process of perception,
objects are organised into groups
(1) Objects which are close together tend to be
seen as a group (Law of Proximity).
(2) Objects which are identical or similar in shape
and/or colour and/or texture and/or tone tend to
be seen as a group (Law of Similarity).
(3) Objects which form some kind of pattern tend
to be seen as a group. Where such a pattern
exists, a perceptual expectation will be formed
that is will continue (Law of Continuity).
45 [Heath pg. 58] 46
Ornament
"The primary importance of ornament is to
increase variety and thus create perceptual
interest."
uses of ornament:
to focus attention on important parts
for symbolic & expressive use
to increase unity of design
to emphasise defining elements (corners,
tops)
to preserve apparent solidarity (especially
when emphasising contours)
47 [Heath pg. 60] 48
8
Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

Cognitive Order Symbolism

2 types: both involving expectation & prediction...
SYNCHRONIC (same time)
expectation & prediction created by some regularity
in environment ... particularly some kind of pattern...
DIACHRONIC (across time)
expectation & prediction created by past experience...
schema stored in long term memory... of great
significance to design 'familiarity breeds contempt'
This is the psychological foundation on which the
commercial activity of fashion is built.
"Symbolism is a high level form of diachronic
cognitive order. Something can be a symbol of
something else if it has characteristics of features
which are in some way analogous to (like) some
characteristics or features of the thing symbolised.
The closer the analogy, the more effective the
symbolism."
not to be confused with SIGNS! Signs (& often
logos) don't have the analogy component
"symbolism is the relationship and expression is
the process by which the relationship is achieved."

[Heath pg. 60] 49 [Heath pg. 61] 50

4 Types of Symbolism Rational & Irrational Order

FUNCTIONAL
to mark the entrance to a building, to distinguish between
private/public areas or play/quiet areas...
ASSOCIATIVE
to recognise place for what it is must use some of
[commonly agreed] "cognitive schema"...
EFFECTIVE/BEHAVIOURAL
to convey info about how to behave in a setting to
reinforce or inhibit certain behaviours...
EVALUATIVE
to convey information about importance of activity
designed for...
[Heath pg. 61]
RATIONAL ORDER (CLASSICAL TRADITION)
= conforming to some rule or ratio (Arnheim 1966)
SYMMETRY [same/mirror about an axis/es]
PROPORTIONAL SYSTEMS
"repetition of similar shapes a different sizes"
IRRATIONAL ORDER (Romantic tradition)
= relies on "basic ordering principles of perception
other than the Law of Similarity [underlies rational
forms of order]"
51 [Heath pg. 63] 52

Arnheim's 4 STIMULATION TABLE

Organising Principles STIMULATION STIMULATION
REDUCING INCREASING
HOMOGENITY (Order) (Beauty) (Complexity) (Interest)
unity of colour and/or texture and/or tone
Homogeneity/harmony of Heterogeneity/contrast of
CO-ORDINATION colour, texture, tone colour, texture, tone
"A place for everything and everything in its Few/smooth contours Many/rough or irregular
place" - a low definition form of order
[ie conforming to proportion] contours
HIERARCHY Few identifiable objects, Many identifiable objects,
"An order based on the dominance of some elements, parts elements or parts
parts over others."
Similarity of parts Variety of parts
ACCIDENT
Symmetry, pattern in Asymmetry, randomness
"irrational co-ordination with high definition"
[detailing]
arrangement of parts in arrangement of parts
Static Changing or moving
[Heath pg. 64] 53 (continues) 54

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 9

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

STIMULATION STIMULATION Final Remarks

REDUCING INCREASING about Heath's "Aesthetics"
(Order) (Beauty) (Complexity) (Interest)
REFER TOM HEATH (1989).
Conventional, predictable Novelty, surprise "Part 4 Aesthetics" in
Clear, intelligible, rational Ambiguous, enigmatic, Introduction to Design Theory.
[ie conforming to proportion] irrational Brisbane: QUT publication
Durable Temporary + references he cites for further
detail
High definition Low definition
[ie 'good detailing'] This is just a beginning in the
never-ending story of matters
Few people Many people
AESTHETIC and PHILOSOPHICAL
Permanent / no user / Manipulable / explorable hope you enjoy the journey!
control / safe responsive / adventurous
[Heath pg. 69]
55 56

What is Basic Site Survey:

landscape visual assessment? SITE STRUCTURE
DEFINITIONS: IDENTIFY & RECORD THESE ASPECTS:
Landscape = the appearance of an area, the
assemblage of objects used to produce that focal points
appearance, and the area itself. visual / physical edges
Source: Dictionary of Human Geography (3rd ed) (1994)
Landscape visual assessment = analysing the visual nodes
character and/or significance of areas of land for some landmarks
specific purpose (often for management and
protection). zones [districts]
[PARADIGM means 1. The set of all forms paths/corridors.
2. a pattern; an example.]
(Remember those Lynchian ideas? This is
PART (3) 57 another way of making use of his ideas!) 58

Basic Site Survey:

VISUAL CHARACTER
IDENTIFY & RECORD THESE ASPECTS:
landscape distinctiveness
visual quality (poor / good condition etc.)
Intrusive elements
viewshed (like a watershed: from ridge to ridge)
external view points towards site
orientation points & vistas from site
special landscape & visual characteristics
(rock outcrops, white water, ancient trees,
building ruins) What is a viewshed? What are intrusive elements or
59 distinctive elements? 60

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 10

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

ORIGINS of (Some) MODELS (methods for

landscape visual assessment
Mid-late 20th century outlook that landscape is a
RESOURCE, thus...
It was perceived need to protect and manage
landscapes (like any other resource)
original analysis of values based on SCIENTIFIC
METHOD: repeatable, reliable, etc.
i.e. a reductionist approach (compared with later
attempts to become more holistic)
BASIC OBSERVATION from Year 2000: what is the
appropriate method depends on the purpose and
scale of place for assessment.
61
undertaking assessment)
GEOGRAPHIC / CHARACTER ANALYSIS [landscape units]
(an expert paradigm)
FORMAL AESTHETIC CRITERIA
(an expert paradigm)
VISUAL PERCEPTION PREFERENCES
(cognitive / psychological paradigm)
NARRATIVE/S
(experiential paradigm --> phenomenology and hermeneutics)
SOCIAL VALUES
(combination: geographic / narrative = public opinion]
PSYCHO-PHYSICAL ANALYSIS [>> ex USA]
(combination: geographic, formal aesthetic+parts narrative/social value)
VISUAL-LANDSCAPE IMPACT ASSESSMENT [>> ex UK]
(combination: geographic /formal aesthetic) Etc.
62

4 models in some detail: 1 Formal Aesthetic Criteria

(1) Formal Aesthetic Criteria
(2) "Scenic Management System" (USFS)
(3) Psycho-Physical Analysis Ray Greens
1998 PhD thesis
(4) CASE STUDY: Queensland Coastal Visual
Evaluation project
AN 'EXPERT' PARADIGM: e.g. used by
US Forest Service
UK landuse in countryside
(US) Kevin Lynchs studies of cities
(UK) Gordon Cullens townscape analyses
using basic skills for artists & designers,
i.e. design tools (= visual elements &
design principles)

63 64

Scenic Management
2 System (USFS) 3 Psycho-Physical Analysis
CHARACTER TYPES & ECOLOGICAL UNITS rated for: COMBINATION: GEOGRAPHICAL, FORMAL
Visual prominence AESTHETIC & parts of NARRATIVE, SOCIAL
Scenic Integrity VALUES [ex USA]
Scenic Quality --- based on these factors: Raymond James Green (1997),
naturalness Community perception of town character : a case
Seeking those study unpublished PhD thesis, Queensland University
water & land-water edges
alleged of Technology.
uniqueness & representativeness UNIVERSAL [case study using Byron Bay, NSW]
relative relief & ruggedness RESPONSES Gardens Point Library Stack = not for loan:
diversity & variety (psychology) Catalogue Number: T(BE&E) 1437
patterns e.g. humans
like/prefer water!
65 66

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 11

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

EG: Queensland Coastal Qld Coastal Visual Evaluation:

4 Visual Evaluation project PROCEDURE
By a group of consultants: EDAW, Alan Chenoweth & STATEWIDE OVERVIEW
Katherine Brouwer (1994) = 8 landscape character types + 9 broad
COMBINATION: USA & UK approaches; cultural/historic themes
overlaying
REGIONAL CONTEXT
1. Scenic Quality
2. Contribution to Regional Identity
>> LANDSCAPE SUBREGIONS
3. Cultural Heritage DISTRICT
4. Cultural Values & Contribution to Identity >> LANDSCAPE SETTINGS
5. Sensitivity LOCAL
6. Scenic Integrity >> LAND TYPES
overlay OHT from report: LOST! Sorry!
REFER 3 OHTs from reports: lost also.
67 68

Qld Coastal Visual Evaluation: Qld Coastal Visual Evaluation:

THEMES Refer 3 OHTs [lost!!]. SUMMARY
.
The 9 CULTURAL THEMES were: (1) Landscape Structure Units (2) Views & Viewpoints

indigenous themes & values

discovering the coast (3) DERIVE Landscape Units (4) PREPARE Scenic Quality Criteria

navigating the coast

(5) Scenic Quality (6) Visual Accessibility (7) Visual Absorption
maritime transport ANALYSIS Assessment Capacity
defending the coast
industries (10) Management Objectives (8) Visual Resource Management Zones
imprisonment & isolation & Development Controls
integrated in Land Use
leisure & recreation Planning Framework (9) Visual Resource Management Strategy
69 70

2003: Scenic Amenity Fig

5 of Caboolture Shire

Consultants Report
prepared by:
Forest Images P/L (Robert
Preston)
Geo Mapping
Technologies P/L
Petmond (consulting) P/L
Buckley Vann Town
Planning Consultants P/L
71 72

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 12

Lecturer: Jeannie Sim
Fig
73
75
References on
Basics of Visual Qualities:
John L. Motloch (1991).
Chapter 8 Visual Arts as Ordering Mechanism, in
Introduction to Landscape Design. NY: Van
Nostrand Reinhold.
John Ormsbee Simonds (1997).
Chapter 11 Site Volumes;
Chapter 12 Visible Landscape; &
Chapter 13 Circulation, in Landscape
Architecture: A Manual for Site Planning and
Design. 3rd edition. NY: McGraw-Hill.
77
PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7
12 April 1999
Fig
74
76
Other Selected References:
Hopper, Leonard J. (2006). Applying Visual
Resource Assessment for Highway Planning, pp130-
139. In Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
Sim, Jeannie (2004), Design Basics: an introduction
to rudimentary design ideas and sources. Brisbane:
QUT/PLAS. [lecture notes at QUT Bookshop, GP)
Bell, Simon (1993), Elements of the Visual Design in
the Landscape, London: E & FN Spon. [>QUT lib]
78
13
Lecturer: Jeannie Sim 12 April 1999

References continued
Catherin Brouwer Landscape Architects and Chenoweth &
Associates P/L (1994), Volume 1: Coastal Visual Landscape
Evaluation Procedure, Volume 2: The Whitsunday Region
Trial, separate reports for the Dept of Environment &
Heritage, Coast Management Branch, Sept. 1994.
Woodward, Ross and Fergus Neilson (1981), Rural Land
Evaluation Manual: a manual for conducting a rural land
evaluation exercise at the local planning level, Sydney:
Dept of Environment and Planning. [>QUT lib]

THE END
79

PSB 411 DESIGN 1: Lecture 7 14

 PURPOSE of SESSION
PLACE Lecture 5

To understand meaning as part of

Landscape Interpretation: various approaches to LANDSCAPE
INTERPRETATION
Reading the Landscape To introduce some DIFFERENT
WAYS of FINDING LANDSCAPE
MEANINGS
7 Axioms for Reading Landscapes
(Pierce Lewis)
DLB310 People and Place
10 Different Viewpoints or Observer
2007 Biases (D.W. Meinig)

New versions of Place 4 and Place 5 on a CD ROM in Resource Centre!

2

LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION Pierce F. Lewis:

2 ways to study LANDSCAPE MEANING:
"Axioms for READING THE LANDSCAPE:
Some guides to the American Scene" by Pierce F. Lewis
"The Beholding Eye: Ten Versions of the Same Scene"
by D.W. Meinig (ie. Observer Biases)
Sources: Both chapters appear in The Interpretation of
Ordinary Landscapes, edited by D.W. Meinig (1979) and are
summarised in Introduction to Landscape Design by John L.
Motlock (1991). SEE REFERENCES AT END
"Axioms for Reading the Landscape"
"The basic principle is: that all human landscape has cultural
meaning, no matter how ordinary that landscape may be."
Lewis 1979:12
Lewis 7 Axioms are guides to help us read the landscape,
i.e. essential ideas for understanding.
Remember them and you will never see white tyre-swans or
Shopping Centre Malls the same way again
everything has meaning (if you know how/where to look &
have an open mind!)

3 4

1. Axiom of Landscape as a Clue to Culture

WHAT are 7 Axioms for 'reading the landscape'?
commonplace elements in ordinary Liu Yuan OGRIN1993p182
1. Landscape as a Clue to Culture vernacular landscapes provide
insight as to the kind of people
2. Cultural Unity and Landscape Equality (culture) that made & inhabits them
3. Common Things cultural change reflected in
landscape changes
4. Historic Axiom regional differences in landscapes
a reflection of changes in ecology
5. Geographic (or Ecologic) Axiom & culture
6. Environmental Control as cultures converge, landscapes
look more alike
7. Landscape Obscurity diffusion of ideas/styles
'taste' (e.g. likes/dislikes,
promote/prohibit) varies
with cultures
5 6
 2. Axiom of Cultural Unity & Landscape Equality
all items in human landscape convey meaning & most convey
the same amount
that a vernacular building communicates as much as an
architectural monument in the grand tradition, although
sometimes common things are difficult to understand (such as
giant pineapples, and bananas or tyre-swans in front yards!)
theres no such thing as a culturally uninteresting landscape.
3. Axiom of Common Things Jackson 1994 p133
common landscapes are hard to study
by conventional academic means
lack of scholarly writing about common
elements does not mean other records
or observations are absent > new
journalists; travel literature, etc.
vernacular traditions are not recorded
in design journals but in trade journals,
commercial advertising, etc.
search for other sources of information

7 8

4. Historic Axiom 5. Geographic (or Ecologic) Axiom

HISTORY MATTERS: it helps to
unravel the meaning of contemporary
landscapes
a knowledge of history influences the
way we interpret landscape (also, we
are conditioned by the past)
level of technological &
communications keys to
understanding changes
we should read landscape physical
elements not as abstract forms but as
expressions of conditions and
influences
Elements of a cultural
landscape make little cultural
sense if they are studied
Jagera Arts Centre, outside their geographical (i.e.
Musgrave Park locational) context.
be it historic or natural
settings - these contribute to
the canvas on which
designers & planners work
designers
overriding concept =
uncompromised expression
this approach often ignores
Panyiri Festival in
Musgrave Park context
9 Fryer Lib UQ: Hume #100 10

6. Axiom of Environmental Control

must have understanding of natural systems (& physical
environment) to read cultural landscapes
ecological understanding as a pointer (analogy) to
understanding landscape meaning
includes regional design
traditions that evolved from
/ integrate with regional forces
Before there was enough $$$$
to conquer geography:
South [USA] looked different from
North [USA] because it differed physically
(and climatically).

The Garden Book 2000 Central Park, NY 11 12

 Australias first
geographer Griffith
Taylor predicted in 1917
that sustainable
settlement would be Hume #68

clustered on the
Hume #405
south/east edge and a
peak population should
be about 20 Million
people.

13 Hume #910 Fryer Lib UQ: Hume #470 14

7. Axiom of Landscape Obscurity LANDSCAPE READINGS :

while landscapes convey many meanings, these messages
may not be obvious (clear, pure or objective)
each statement is open to many interpretations
multiplicity of meanings and expressions
obscure/multiple messages allow the viewer to complete the
message.
Conclusions to Axioms Concepts
These 7 axioms are basic tools to interpret
(understand) a landscape !
BUT the process of of interpretation is not passive !
Readers (what they see & what is in their heads&
hearts) are integral to the meaning of landscape !

which leads us to biases of perception

15 16

D.W. Meinig: "The Beholding Eye: Meinigs 10 Different Viewpoints (or Observer Biases)
Ten Versions of the Same Scene"
1. landscape as NATURE
How do humans organise the information they
perceive about a landscape ?
2. landscape as HABITAT
3. landscape as ARTIFACT
4. landscape as SYSTEM
?
How would a varied group of people describe the
same scene? 5. landscape as PROBLEM
6. landscape as WEALTH
How much of our organisation and assumptions are
7. landscape as IDEOLOGY
based on our individual cultural baggage and other
learned preferences?
8. landscape as HISTORY
9. landscape as PLACE ?
10. landscape as AESTHETIC
But are there other biases than these?
17 18
 View 1: landscape as Nature
For them all the works of man are paltry compared with nature,
which is primary, fundamental, dominant, enduring.
that nature is dominant and human beings are subordinate
nostalgic, romantic outlook
extremist conservationist view
sees cultural landscape as imposed / unreal
separates humankind from nature and sets up
a confrontational relationship
View 3: landscape as Artifact
Such a person sees first of all and everywhere the mark of man in
everything.
anthropomorphic view that landscape is an entity created by
people
natural areas a mere stages on which the cultural drama is played
nature no longer exists or matters;
humans dominate nature
responding to natural patterns
unnecessary amid dominant
technology piping water from NNWS to SEQ!
short-term ego-driven viewpoint
Man as the conqueror of nature
Meinig 1979p.39
View 2: landscape as Habitat
In such a view, every landscape is a piece of the Earth as the
Home of Man.
that landscape is a home for humankind
people domesticating the Earth
to harmonize, to steward, to cultivate, to manage the landscape to
http://en.wikipedi
a.org/wiki/Grand_ maintain bounty
Canyon
quality of life integrally linked to a healthy habitat
dominant in vernacular & low-technology cultures
19 20
View 4: landscape as System
He may see all that lies before his eyes as an immense and intricate
system of systems.
holistic view that the landscape is a system consisting of
independent subsystems
new, expanding & evolving viewpoint
reaction to reductive Newtonian science which took complex systems
apart for study rather than understanding the whole
landscape designers respond to
systems (system management) &
seek effective management of
ecological & human systems
21 22
View 5: landscape as Problem
That is, see it not as a problem in the scientific sense of a need to know
??
more in order to understand better, but as a condition needing correction.
that landscape is a situation needing correction
can appreciate the preceding 4 views but sees all in disarray: 'life out of balance'
designers take a problem-solving approach
design can be short-term (current focus only)
design can be characterized by placelessness
& banal, boring design solutions
Eg. Man-made America : chaos or control?:
an inquiry into selected problems of design in the
urbanized landscape
(1963) by Christopher Tunnard and Boris Pushkarev
23 24
 View 6: landscape as Wealth View 7: landscape as Ideology
Just as the scientist looks through the faade of obvious elements and sees processes, so
Such persons are wont to look upon every scene others may see those same elements as clues and the whole scene as a symbol of the
with the eyes of an appraiser, assigning a values, the governing ideas, the underlying philosophies of a culture.
monetary value to everything in view. that landscape is a symbol of values, ideals, aspirations, hopes & dreams of a culture
concerned with encoding & decoding meanings of collective consciousness,
that people own land & its economic worth underlying philosophies & self-perception
(investment potential) is foremost slow-moving, homogenous cultures >> single ideology
concept of highest and best use rapidly changing, heterogeneous societies
landscape not physical / geographic but measured >> spontaneous, stimulating (to the point of chaos)
as an abstract economic unit
Bologna-Florence Viaducts: Venturi 1963 (2002) p42)
landscape as both present & future wealth
short-term economic perspective with profound
impact on efficiency & sustainability
How much is this tree worth?
IMAGE:http://www.phong.com/tutorials/mask.tree/tree.jpg

25 26

View 8: landscape as History http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

/Public_Land_Survey_System View 9: landscape as Place
that landscape is complex that landscape is a sensual experience:
documentation of activities of get the feel of a place
nature and humankind
landscape has layers of history /
phenomenological view (largely visual &
rich mosaic in space >> living spatial interpretations that include smells,
history [= palimpsest] sounds & tactile characteristics)
historians decodes cues in seeking mental constructs &
environment to reconstruct associations of a place and ability to be
historical events/influences memorable
addresses ecological & human
processes pleasure in variety & uniqueness of places
current landscape affects our concentrate on landscape character
perception & downplay designers ego
of history & landscape of history required in rapid change cultures to
affects our perception &
behaviour create & manage placeness

27 28

View 10: landscape as Aesthetic VIEWPOINTS: Conclusions

that emphasises the artistic quality of landscape features These views of landscape RARELY HELD IN ISOLATION
ignores meaning, cultural relationship >> "Layer upon Layer"
& economics in this view Nor are they the complete list of 'observer biases'
detached, abstract approach : truth & beauty not in function or >> Can you think of any others?
experience but an aesthetic ideal William Robinson
uses language of art (design elements and visual tools: Dark tide, Bogangar 1994 These views affect both design process and interpretative
e.g. line, form, colour, texture, rhythm, etc.)
http://www.qag.qld.gov. process
au/collection/contempor
ary_australian_art/willia for those of us who are convinced that
m_robinson landscapes mirror and landscapes matter,
that they tell us much about the values we
hold and at the same time affect the quality
of life we lead, there is ever the need for
wider conversations about these ideas and
impressions and concerns relating to the
landscapes we share.
Meinig 1979:47
29 30
2 CASE STUDIES:
Landscape Interpretation in reality
"Investigating Queensland's Cultural Landscape:
Contested Terrains" project (2000)
Common Ground (UK) environmental & heritage
facilitators refer to PSB415 Contemporary
Landscape Design essay/PowerPoint images by
Armstrong/Sim Refer their website:
www.commonground.org.uk
31
PUBLICATIONS: Reports 3 and 4
33
A New Interpretation of Qld Landscape History
From CONTESTED TERRAINS research project:
Section 1 Climate: living in the tropics
Section 2 Land: as the focus for Qld's history
Section 3 Development: the prime agent of change
Section 4 Marginal Groups: the unofficial histories
In Sim, Jeannie (editor) (2001). REPORT 2: Thematic Study
of the Cultural Landscape of Queensland, Investigating
Queensland's Cultural Landscapes: CONTESTED
TERRAINS Series. Brisbane: Cultural Landscape Research
Unit, Queensland University of Technology.
35
PUBLICATIONS: Reports 1 and 2
32
A New Model for Cultural Landscape Interpretation
Helen Armstrong's introductory chapter in the
CONTESTED TERRAINS project reports
discusses a new way of using multiple layers of
landscape interpretationpp.1-20.
Armstrong, Helen (editor) (2001). REPORT 1: Setting the
Theoretical Scene, Investigating Queensland's Cultural
Landscapes: CONTESTED TERRAINS Series. Brisbane:
Cultural Landscape Research Unit, Queensland University of
Technology.
34
A New Interpretation of Qld Landscape Awareness
From CONTESTED TERRAINS research project:
Section 5 Perception: perceiving is more than seeing
Section 6 People and Landscape: the Australian context
Section 7 Interpreting Landscape as Text
In Sim, Jeannie (editor) (2001). REPORT 2: Thematic Study
of the Cultural Landscape of Queensland, Investigating
Queensland's Cultural Landscapes: CONTESTED
TERRAINS Series. Brisbane: Cultural Landscape Research
Unit, Queensland University of Technology.
36
 Case studies provide working models of new
Case studies provide working models of new interpretation approaches
interpretation approaches
5 CASE STUDIES: 5 CASE
Cape York STUDIES:
The Wet Tropics Cape York
Glass House Mountains The Wet Tropics
Region Glass House
South Brisbane Mountains
Gold Coast Region
South Brisbane
1= Road to Cape York Gold Coast
(D. Poulton '92) 2=view from Cook Highway
(J.Seto 2000)
37 38

Case studies provide working models of new Case studies provide working models of new
interpretation approaches interpretation approaches

5 CASE 5 CASE STUDIES:

STUDIES: Cape York
Cape York The Wet Tropics
The Wet Tropics Glass House
Glass House Mountains Region
Mountains Region South Brisbane
South Brisbane Gold Coast
Gold Coast
3= GHM from Wild Horse Mtn
(J.Seto 2000) 4=CBD from Dornoch Tce
(J.Seto 1999)
39 40

Case studies provide working models of new

interpretation approaches REFERENCES:
5 CASE STUDIES: Meinig, D.W. (1979) The Interpretation of Ordinary
Cape York Landscapes: Geographical Essays, New York:
The Wet Tropics Oxford University Press.
Glass House Mountains Pierce F. Lewis "Axioms for Reading the

Region Landscape" pp. 11-32

South Brisbane D.W. Meinig "The Beholding Eye" pp. 33-48

Gold Coast Motloch, John L. (2001) An Introduction to

5=Logan River Estuary Landscape Architecture, 2nd edition, NY: Van
(J.Seto 2000) Nostrand Reinhold. Chapter 1, pp. 7-21
41 42
 Continued
Armstrong, Helen (editor) (2001).
REPORT 1: Setting the Theoretical Scene,
Investigating Queensland's Cultural Landscapes: CONTESTED
TERRAINS Series. Brisbane: Cultural Landscape Research Unit,
Queensland University of Technology.
Sim, Jeannie (editor) (2001).
REPORT 2: Thematic Study of the Cultural Landscape of
Queensland.
Armstrong, Helen, O'Hare, Danny and Sim, Jeannie (eds) (2001).
REPORT 3: Contests and Management Issues.
Sim, Jeannie and Armstrong, Helen (editors) (2001).
REPORT 4: Reports of the Case Studies.
43
 WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
PSYCH 1
PSYCHOLOGY?
Environmental Psychology is the study of
transactions between individuals and their
Introduction to physical settings. In these transactions,
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY individuals change the environment and their
behavior and experiences are changed by the
environment. Environmental Psychology
DLB310 People and Place
includes research and practice aimed at making
2007 buildings more humane and improving our
relationship with the natural environment.
Source: Robert Gifford 1997:1

3 key dimensions to environmental

Simply
psychology
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 1. PERSONS
HELPS ALL KINDS OF DESIGNERS IN 2. PLACES
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, 3. PSYCHOLOGICAL
to make things and places safer, more PROCESSES
comfortable and even more inspiring for
people to use.

[IMAGE SOURCE: Gifford

1997:13]

Possible References: Kaplan &

Kaplan 1982
Kaplan, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan (eds) (1982).
Humanscape: Environments for People, Ann
Arbor, Michigan: Ulrich's Books.
Gifford, Robert (1997). Environmental Psychology:
Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition, Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
Cassidy, Tony (1997). Environmental psychology:
behaviour and experience in context. Hove,
East Sussex : Psychology Press.
Bell, Paul A., et al (2001). Environmental psychology.
Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College
Publishers.

1
 Comparing Topics: 2 Env. Psych. texts
Gifford 1997 GIFFORD (1997)
Environmental Perception &
KAPLAN & KAPLAN
(1982)
Cognition Part One Humans as
Environmental attitudes, Processors of Information
Appraisals & Assessments Evolution
Personality & Environment Perceiving
Personal Space Knowing
Territoriality Caring
Crowding On Knowledge and Rationality
Privacy Part Two The Experience of the
Residential Env. Psychology Environment
Community Env. Psychology Preferred Environments
Educational Env. Psychology Stress & the Failure of
Workplace Env. Psychology Preference
Natural Env. Psychology Coping Strategies: Choice and
Control
Managing Limited
Resources Coping Strategies:
Interpretation
Designing More Fitting
Environments Making Participation Possible

CONTENTS

Cassidy 1997 CONTENTS: Bell et al 2001 Chapter 1: TheEnvironmental

Why, What, and How of
Psychology
1. Environmental psychology: What it is Chapter 2: Nature and Human Nature
and why you should know about it Chapter 3: Environmental Perception and
2. Theory and method in env.psych. Cognition
3. The context of behaviour and Chapter 4: Theories of Environmental-
experience Behavior Relationships
4. The environment through the senses Chapter 5: Noise
5. The human impact on the Chapter 6: Weather, Climate, and Behavior
environment Chapter 7: Disasters, Toxic Hazards, and
6. Urbanisation, movement, and space Pollution
7. Environmental design Chapter 8: Personal Space and Territoriality
8. Using and abusing the environment Chapter 9: High Density and Crowding
9. Env. Psych. Looking forward. Chapter 10: The City
Chapter 11: Planning and Design for Human
Behavior
Chapter 12: Design in Residential and
Institutional Environments
Chapter 13: Work, Learning, and Leisure
Environments
Chapter 14: Changing Behavior to Save the
Environment

ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
LECTURE TOPICS this semester
and the DESIGNER
INTRODUCTION to Environmental THEORIES the specific explanations of
Psychology why things are the way they are
PERSONAL SPACE: including Territoriality, RESEARCH TECHNIQUES the specific
Crowding, & Privacy tools used to test or create new theories
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG: Vandalism, Application of all these findings and
Neglect, Homelessness research techniques into the design
+ Transience + DIVERSITY process
COGNITIVE MAPPING
PERCEPTION + Terrain Vague

2
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY:
(1) STIMULATION THEORIES
Some Theories & Approaches!
(1) STIMULATION THEORIES Generally
the physical environment as a source of sensory
(2) CONTROL THEORIES information that is crucial to our welfare. This
stimulation includes relatively simple stimuli such
(3) BEHAVIOR-SETTING THEORY as light, color, sound, noise, heat, and cold, but
(4) INTEGRAL THEORIES also complex stimuli such as buildings, streets,
outdoor settings, and other people.
(5) OPERANT APPROACH stimulation can vary in amount [intensity,
duration, frequency, number of sources] and in
(6) ENVIRONMENT-CENTERED meaning [individual integration and interpretation
APPROACHES of stimuli].
[Gifford 1997: 6]

(1) STIMULATION THEORIES Arousal

Adaptation-level theory
that different people have different levels of tolerance
Arousal theories
"that the form and content of a broad range of our
behaviour and experience depends are related to how
physiologically aroused we are."
Overload theory
the effects of over-stimulation (such as noise, heat, cold, "Blah!"
and crowding)
Restricted environmental stimulation
(syn. Stimulus deprivation)
the effects of too little stimulation depends on tasks,
duration of situation, individual responses
Bell 2001:36
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:6-8

(1) STIMULATION THEORIES Stress Model

Stress
the behavioural and health effects when over-stimulation
exceeds the individual's adaptive responses. There are:
acute stressors ("negative, intense, relatively short
impacts that are at the forefront of consciousness"),
ambient stressors ("negative, chronic, global
environmental conditions that usually remain in the
background of consciousness and seem hard to alter"),
daily hassles ("negative, nonurgent, recurrent
stressors").
General adaptation syndrome
the physiological reactions to stress e.g. pituitary and
adrenal glands sequence: "alarm, then resistance, and
then exhaustion from the cumulative effort of much
resistance." SOURCE: Gifford 1997:6-8
Bell 2001:122

3
 (1) STIMULATION THEORIES
PHENOMENOLOGY
psychological reactions to stress/stimulation
include the emphasis of MEANING.
"meaning together with our selection ,
construction, modification, and the structure of
settings is amongst the ways we shape the
environment during our continuous series of
transactions with it. The personal meanings we
give to a place are essential to our experience of
the environment."
cross-over to Place Theory SOURCE: Gifford 1997:6-8
(2) CONTROL THEORIES
Personal control
"the effects of being able or unable to influence
stimulation patterns."
Psychological reactance "lack of control often
leads to an attempt to regain the freedom that has
been lost."
Learned helplessness when individuals "conclude that
control is difficult or impossible to regain" "the
conviction that no amount of effort can succeed in
overcoming an unpleasant or painful situation."
Boundary regulation mechanisms
"In everyday transactions, we attempt to achieve
personal control through boundary control mechanisms,
such as personal space and territoriality."
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:8
(4) INTEGRAL THEORIES
These theories seek to capture the full complexity of
person-environment relations. While probably closer
to reflecting reality, there are still problems in finding
and matching the appropriate research methods to
adequately test these theories.
Geo-behavioral environment
older deterministic theory by understanding
someone's environment (in terms of "instigators
goal objects & noxients supports & constraints
directors global environment"), you probably will
understand their behaviour.
Interactionism
where the person and the environment are seen as
separate entities that are constantly interacting.
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:8-9
(2) CONTROL THEORIES
Clearly, those who have much control over
the amount and kind of stimulation that
comes their way generally are better off
than those who have little control. We may
have considerable control in some
settings, such as at home, and very little in
others, such as in traffic jams.
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:8
(3) BEHAVIOR-SETTING THEORY
[behaviour in Australia!]
Behaviour setting
based on ecological psychology (studying small
units of people in their context); very volatile:
sewing bees almost extinct but Internet cafs
growing.
Programs
these are prescribed patterns of behaviour
Staffing influences
when too many/too few individuals for particular
programs, then there are ramifications
Can you remember an example of
OVERSTAFFING or UNDERSTAFFING that you
have experienced?
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:8
(4) INTEGRAL THEORIES
Transactionalism
"that a person and an environment are
part of one inclusive entity we influence
environments and they influence us"
Organismic theories
"emphasize the dynamic interplay of
social, societal, and individual factors in a
mutual, complex system."
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:8-9
4
 (5) OPERANT APPROACH
Here the "goal is to modify
the behavior of individuals
whose behavior is
contributing to an
environmental problem."
e.g. using operant
approaches to encourage
recycling, and discourage
littering and residential
energy wastage.
SOURCE: Gifford 1997:9-10
Research Methods & Paradigms
Environmental Psychology
= MULTIPLE PARADIGM FIELD !
"The word paradigm also means
something broader than research
methods; it is an overall
perspective about what the field as
a while is all about. For example,
one view is that environment
psychology consists of three broad
paradigms."
Some Environmental Psychology
METHODS
"any old method will not do
You cannot select the best method if you have
never heard of it." [Gifford 1997:12]
USING STANDARD SOCIAL SCIENCES
TECHNIQUES:
Naturalistic observation and description
Interviews
Rating scales
Laboratory experiments
videotaping
(6) ENVIRONMENT-CENTERED
APPROACHES
These are the most recent approaches developed by
psychologists. "These theories, while not ignoring
people, pay special attention to the state or quality of the
environment."
Instrumental versus Spiritual views
"Should the environment be viewed as a tool for
supporting human goals such as productivity or as a
context in which important human values can be
cultivated?"
Green psychology
"contrasts person-centered theories with approaches
that concentrate on preserving, conserving, and helping
the natural environment."
Ecopsychologists
"think of this bond [between of humanity and the earth] in
terms of ecological unconsciousness, denial, addition,
and mental health."
Some Research Paradigms
ADAPTATION PARADIGM
"sees biological and physiological survival as the key
process. Coping with stress and perception, cognition,
and assessment of our environments all may be seen
as processes whose aims is to help us survive."
OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE PARADIGM
"considers the environment as a place for us to actively
fulfil goals, as opposed to reacting to the environment's
threats and demands."
SOCIOCULTURAL PARADIGM
"is a recognition that environmental; psychology is
nested within other contexts and disciplines: History,
culture, and economic and societal forces cannot be
ignored as we seek to understand person-environment
relations."
OTHER TECHNIQUES UNIQUE TO
ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
personal space studies
cognitive maps
movement through buildings/spaces
5
 TECHNIQUES OF ANALYSIS
for Site Planners
METHODS: need for external validity
indirect observation Activity logs There is a strong preference for research in the
everyday world ( field studies).
past choices Naming problems
precedents Images FIELD STUDIES
"are performed in the very setting for which the results
archives Preferences Lynch, Kevin are to be applied, or in one as similar as possible."
content analysis Semantic differential and Gary However, there are problems with the many
traces Forced choice Hack. (1984), uncontrollable influences affecting outcomes.
Formal studies Memories Chapter 3
"The User", FIELD EXPERIMENT
Direct observation Predictions an ideal form of research where "the experimenter is
in Site
Behaviour settings Empathy Planning. able to randomly assign participants to different
Movements patterns Site visits (last printing conditions and he or she controls all the major
Behaviour circuits Group interviews 1998). MIT independent variables or presumed influences on
Selected behaviour Participant observation Press: behavior or well-being." Very rarely possible thus rely
Cambridge, on laboratory or field studies.
Experiments Self-observation pp. 67-105
Direct communication Other techniques !! SOURCE: Gifford 1997:12
Interviews

Making use of
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
Scientific Research Techniques
(rather than true experimental research) DESIGNERS analyse
This offers a compromise between the how spaces/places
operate to help them
"artificial but precise laboratory and the understand the context
realistic but imprecise everyday setting" of their design work
[Gifford 1997:12] and help them improve
what is already there
We are going to
practice some of these
techniques in a
workshop next week
Almost the end

But now, we will learn about playing in groups!

See you all

in the studio
tutorials in
15 minutes

6
 Topics this session!
PERSONAL
SPACE
TERRITORIALITY
PSYCH 2 CROWDING
Personal Space and such like! PRIVACY
Application of
DLB310 People and Place techniques:
2007 Recording Public
Spaces

WHAT IS PERSONAL SPACE? Personal Space!

"Personal space refers to an area with

invisible boundaries surrounding a
person's body into which intruders
may not come."
Robert Sommer 1969:26 in Gifford 1997:96

3 Elaborations on basic definition of Portable Personal Territory!

personal space:
The term proxemics was
PERSONAL, PORTABLE TERRITORY introduced by anthropologist
"Territories are places where entry is Edward T. Hall in 1966 to
controlled." describe set measurable
distances between people as
SPACING MECHANISM they interact. The effects of
proxemics, according to Hall,
certain birds & animals maintain set can be summarized by the
distances between individuals following loose rule:
COMMUNICATION CHANNEL Like gravity, the influence of
"Personal space is a way of sending two bodies on each other is
inversely proportional not only to
messages." the square of their distance but
possibly even the cube of the
distance between them."

1
 Interpersonal Distance Zones Interpersonal Distance
ALPHA PERSONAL SPACE
= objective measurable distances

BETA PERSONAL SPACE

= subjective experience of individual
(sense of distance)
(often perceive people closer than
actually are = asymmetry effect)

1. INTIMATE DISTANCE
2. PERSONAL DISTANCE
3. SOCIAL DISTANCE
4. PUBLIC DISTANCE

Bubbles MEASURING METHODS

Here are some facts about personal space bubbles: Simulation Methods
The bubble is larger if you are talking to a stranger.
Small felt figures on felt boards
The better you know the person you're talking to, the
smaller the bubble may be. ~ drawback is it relies on memory
The bubble is usually larger for two men than for two
women.
The bubble may be very small for a man and a women if Stop-Distance Method
they are in a relationship. 2 people some distance away
The bubble may be larger than normal for a man and a one walks towards other until feeling of
women who are strangers to each other.
'discomfort' is reached measure distance
The bubble size may differ for different cultures.
repeat for different angles of approach
http://www.worsleyschool.net/socialarts/personal/space.ht
ml accessed 12 March 2007. ~ drawback of participant awareness (or start
before they know)

INFLUENCES on
MEASURING METHODS PERSONAL SPACE
Personal influences
Naturalistic Method Gender
Study unplanned interpersonal distances Age
in natural settings tricky because Personality
Psychological Disturbance
ethics of participants not knowing (?or tell & Violence
Disabilities
them afterward); Social Influences
uncontrolled variables affecting results Attraction
Fear/Security
(how determine reasons); & Cooperation/Competition
practical measurement problems (photos, Power/Status
And HUMAN
grid paving) Physical Influences
BEHAVIOUR
Cultural, Ethnic, Religious
and Legal Variations Flight [or Fight] and Affect

2
 Optimal Spacing in Learning Environments
Now isn't that
revealing
troops!
Where are
you today in
this
classroom?
Bell 2001:264
Summary about Personal Space
"The best way to measure alpha personal space
is probably the disguised stop-distance
technique. Simulation methods may be useful for
measuring beta personal space.
Interpersonal space generally grows with age
and interpersonal coldness.
what this means for designers
At the very least, we can conclude that
designers should offer either a variety of seating
arrangements or flexible arrangements so that
individuals can find comfortable spaces for
interaction."
Gifford 1997: 117
Irwin Altmann's classification of territories
(not just places):
PRIMARY TERRITORIES:
controlled relatively permanently, central to daily
life your bedroom, family dwelling
SECONDARY TERRITORIES:
moderate significance to occupants desk at
work, locker in gym, home playing field in sport.
PUBLIC TERRITORIES:
"open to anyone in good standing within the
community." beaches, footpaths, hotel lobbies,
trains, stores, etc.
also about OBJECTS
(labelling property we mark, personalize, defend
and control our books!) & IDEAS (patents and
copyrights; rules against plagiarism)
Personal Space and ENVIRONMENTAL
DESIGN
SOCIOFUGAL
ARRANGMENTS
SOCIOPETAL
ARRANGMENTS
Compare with parallel and
alternating benches in
"THE YARD"
TERRITORIALITY:
an operating definition
Territoriality is a pattern of behaviour and attitudes
held by an individual or group that is based on
perceived, attempted, or actual control of a definable
physical space, object, or idea that may involve
habitual occupation, defense, personalization, and
marking of it.
Marking means placing an object or substance in a
space to indicate one's territorial intentions. Male dogs
mark fire hydrants. Cafeteria diners leave coats or
books on a chair or table. Prospectors stake claims.
Personalization means marking in a manner that
indicates one's identity. Employees decorate their work
spaces with pictures and mementos. Some car owners
purchase vanity licence plates. Gang graffiti is a way
of saying "We control this area". ['tags'] (Gifford 1997):
Territorial Behaviours
Bell 2001:277
3
 Types of territorial INFRINGEMENT: Types of DEFENCE:
INVASION PREVENTION DEFENCE
taking over the sewing room for family markers (coats, towels, signs, fences)
computer REACTION DEFENCE
VIOLATION slamming doors, striking infringer, taking
burglary, vandalism, hit-and-run attacks, them to court
computer hackers SOCIAL BOUNDARY DEFENCE
CONTAMINATION host & visitor rituals ( customs at
noxious chemical factory amid borders)
residential area, house guest leaving
kitchen filthy, pesticide drift into your yard.

INFLUENCES ON TERRITORIALITY
(leading to differences in expression):
PERSONAL
sex, age, personality, intelligence, competence World
SOCIAL CONTEXT Population
social climate, class, competition for resources, legal
ownership increase
PHYSICAL CONTEXT
Newman's defensible space theory Gifford 1997:127 makes
"that certain design features such as real or symbolic CROWDING
barriers to separate public territory from private territory
and opportunities for territory owners to observe suspicious a growing
activity in their spaces (surveillance) will increase concern!
residents' sense of security and decrease crime in the
territoriality."
CULTURAL and ETHNIC FACTORS
are some cultures more territorial than others?

CROWDING ANIMAL STUDY 1:

Leyhausen (1965) observations of cats
unnaturally crowded in a cage:
Population and
The more crowded the cage is, the less relative
Densities hierarchy there is. Eventually a despot emerges,
'pariahs' appear, driven to frenzy and all kinds of
Gifford 1997:141 neurotic behaviour by continuous and pitiless
attack by all others; the community turns into a
spiteful mob. They all seldom relax, they never
look at ease, and there is a continuous hissing,
growling, and even fighting. Play stops altogether
and locomotion and exercise are reduced to a
minimum."
As reported by Edward O. Wilson "Density and Aggressive Behaviour",
in Kaplan, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan (1982), Humanscape:
environments for people, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Ulrich's Books, pp.
199-200.

4
 CROWDING ANIMAL STUDY 2:
Calhoun (1962) experimented with overcrowded
white rats:
In addition to the hypertensive behaviour seen in
Leyhausen's cats, some to the rats displayed
hypersexuality and homosexuality and engaged in
cannibalism. Nest construction was commonly
atypical and nonfunctional, and infant mortality
among the more disturbed mothers ran as high as
96 percent.
As reported by Edward O. Wilson "Density and Aggressive
Behaviour", in Kaplan, Stephen and Rachel Kaplan (1982),
Humanscape: environments for people, Ann Arbor,
Michigan: Ulrich's Books, pg. 200.
HUMANS ARE DIFFERENT !
The animal studies are not directly relevant!
although extent of research has been less for
ethical and practical reasons!
2 areas have been studied:
(long-term) crowded housing
(short-term) crowded public settings
but with non-conclusive results, hampered by
restricted sample subjects (school students), too
short a time being studied and being separated
into same sex groups. [and being restricted to
USA/European cultural sample].

J. Cassel (1971) FOUR PRINCIPLES related to

crowding
Interactive Model of Crowding
Hypotheses:
for human beings, CROWDING FACILITATES SOCIAL
DISORGANIZATION (but not necessarily produces it).
DIVERSITY of SUSCEPTIBILITY most dominant
individuals will show the least effects, the most
subordinate will show the extreme responses.
2 BUFFERS against consequences of social
disorganization:
BIOLOGICAL (with sufficient time, humans can adjust
psychologically & physiologically to new circumstances)
and SOCIAL (group support).
while the consequences of social disorganization does
not directly cause illnesses, rather they ENHANCE
SUSCEPTIBILITY to ILLNESS.
As reported by Barrie B. Grennbie "Social Territory, Community
Health, and Urban Planning", in Kaplan and Kaplan (1982), pp. 217-
218.
Gifford 1997:164

Interactive Model of Crowding PRIVACY

What is privacy? means many things to many
people
Irwin Altman wrote that privacy is "selective
control of access to the self or to one's group."
twin themes of management of information
about oneself and the management of social
interaction.
"A person who has optimal privacy is not a
recluse but someone who is able to find either
companionship or solitude easily (social
interaction management) and who is able to
share or halt the flow of self-related information
(information management)." Gifford (1997:174)
Bell 2001:315

5
 Alan Westin's 4 faces of privacy
1. SOLITUDE
being alone with no one else
nearby later researchers added
Seclusion (living away from sights Re INTIMACY
& sounds of traffic/other people)
and Not neighbouring (dislike of
casual visiting & general contact
with neighbours).
2. INTIMACY between lovers
3. ANONYMITY
unrecognised, privacy among
others
4. RESERVE
psychological barrier against
intrusion
[Gifford 1997:174-5]
Alan Westin's essential
FUNCTIONS OF PRIVACY
Further refined 1. related to COMMUNICATION both
thus: informational and interpersonal themes
also with friends 2. connected to our SENSE OF CONTROL or
or with family autonomy. Self-determination based on ability
Re SOLITUDE to choose solitude or company; not having
Isolation = choice makes us feel helpless.
being alone with 3. important to our SENSE OF IDENTITY.
no one else Solitude and intimacy can be used to evaluate
nearby while
Solitude = being who we are, our progress in life etc.
alone among a 4. allows for EMOTIONAL RELEASE.
crowd. Where we can weep, sing loud crazy songs,
talk to ourselves! etc.
[Gifford 1997:180-1]

ALTMAN'S understanding of privacy which relates

personal space and territoriality (mechanisms used to Defensible Space
regulate privacy) crowding being the
failure to obtain "Alternatives to Fear Review of Oscar Newman's
privacy and Defensible Space [1975]", in Kaplan and Kaplan
loneliness the result (1982), pp. 308-320.
of too much privacy.
Architect Oscar Newman received funding from
National Institute of Law Enforcement and
Criminal Justice (US Dept of Justice) to measure
"the effects of the physical layout on the
resident's vulnerability to crime." His team
investigated housing projects across the nation,
with an emphasis on lower income housing
"since greater income brings with it the
possibility of added security measures."

Crime and Space Defensible Space

"Crime is not reduced because of the arrangement
of space. Rather it is the arrangement of space that
makes it possible for residents to comprehend and
become involved in what goes on in their building.
They in turn come to know each other and to exert
control over their common space. It is this social
control that is directly connected to the reduction in
crime." pg. 308.
FINDINGS: "a few sacred cows, prized by some
architects, planners, sociologists, housing officials
and builders, have been dispatched along the way."
Economic choices high-rise units, certain building
arrangements and lack of funding for certain
amenities has exacerbated the situation.
PHYSICAL DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT HELP CREATE SECURE
ENVIRONMENTS (DEFENSIBLE SPACE):
"Territorial definition of space in developments reflecting
the areas of influence of the inhabitants. This works by
subdividing the residential environment into zones
toward which adjacent residents easily adopt proprietary
attitudes.
Positioning apartment windows to allow residents to
naturally survey the exterior and interior public areas of
their living environment.
Adopting building forms and idioms that avoid the stigma
of peculiarity which allow others to perceive the
vulnerability and isolation of inhabitants.
Enhancing safety by locating residential developments in
functionally sympathetic urban areas immediately
adjacent to activities that do not provide continued
threat." pg. 310.

6
 Territoriality in Action
Newman cites TERRITORIALITY as the basis of this
new rational approach to planning.
NATURAL SURVEILLANCE reinforces territoriality
both resident and intruder should be aware of constant
observation allaying fears and deterring crime. "Lobby
surveillance is severely hampered when main
entrances are in obscure locations, when elevators and
mailboxes are tucked around a corner in a blind spot, or
both." pg. 313.
Designers should avoid the typical planting of
shrubs/trees at corners/junctions of paths (thus creating
blind spots/hiding spots).
Closing through-streets in large projects with several
buildings increase vulnerability (because of little
surveillance, they become little used).
Design Care
IMAGE and MILIEU: Cost cutting on public housing
(materials, finishes and forms) identifies their inhabitants
and their likely vulnerability [elderly and single females?].
The vandal-proof interior treatment ("not unlike that
achieved in our worst hospitals and prisons") set up
challenges for residents to test their resistance to wear!
The 'institutional' building image can be damaging on the
resident too, reinforcing perceptions of 'putting the poor
in their place'.
Newman reckons, if the resident is resigned to not
caring about their surroundings, they will not intercede,
even on their own behalf, when they become the victim
of a criminal.
Parkland adjacent to housing projects needs similar
design care/surveillance.

Van Dyke (1955) and Brownsville (1947)

Design Care CPTED
DESIGN [MIS]UNDERSTANDING:
problems for architects designing for 'working
class' clients who want 'middle-class' status
symbols while the 'taste' of the designer is
'different'; and with planners seeking 'out-of-date'
solutions e.g. segregation of activities.
SOME OBSERVATIONS: "For the low-income
population, security in their residential
environment security from the natural
elements, from criminals, and from authority is
the first essential step to liberation." pg. 316
(Newman's words).
CPTED = Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Kaplan and Kaplan 1982:317

Van Dyke (1955) and Brownsville (1947) Making use of

Scientific Research Techniques
DESIGNERS analyse
how spaces/places
operate to help them
understand the context
of their design work
and help them improve
what is already there
We are going to
practice some of these
techniques in a
workshop THIS week
Kaplan and Kaplan 1982:318

7
 RECORDING USES Example: Hopper 2007:58
OF PUBLIC SPACE

Methods of Recording USE and MOVEMENT

through space
Mapping (using lines = visitor routes)
Videotaping
Slow motion photography
Stop-gap photography
Counting people both incoming and outgoing
Activity descriptions (written, or draw 'shorthand'
icon, or stickers)
Find wear lines on fabric (through grass, grubby
marks on walls)

Example: Hopper 2007:58 Studying Uses of Public Space

INFLUENCES on behaviour (context to activities)
Microclimate
temperature, wind, shade, sunshine, humidity
according to the season
Smells
Nice aromas (bread, coffee, subtle perfume); bad
smells (form annoying to sickening to noxious)
Sounds
Noise (problems); music (pleasant or unpleasant
too soft, just right or too loud); white noise (to mask
unpleasant traffic noise)
Touch
textures can be pleasant (soft fur, cool marble) or
unpleasant (rough concrete, edge corners,
abrasive)

Studying Uses of Public Space CRUCIAL FACTORS INFLUENCING RESULTS:

INFLUENCES on behaviour (context to
activities) Time
Ground plane during rush hour, late at night; during
even; convenient slope longitudinally and weekends/ holidays; seasons (Summer v.
cross-slope; too steep; slippery; wet (with Winter; rainy v. dry)
puddles)
Vertical planes Special Events
creating narrow passages or wide; soaring regular and irregular; known or
high or just at sitting height walls spontaneous
Overhead
low ceilings/beams; high ceilings; sloping Extent of Views
down or sloping up; curved vaults; domed; limitations of what / how records are made
etc.
Signage all sorts of messages (literal) and
indirect; symbols

8
 ACTIONS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Hesitancy or purposefulness why?
Collisions any blind corners?
Confusions too many choices?
Anti-social behaviour which is what??
e.g. verbal or physical assault
Gatherings how many people?
Lone people sitting, standing, watching
clocks
End.
Personal Space
REFERENCES:
Gifford, Robert (1997), Chapter 5
"Personal Space", in Environmental
Psychology: Principles and Practice, 2nd
edition, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, pp. 95-
117.
Sommer, Robert (1969), Personal Space:
The behavioral basis for design,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
CROWDING
REFERENCE:
Also see Chapter 7 Crowding in Gifford,
Robert (1997), Environmental Psychology:
principles and practice. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, pp. 1390-170.
Bye-bye!
References follow!
TERRITORIALITY
REFERENCES: Especially
Chapter 6 Territoriality, in Gifford, Robert
(1997), Environmental Psychology:
principles and practice. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, pp. 118-138.
Edward T. Hall (1969), The Hidden
Dimension. New York: Anchor Books.
Oscar Newman (1972), Defensible Space.
New York: Macmillan.
PRIVACY
Also see Chapter 8 Privacy in Gifford,
Robert (1997), Environmental Psychology:
principles and practice. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, pp. 171-192.
9
 Recording Public Space
Hopper, Leonard J. (2006). Landscape
Architectural Graphic Standards.
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

10
 Topics this week!

VANDALISM the results of loss of power

(i.e. control over territoriality,
PSYCH3: NEGLECT crowding, privacy, self-
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG HOMELESSNESS determination, identity, etc.)
and DIVERSITY
TRANSIENCE
DLB310 People and Place DIVERSITY
2007

VANDALISM Vandalism as institutionalised rule-breaking!

The first part

VANDALISM = damage to property, systems;
while ASSAULT = damage to a person.
Ways of categorising vandalism:
VANDALISM AS INSTITUTIONALISED RULE-
BREAKING !
VANDALISM AS IDEOLOGY ! play vandalism:
VANDALISM AS A RESULT OF PLANNING
AND DESIGN !
MALICIOUS VANDALISM !!!!
ritualised vandalism:
rituals which accept vandalism as part of accepted
behaviour: New Year's Eve, UK Guy Fawkes Night
(bonfires); US Halloween
protected vandalism:
where the community accepts student rag days,
buck's parties
where curiosity, competition and skill lead to
property damage e.g. window breaking in derelict
houses seen as 'fair game'

Vandalism as institutionalised rule-breaking! Vandalism as ideology!

The second part

writing-off vandalism: fighting for a just cause:

minor damage is written off e.g. minor graffiti,
chewing gum
walled-in vandalism:
people who are/feel entrapped carry out vandalism
as an act of protest e.g. prisoners sabotaging
machinery, school students' graffiti on desks !!
licensed vandalism:
where people pay beforehand such as rock
concerts, football games where cost of entry
covers anticipated costs of repairs ("leasing bond").
tactical activities that will gain publicity: riots,
demonstrations, graffiti, sit-ins, love-ins
community activism vandalism:
other forms of community activism bike riders in
central cities around 5pm Fridays; 'bugger-up'
campaign against sexism and smoking etc
Luddites: industrial sabotage for ideology; some
hackers raid vulnerable &/or evil corporate
computers (remember "Sneakers" film?)
aesthetic/art movements:
Dada and Surrealism; Graffiti as a art form?
Environmental Art (various sorts)

1
 Vandalism as a result of
planning and design! first part
Corporate:
where private development interests appropriate public open
space e.g. Chifley Square which now appears to be the
forecourt of the Chifley Tower; large internal shopping
centres (e.g. Westfield Indooroopilly) destroying local
shopping streets; banks withdrawing branches from country
towns ( fighting back with growth of community banks!)
Road authority:
where an expressway cuts through neighbourhoods or
native habitats (e.g. BRISBANE: Southeast freeway,
Western Freeway/proposed Route 20, Inner City Busway
(damaging Victoria Park, Brisbane)
Rail authority:
where sale of air-rights over railway stations result in loss of
cultural heritage significance (and visual amenity!); selling
off railway property; demanding no poor-profits lines in
regional areas
Malicious vandalism
where vindictiveness and/or acts of revenge are
involved
e.g. school arson, graffiti on private home-
owners property, slashing car tyres, etc.
Into which category
would you put these acts?
Cutting off giant bulls' gonads from statues
(Rockhampton)
Using Michelangelo's "David" to advertise jeans
Skateboarders' damage to public walls/seats in
urban areas
Fire-crosses in front yards of African Americans
Reminder about CATEGORIES:
Vandalism as institutionalised rule-breaking !
Vandalism as ideology !
Vandalism as a result of planning and design !
Malicious vandalism !!!!
Vandalism as a result of
planning and design! second part
Government:
where governments sell off community-owned property
(Commonwealth being the worst offender of late Post
Offices, Lighthouses, Customs Houses, Archives, Military
Depots!; State not far behind Schools, Police Stations,
State experimental farms, heritage buildings generally);
Local Govt. Light Street Depot (Valley);
Planning:
numerous regional, suburban and urban examples,
particularly where traffic engineering has led sway
SYDNEY: new releases in western Sydney, Darling
Harbour development, Third Runway for airport, etc.;
planners' vandalism: gentrification & displacement of old
residents; urban development where artists move into
cheap areas, then middle class follow to be part of that
lifestyle, who then wish the poor (or the noisy) move out.
MANAGEMENT RESPONSES TO
VANDALISM
Defeat: removal of vandalised object
Deflection: placing graffiti boards in highly
visible locations
Prevention: locking up public places,
fencing in with locks, in extreme cases
blowing the thing up such as Pruit-Igoe
public housing, and other Modernist
architectural monstrosities
Deterrence: running social programs which
address the needs of the vandals,
community participation in design and
planning e.g. art on traffic signal boxes;
murals on public toilets in parks;
More on VANDALISM
Vandalism is a bit of a loaded term; people tend to
think of the most brainless and ugly examples of
the appropriated canvas and then extrapolate
from there to condemn the entire genre. But
vandalism can be beautiful, especially when
what is being vandalized starts out ugly.
CHECK THIS WEBSITE:
about Culture Jamming: Illegal Alienation
~~ contains lots of great and gruesome stories!
Accessed 7/4/06 and checked 19/3/2007:
http://www.sniggle.net/vandalism.php
2
 Selection of images from
http://www.sniggle.net/vandalism.php
Chalkboard Liberation!
Graffiti that criticises the
boss/corporate greed!
And that is just obscure!
Arthur Stace, 'Mr
Eternity Gallery at NMA Eternity'. At least
50 times a day for
30 years he wrote
the word 'Eternity'
in chalk on the
streets of Sydney.
His simple,
enduring message
can still make
people stop, think
and feel.
Stories from the emotional heart of
Australia an exhibition that includes
" Mr. Eternity" Arthur Stace
Accessed 20/3/2007:
http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/no
w_showing/eternity/stories_from_the
_emotional_heart_of_australia/

"Eternity" the Story of the Homeless Man in Sydney,

Extract from NMA text:
"Arthur Stace grew up in poverty, and was jailed at the age of 15.
After serving in France during the First World War, he returned to
the streets of Sydney, partially blind, unemployed and an
alcoholic. One day, drawn into the Burton Street Baptist
Tabernacle with the promise of a free meal, Arthur Stace
encountered something that changed his life, as he described to a
journalist from the Daily Telegraph in June 1965, two years before
his death:
"John Ridley was a powerful preacher and he shouted, 'I wish I could
shout Eternity through the streets of Sydney.' He repeated himself and
kept shouting, 'Eternity, Eternity', and his words were ringing through my
brain as I left the church. Suddenly I began crying and I felt a powerful
call from the Lord to write 'Eternity'. I had a piece of chalk in my pocket,
and I bent down right there and wrote it. I've been writing it at least 50
times a day ever since, and that's 30 years ago. The funny thing is that
before I wrote it I could hardly write my own name. I had no schooling
and I couldn't have spelled 'Eternity' for a hundred quid. But it came out
smoothly, in a beautiful copperplate script. I couldn't understand it, and I
still can't. I've tried and tried, but 'Eternity' is the only word that comes
out in copperplate. I think Eternity gets the message across, makes
people stop and think."
Australia, who Went Down in History Truth!
A story about Arthur Stace [1884-1967], a homeless
[illiterate!] alcoholic who lived in the Streets of Sydney,
Australia. After a conversion to Christianity, [he] quit
drinking, and spent the rest of his life writing the word
"Eternity" all over the city in yellow chalk.He is
remembered in Sydney for his nearly 40-years of colorful
lettering, which was designed to prompt people to think
about eternity and their own mortality.
Accessed 7/4/06:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/stace.htm
New Year's Eve 2000
http://www.wesleymission.org.
au/publications/eternity/eternit
y.htm

NEGLECT & HOMELESSNESS The Big Issue

HOMELESS people and 'revitalised' public spaces
integrally linked although not the cause of the
homelessness (which is a combination of social and
economic problems, especially in contemporary global
capitalism)
landscape architects and urban designers are agents in
these processes of change that affect the neglected and
the homeless "bourgeois solutions do not solve urban
problems, they merely relocate them."
Some sites become sites of public debate and criticism;
transitory gardens and houses; artists as instruments of
social criticism
What should be the 'strategy' for the homeless? Only one?
The BIG ISSUE magazine began in England in the 1980s
when Prime Minister Thatcher's economic policies were
having a devastating affect on the neglected and poor,
creating increasing numbers of homeless people.
The Big Issue is now an international movement, providing
opportunities for people facing homelessness to help
themselves.
At the centre of this work is The Big Issue Magazine - a
news & current affairs magazine written by professional
journalists and sold on the streets by vendors looking to
overcome the crises surrounding homelessness.
It is owned by The Big Issue Company Ltd. Currently the
circulation figures stand at:
The Big Issue National England and Wales 122,924
Source: ABC March 2006
The Big Issue Scotland- 32,008
Source: ABC March 2006.

3
Helping the homeless help themselves Australia!
The BIG ISSUE aims to:
Enable homeless people to earn a legal income through The Big Issue is a fortnightly current
opportunities to help themselves affairs and entertainment magazine that
Invest profits in services to help homeless people and is sold on the streets of towns and cities
Big Issue vendors tackle obstacles to them helping throughout Australia by people
themselves experiencing homelessness or long-term 2006: This
Provide people with a voice in the media unemployment. Vendors keep half of the would mean
that more
Produce a quality magazine which engages readers with cover price ($4) of every magazine they magazines are
issues that affect their lives but are overlooked by other sell. It is the magazine that helps people sold in OZ than
media help themselves. It is also Australia's in Eng/Wales,
Provide an example of a socially responsible business fastest growing magazine with or about the
and an alternative to conventional charity as a response readership now at 153,000 readers. same in whole
to homelessness of UK!

Accessed 6/4/06: http://www.bigissue.com/bigissue.html Accessed 6/4/06: http://www.bigissue.org.au/

National Coalition for the Homeless

(USA)
USER ANALYSIS & TRANSIENCE
Quote: 'Our mission is to end homelessness. We focus Definition:
our work in the following four areas: housing justice,
economic justice, health care justice, and civil and voting Transient. adjective
rights. Our approaches are: grassroots organizing, public
education, policy advocacy, technical assistance, and 1. Passing with time; not lasting or
partnerships.' enduring; transitory.
The National Coalition for the Homeless, founded in 1984, is a national
network of people who are currently experiencing or who have 2. Lasting only for a time; temporary
experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based 3. Remaining only for a short time,
and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single
mission. That mission, our common bond, is to end homelessness. We as a guest at a hotel ...
are committed to creating the systemic and attitudinal changes
necessary to prevent and end homelessness. At the same time, we 5. One who or that which is
work to meet the immediate needs of people who are currently
experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of doing so. We take as transient; a transient guest, border,
our first principle of practice that people who are currently experiencing etc.
homelessness or have formerly experienced homelessness must be
actively involved in all of our work. Macquarie Dictionary, 3rd ed. 1997, pg. 2247
Accessed 6/4/06: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/

Transience can be due to: Transience can be due to:

POLITICAL CIRCUMSTANCES RESEARCH / SCIENTIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES
refugees / displaced persons / migrant hostels & camps researchers in the Antarctic
ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES
explorative geologists for mining companies
Depressions 1930s Swagmen; 'bums' and beggars
itinerant workers (going where the next crop is
marine scientists studying the Great Barrier
harvested, sheep shearing, sheep & cattle drovers) Reef, etc.
mining rig workers, remote mining settlements Ecologists / Botanists / Zoologists /
(rostered residents) Palaeontologists / Entomologists /
travelling salespeople Photographers / journalists studying (remote)
transport workers (cargo ships, tankers, road trains, physical environments
trains, trucks, coaches, airlines) anthropologists / sociologists /
Work lifestyle performers & artists (circus, carnival, photographers/journalists studying other
show, theatre, musical concerts/gigs, TV/film crews)
(remote) people & cultures

4
 Transience can be due to:
RECREATIONAL NEEDS & DESIRES
tourists (backpackers, hotels, motels,
apartments)
locals holidaying at the beach / mountains / bush
(camping & caravanning & squatting)
cubby-houses, Wendy houses, tree-houses
Show people (Carnies in USA) (travelling all over
Qld for Annual Agricultural Shows)
travelling musicians / artists / actors / film makers
/ performers / circus-folk
Transience Discussion
"What does TRANSIENCE mean in terms of
the USER?"
Draw some ideas and observations from these
sorts of sources: Fine art / photography /
literature / cinema / TV / personal experience /
folklore
"What are the IMPLICATIONS of transience in
terms of the USER ANALYSIS?"
COMMUNITY is
"A SOCIAL NETWORK of interacting
individuals, usually concentrated into a
defined territoryin the UK, for example,
ETHNIC groups are often referred to a
communities, irrespective of whether they
occupy clearly identifiable TERRITORIES"
(Johnston 1997:80-81).
these daysthe term "community" is widely
used with differing meanings
Refer: Johnston, R.J. et al (Editors) (1997). The
Dictionary of Human Geography, Third Edition.
Oxford: Blackwell. Also see: Carmona, Matthew,
Tim Heath, Tanner Oc and Steven Tiesdell (2003).
Public Places Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of
Urban Design. Oxford: Architectural Press.
Transience can be due to:
RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
pilgrimages (long and short term)
Aboriginal walkabout journeys
wilderness / rainforest visits by New Age types
LIFESTYLE CHOICE
E. J. Banfield "Confessions of a Beachcomber"
etc. (Dunk Island, Qld)
Jack Kerouac "On the Road" (West Coast USA)
New Age / Hippy / Alternative lifestyles / dropouts
(Nimbin, Crystal Waters, ?Tamborine Mountain)
DIVERSITY
Major Issues of Diversity:
Culture, Gender, Age, Ability.
DISCUSS: As designers,
why are we interested in diversity?
Social justice
Other ? What do you reckon?
So what ANSWERS need to be found?
How does DIVERSITY relate to
community?
Searching for Evidence of Diversity:
Who are the users? Identify the residents of and
visitors to a place/suburb
Observation techniques
Socio-economic demographic data means what?
What do the different types of people contribute
to the character of a place?
Physical evidence of ethnic/cultural activities & values
e.g. religious buildings, meeting halls, special food
shops, art, foreign languages, special events (e.g.
Chinese New Year celebrations), Greek festival, St.
Patrick's Day, other
What are their special needs?
[ aspects of 'Universal Design']
5
 DIVERSE ~ CULTURE / ETHNICITY
"most writers now agree that culture is
best approached historically
over the course of the modern period the
meaning has changed from reference to
skilled human activity (as in agriculture,
viticulture, etc.) to refer to the whole set of
activities through which a human group
encompasses and transforms nature,
including 'human nature' (Yoruba culture,
bourgeois culture), and the refined
individual spirit (as in being a person of
culture), and finally to the collection of
intellectual and artistic practices deemed
to indicate and be produced by such
spirits" (Johnston 1997:116).
Cultural Identity: majority and minorities
"Challenges to what are seen as ideologically dominant
cultural discourses (CAPITALISM; PATRIARCHY;
RACISM) are identified in the cultural codes and
signification systems of other, subaltern groups in
Western societies: ethnic and religious minorities,
feminists, gays and lesbians." (Johnston 1997:116).
Such conscious promotion of cultural identity, often
involving the invention of traditions, can be subverted by
the capacity of dominant cultures to incorporate and
neutralize cultural signifiers. Thus styles of American
black music and speech, or graffiti art, are rapidly
introduced into mainstream culture and their subversive
political potential reduced. The main agency for this
transmission is the mass media" (Johnston 1997:116).
DIVERSE ~ GENDER
Male and Female GENDER
as cultural construct as
distinct from Sexual
orientation!
Gender specific and shared
places
activities
meanings
aspirations & intentions
Material Culture = artefacts, buildings
Cultural Geographers focus on material culture
and place, akin to anthropologists and
ethnologists.
"Culture now seen as an active force in social
reproduction, the negotiated process and
product of the discourses through which humans
signify their experiences to themselves and
others. The linguistic turn in SOCIAL THEORY
has led to the concept of culture as TEXT which
the outsider is obliged to interpret
ethnographically through processes of
representation which are themselves textual"
(Johnston 1997:116).
Marginal groups in Australia
Marginal groups and mainstream groups in post-
colonial settlements like Australia, e.g.
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
Migrants (Anglo-Celtic, Italian, Greek, German,
Lebanese, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.)
South Sea Islanders (Kanakas)
AND WOMEN!
But we in Australia aren't as badly off as other
cultures where women are still considered little
more than property owned by fathers, husbands
and/ or brothers.
DIVERSE ~ AGE
Reflecting the stages of human life.
Babies and toddlers
Children
Teenagers
Young adults
Middle aged adults
Elderly
6
 BARRIER-FREE DESIGN = good design
DIVERSE ~ ABILITY
(UNIVERSAL DESIGN)
INTRA-INDIVIDUAL: Temporary impairments typically
sizes change during one's life due to aging, nutrition, just mobility
Note:
damage e.g. asymmetrical faces why we dislike the mental health
camera's image (we are used to seeing ourselves in the Permanent impairments mobility,
seeing, hearing, manual dexterity problems are
mirror the other way-around!)
Partial and Total impairments ignored in
INTER-INDIVIDUAL:
differences due to sex, ethnic and racial groups, also Kinds of impairment summary: this
influenced by nutrition, medical problems, etc Mobility, wheelchair, crutches, cane,
description!
SECULAR VARIABILITY: walker Why is that,
the changes over generations due to nutritional & do you think?
medical improvements or deprivations [typically outside Manual (Partial), Manual (Total)
the realm of the designer?] Audio (Partial), Audio (Total)
SOURCE: Dreyfuss 1993:11 remember those Visual (Partial), Visual (Total)
Anthropometric notes in Design Basics? Activity

Where to go for more Universal Design sources:

Investigating Queensland Cultural Landscapes as Contested Terrains
See resultant Challenges matrix from Robinette
[ARC RESEARCH PROJECT] Resulted in 4 reports, but these
two contain essays about marginal groups: (1985) on page 43
Armstrong, Helen (editor) (2001), Interpreting Cultural Landscapes: of Jeannie Sim's lecture notes "DESIGN BASICS",
Theoretical Framework, Report 1, Investigating the Cultural Landscapes
of Queensland: CONTESTED TERRAINS Series, Brisbane: Cultural
pp. 38-43: section Design #9
Landscape Research Unit, QUT. ANTHROPOMETRY and ERGONOMICS for
e.g. particularities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
landscape mapping. DESIGNERS
Sim, Jeannie (editor) (2001), Thematic Study of the Cultural Landscape Also useful: section Design #10 Post Occupancy
of Queensland, Report 2, Investigating the Cultural Landscapes of
Queensland: CONTESTED TERRAINS Series, Brisbane: Cultural Evaluation (POE) pp. 44-45
Landscape Research Unit, QUT. (includes introduction to Crime Prevention Through
e.g. Part 1: Landscape Histories, Marginal Groups: The Unofficial
History Environmental Design (CPTED).
These reports are available in QUT library and for sale at QUT bookshop.

The End.

CPTED = Crime Prevention Through

http://www.aic.gov.au/research/cvp/topics/cpted.html
Environmental Design
International CPTED Association Decent parks? Decent behaviour? The link
http://www.cpted.net/default.html): Warning popped up that between the quality of parks and user behaviour
they monitor the security of the site!!! Copy at your own risk!
Check out this PDF file for yourself!
AUS: ISHMAPI = International Security Management and
Crime Prevention Institute
http://www.cpted.com.au/home.html [another security
warning!]
UK: DOCA = Designing Out Crime Association
http://www.doca.org.uk/ [didn't dare try copying anything by
this stage!]
MUCH FRIENDLIER SITES: big list of papers etc. from
Government's Australian Institute of Criminology at
http://www.aic.gov.au/research/cvp/topics/cpted.html
All Accessed 7/4/06

7
 30/09/2015

PSYCH 4
COGNITIVE MAPPING:
making sense of our environment
using it as a design tool
Initially Prepared by Glenn Thomas
DLB310 People and Place
What does cognition mean?
cognition
/kog'nishuhn/
noun
1. the act or process of knowing; perception.
2. the product of such a process; thing thus known,
perceived, etc.
3. Obsolete knowledge.
[Middle English, from Latin cognitio a getting to know]
--cognitive /'kognuhtiv/ adjective
The Macquarie Dictionary

Warm up exercise: Warm up exercise:

Have a little daydream!! Have a little daydream!!
Close your eyes and let Try to recall (make a note/draw now):
your mind carry you
back to an all-time
What was the arrival experience?
favourite place you How did you find your way around the place?
have experienced in What elements does it contain that were important
your life.
to your experience of the place?
Picture that place in as
much colourful detail What is the size of the place?
as you can and How is it located relative to other nearby places?
spend a few minutes
For examplelet's talk!
enjoying your
memory of it.
Your answers will be used further in this talk!

Candys Mind-Map 2004 ENVIRONMENTAL COGNITION

Your daydream has been constructing a
cognitive or mental map of the place as an
important component of your processes of
ENVIRONMENTAL COGNITION
or, as it is sometimes called: METACOGNITION
What is environmental cognition?
Environmental cognition concerns the way we
acquire, store, organise, and recall information
about locations, distances, and arrangements
in buildings, streets, and the great outdoors
(Gifford 1997, 29)

1
 30/09/2015

Environmental Cognition SPATIAL COGNITION

Gifford suggests that environmental cognition the thinking processes that help us
has two distinct components: wayfind (ie, successfully navigate in our
environment), estimate distances [and travel
spatial cognition, and times], recognise route cues [landmarks],
non-spatial cognition. make and read maps, and generally
understand the relative location in space of
different places. Spatial cognition includes
the concept of cognitive maps, which are
Also see pictorial and semantic images in our heads
Bell et al 2001 Chapter 3: Environmental of how places are arranged.
Perception and Cognition. (Gifford 1997, 29).

Spatial Cognition Maps and brochures of cities

http://www.hemamaps.com.au/

Bell 2001:69

FAVOURITE
all time tourist
map:
-- no tricky
folding!
-- plasticised
for durability
even in rain
-- train map on
back
ESSENTIAL
ITEMS:
-- Scale
nb. grids need a
measurement!
-- north point
-- legend

2
 30/09/2015

PARIS MAP
with 3D
landmarks
good value!
NON-SPATIAL COGNITION
+ train map
when we think about or remember a place, with no
particular reference to its relative location or
distance (Gifford 1997, 29).
In other words, the non-spatial, experiential qualities
that our memories attach to places.
for example:
physical attributes quiet/noisy, wet/dry,
pleasant/unpleasant, beautiful/ugly.
experiential attributes good or bad things
happen to us, we either like it or dislike it.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE OUR

Cognitive Maps
ENVIRONMENTAL COGNITION
Humans are not cameras or computers and we do not It has been suggested
mechanically process information but that the primary use of
as imperfect as they might be, our mental images are very cognitive maps is for
useful to us. wayfinding (Bell
our cognitive processes are full of errors and differ from one 2001:69).
person to the next ie. no two people will perceive the
same environment in exactly the same way.
Therefore
individual differences must be determined in part by
differences in our individual life experiences. For example:
age (stage of life), spatial ability (spatial cognitive biases),
familiarity or experience, gender, race/culture/belief Bell 2001:75
systems, physical influences/mental abilities.

Wayfinding Sequential & Spatial Cognitive Maps

Bell 2001:72
Bell 2001:89

3
 30/09/2015

You-are-here Maps Visitor signage

Bell 2001:93

Confusing Visitor Map Other You-are-here maps

BCC 2005

Route Choice . RE: Route Choice Exercise

Take a few moments to WHAT CONCLUSIONS CAN WE DRAW FROM
study the street map. You THE RESULTS OF THIS EXERCISE?
are currently at POINT A
and you need to get to individual differences in environmental cognition
THE STATIION quickly as can influence the way we use or access our
you can to be sure of environment;
catching your train home.
If you miss it you will have personal constructs of spatial relationships mean
to wait 2 hours for the that people do not always act according to
next.
cartographic reality
Three possible choices are
(Gifford 1997, 40);
marked. Which one is the
shortest and therefore the
quickest?

4
 30/09/2015

Examples Cognitive Mapping and Spatial Legibility

(from Gifford):
cognitive distances are strongly related to where
consumers decide to shop more so than to
objective distances, socio-economic factors, or
other demographic information about the shopper;
personal differences in route choices relate to a
complex range of choices that influence the
experience or way an individual makes sense of
the relationship between start point and
destination.
Later in Place Theory lectures, we will discuss the codification
proposed by Kevin Lynch to help us analyse and describe
places in spatial or physical terms.
ie, the concept of legibility (the ease with which a place may
be cognitively organised, understood, or read by someone)
and its relation to paths, landmarks, edges, nodes, and
districts
(Gifford 1997 38-39).
Allied to the work of other theorists, although the focus of the
theory may change from one to another, there is an
underlying thread of commonality. In all approaches there
is evidence of the concept of environmental legibility as an
important consideration in place theory.
Some of these are summarised on the following table.

Comparative Table IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN

Cognitive mapping as a USER SURVEY technique
LYNCH BENTLEY NORBERG CULLEN Ask residents, workers or visitors to your study site to cognitively
-SHULZ describe journeys they regularly make within or to the study site.
In this process encourage them to draw diagrams or sketches.
Paths Permeability Serial Analysis of these may give insights to those elements within the
Legibility Landmarks & Path Vision & existing site that
or Edges Legibility Here and have memory associations that might be lost if not sensitively
Access Nodes Domain There recognised; or
Districts contribute to a sense of identity for this place; or
Fit Visual Content hold popular appeal; or
City Vitality Appropriateness assist users in wayfinding; or
Image Control Variety Place help them relate to their environment; or
Robustness make this a special place.
Richness It can also help identify places where legibility is poor and should be
Personalisation addressed in your design.
YOU CAN ALSO DO THIS EXERCISE YOURSELF AS A VISITOR!
Sources listed on NOTES sheet attached to this slide.

Other ways of
gathering perceptual
In conclusion
& cognitive data:
the survey Use the idea of COGNITIVE MAPPING as a way
of increasing your own powers of observation,
descriptive language and critical thinking about
environments you will be working in as a
designer.
References:
Gifford, Robert (1997). Environmental Psychology:
Principles and Practice. 2nd Edition, Boston: Allyn and
Bacon.
Bell, Paul A. et al (2001). Environmental Psychology. 5th
Edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt College Publications.
The end.

5
 PSYCH 5
What does perception mean?
Perception
noun
4. Psychology a single unified meaning obtained from
sensory processes while a stimulus is present
[Middle English, from Latin perceptio a receiving,
PERCEPTION hence apprehension]
and Terrain Vague --perceptional adjective
The Macquarie Dictionary
DLB310 People and Place
2007

Environmental Perception Awareness and adaptation

is the initial gathering of information. We are
primarily visual beings, but environmental
perception includes ways and means by which we
collect information through all our senses.
Source: Gifford 1997, 17
Usually investigations are of large and complex
real places (e.g. whole landscapes, with perceiver
moving through space)
Typically the perceiver is connected to the place.
The environment constantly offers many more pieces
of information than any of us can possibly handle.
We are always selecting for our attention a
relatively small, manageable portion of the
available information. We may focus intensely or
minimally on environmental displays ranging in size
from architectural details to vast panoramic
landscapes that rang in distance from very near to
very distant.
Source: Gifford 1997, 19

Flip-books
Traditional Approaches to Perception Flip books are essentially a
primitive form of animation. Like
motion pictures, they rely on
Of Size, Depth & Distance persistence of vision to create the
illusion that continuous motion is
Linear Perspective lines being seen rather than a series of
discontinuous images being
that are parallel appear to exchanged in succession. Rather
than "reading" left to right, a viewer
converge in the distance simply stares at the same location
of the pictures in the flip book as
Gestalt perception the the pages turn. The book must also
Marquis-Kyle website be flipped with enough speed for
whole is different from the the illusion to work, so the standard
sum of its parts e.g. way to "read" a flip book is to hold
the book with one hand and flip
child's flip-book seems to through its pages with the thumb of
the other hand. The German word
show a scene in for flip bookDaumenkino, literally
movement like the many "thumb cinema"reflects this
process.
frames of a movie film http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_book
http://www.pettyofficial.com/2006_10_01_archive.html

1
Environmental Perception: Probalism To get more from a scene (Herbert Leff)
We can enhance are awareness skills e.g.
Rapidly switch your visual focus from one point in
the scene to another forming a vivid impression of
each view
Look for views in the scene that would make
personally relevant photographs
Imagine what it would be like to be one of the
objects in the scene
See inanimate objects as if they were alive.
Source: Gifford 1997, 19
Bell 2001:63 More on perception later in PLACE: landscape visual analysis

Some references on Perception

Gifford, Robert (1997). Environmental Psychology:
Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition, Boston: Allyn
Terrain Vague
and Bacon.
Bell, Paul A., Greene, Thomas C., Fisher, Jeffrey (a new term in French,
D., and Baum, Andrew (2001). Environmental
Psychology. 5th Edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt
invented by a Spaniard!)
College Publishers. Especially Chapter 3:
Environmental Perception and Cognition.

Original material by Helen Armstrong reworked

in true postmodern fashion by Jeannie Sim

BARCELONA, Ignasi de Sola-Morales

Catalan region of Northwest Spain [QUADERNS 212, 1997:34]

The Terrain Vague

concept originates
from Spain and
landscape architect
Ignasi de Sola-
Morales
READINGS on TERRAIN VAGUE:
See RESOURCE LAB and extracts from Kerb issue #3, 1996

2
 terrain vague [quotation first part]
http://parole.aporee.org/work/hier.php3?spec_id=5337&words_id=405
Empty, abandoned space in which a series of occurrences
have taken place seems to subjugate the eye of the urban
photographer. Such urban space, which I will denote by the
French expression terrain vague, assumes the status of
fascination, the most solvent sign with which to indicate
what cities are and what our experience of them is. As does
any other aesthetic product, photography communicates not
only the perceptions that we may accumulate of these kinds
of spaces but also the affects, experiences that pass from
the physical to the psychic, converting the vehicle of the
photographic image into the medium through which we form
value judgments about these seen or imagined places. It is
impossible to capture in a single English word or phrase the
meaning of terrain vague
terrain vague [quotation third part]
http://parole.aporee.org/work/hier.php3?spec_id=5337&words_id=405
The French vague has Latin and Germanic origins.
The German Woge refers to a sea swell, significantly
alluding to movement, oscillation, instability, and
fluctuation. Two Latin roots come together in the
French vague. Vague descends from vacuus, giving
us 'vacant' and 'vacuum' in English, which is to say
The relationship between the absence of use, of
activity, and the sense of freedom, of expectancy, is
fundamental to understanding the evocative potential
of the city's terrains vagues. 'empty, unoccupied', yet
also 'free, available, unengaged'
Learning from the photographers
FOR MORE CHECK OUT THESE:
A couple of important sources:
http://davidplowden.com/ for more photos or the
complete list of his publications or these books in
QUT/GP library: 'A sense of place' and 'Bridges:
the spans of North America'
http://www.johndavies.uk.com/ for more photos
or the complete list of his publications
terrain vague [quotation second part]
http://parole.aporee.org/work/hier.php3?spec_id=5337&words_id=405
The French term terrain connotes a more
urban quality than the English land; thus
terrain is an extension of the precisely limited
ground fit for construction, for the city. In
English the word terrain has acquired more
agricultural or geological meanings. The
French word also refers to greater and
perhaps less precisely defined territories,
connected with the physical idea of a portion
of land in its potentially exploitable state but
already possessing some definition to which
we are external.
terrain vague [quotation fourth part]
http://parole.aporee.org/work/hier.php3?spec_id=5337&words_id=405
The relationship between the absence of use, of activity,
and the sense of freedom, of expectancy, is fundamental
to understanding the evocative potential of the city's
terrains vagues. Void, absence, yet also promise, the
space of the possible, of expectation.
A second meaning superimposed on the French vague
derives from the Latin vagus, giving 'vague' in English, too,
in the sense of 'indeterminate, imprecise, blurred,
uncertain'. Once again the paradox of the message we
receive from these indefinite and uncertain spaces is not
purely negative. While the analogous terms that we have
noted are generally preceded by negative particles (in-
determinate, im-precise, un-certain), this absence of limit
precisely contains the expectations of mobility, vagrant
roving, free time, liberty. The triple signification of the
French vague as 'wave' , 'vacant' , and 'vague' appears in
a multitude of photographic images.
Ignasi de Sol Morales
Henri Cartier-Bresson
( earlier 20th century photographer)
Alles du Prado,
Marseilles 1932
Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, 1932 Rue Mouffetard, 1954
3
 Left over industry and Terrain Vague Left overs and potentials
[Quaderns 212, 1997:41] Terrain Vague [Quaderns 212, 1997:38]

PHOTOGRAPH by David Plowden (1985) PHOTOGRAPH by John Davies (1970)

Industrial Landscape, Chicago. Urban Landscapes , Rotterdam. .

QUADERNS 212, 8 WAYS to ENGAGE with TERRAIN VAGUE SITES

February 1997 From Sola Morales [Kerb] 1996
Produce an EVENT in a strange territory
[Grand Prix Gold Coast vacant sites]
Casual unfolding of proposal superimposed on
existing place
REPEATING VOID-on-VOID
Silent artificial landscape touching history
Exploring FLOW, force, incorporation and
independence of forms
#212 Beyond art to NEW FREEDOMS
is in QUT/GP library!!
Moving toward NOMADISM & EROTICISM

TERRAINS VAGUES SOUTH BRISBANE 1974 flood: JOL #lbp00075r

are usually 'redeveloped' and become

International Expositions

Olympic Games

International Garden Festivals

4
Expo 88 then SouthBank Parklands OTHER READINGS:
de Sol-Morales Rubi, Ignasi,
"Terrain Vague" pp. 4-12 and
Connolly, Peter.(1996). "T.V. Guide:
Some footnotes to Morales' notion of
Terrain Vague" pp. 16-26,
in Kerb, Journal of Landscape
Architecture [RMIT]
de Sola-Morales Rubio, Ignasi.
Terrain Vague.
In Davidson, Cynthia C. (ed) (1995).
Anyplace. Anyone Corp/MIT Press:
NY/ Cambridge, MA.
Steve Parish

"vague terrain / terrain vague"

There is a new digital journal called Vague Terrain:
http://www.vagueterrain.net/
2 3 7

Where some interesting photographs, text and ideas

can be found
Try googling terrain vague and see what you find!

'Kerb' Journal from RMIT, Melbourne

Terrain Vague before "Brisbane Square" 'landscape as the vehicle for redefining
2001
the cities in a post-industrial world'

End.

5
PLACE 1: Queensland How does the Glass House Mountains Region look?
Cultural Landscapes

WORKSHOP

FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the

workshop and reflect on how appropriate this method is View from Wild Horse Mountain Lookout. [Seto 2000]
for your chosen topic to investigate.
Background:
The recent Contested Terrains research project that
investigated Queensland's Cultural Landscapes created
a new way of amalgamating interpretations of place.
This workshop will introduce this analysis method.1 The
definition of cultural landscapes developed by the
Landscape Research Team for this study embraced the
following core elements.
The cultural landscape is constantly evolving,
humanised, landscape. It consists of a dialectic
between the natural physical setting, the human
modifications to that setting, and the meanings of the
resulting landscape to insiders and outsiders.
Continuous interaction between these three elements
takes place over time. Cultural landscapes can be
represented as stories, myths and beliefs, which may
be applied to all landscapes including wilderness
landscapes, ordinary landscapes or designed
landscapes. The concept of cultural landscape
therefore embodies a dynamic understanding of
history, in which past, present and future are
seamlessly connected.
This was derived from the work on cultural landscapes by
O'Hare (1997).2
TASK:
This exercise is a review of the process used to
understand one cultural landscape case study: the Glass
House Mountains region of SEQ. Since 2001 when this
study was undertaken, some advances have been made
towards heritage protection: listing on the Register of the Diagrammatic Map of Region.
National Estate (2006) and nomination (and possible Most but not all the actual Glass House Mountains are
preliminary listing) on Queensland Heritage Register within existing Queensland National Parks or State
(2007). Note the delay in time! Forest Reserves. Other land holders in the region
include private farmland, residential and commercial
enterprises, other government-managed land (e.g.
railways or main roads) and so on.

1 Seto, Jan and Armstrong, Helen Chapter 1 Case Study

Methodology, pp.1-17. In Sim, Jeannie and Armstrong, Helen
(editors) (2001). Report 4: Reports of the Case Studies.
Investigating Queenslands Cultural Landscapes, CONTESTED
TERRAINS Series. Brisbane: CLRU/QUT
2 Sim and Armstrong 2001:vii-viii.
DLB310 People and Place
Project Case Study Review BCLC Land Use Intentions Demonstrated by
BCLC
Refer to the hardcopies of Report 4 held by your Tutor or Landscapes of a) to connect,
available for borrowing from the QUT/GP library or for Communication b) to service,
purchasing from the QUT Bookshop. The intent c) to supply information,
demonstrated by d) to effect political control.
SUMMARY of RESEARCH APPROACH3 these broad cultural N.B. These cultural landscapes include
landscapes is landscapes associated with various
1. Understanding the physical context for cultural modes of communication, both physical
landscapes in Queensland and sensory.
The Selection of Case Study Areas Landscapes of a) to overcome the limitations of dry
Water Management land production
2. Understanding the cultural context for cultural The intent b) to manage wetlands
landscapes in Queensland demonstrated by c) to control coastal processes
Chronology of Cultural Landscape in area. these broad cultural
Current Cultural Landscape Description. landscapes is
Broad Cultural Landscape Categories for Qld Landscapes of a) to become familiar with natural
Experimentation systems
3. Determining Valuable Cultural Landscapes in
The intent b) to develop techniques to overcome
Queensland demonstrated by land use problems
MULTIPLE READINGS OF VALUE these broad cultural c) to pursue knowledge of past natural
Reading according to Thematic Historical Studies. landscapes is processes and human occupation
Reading according to Australian Heritage Criteria d) to acclimatise and experiment with
Reading according to Worldviews introduced and native plant and
Reading according to Queensland Heritage Criteria animal species for economic and
STATEMENT OF CULTURAL VALUES ornamental purposes.
LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT Landscapes of a) to maintain existing authority,
Character of the Landscapes Strategic Interest b) to defend,
Integrity/vulnerability of the Landscape The intent c) to protect from fires, floods
demonstrated by d) to colonise.
4. Understanding the management context for the these broad cultural
cultural landscapes in Queensland landscapes is
HERITAGE PRACTICE Landscapes of a) to be enjoyed in a social and /or
ISSUES OF CONCERN Leisure creative manner,
Macro Issues for Queensland The intent b) to effect escape, to promote mental
Specific Issues for Case Studies demonstrated by health
MANAGEMENT PATHWAYS these broad cultural c) to achieve physical health,
Key Management Values landscapes is d) to satisfy the needs relating to nature
Management Considerations and Objectives based activities, e.g. fishing, hunting,
Management Proposals. gardening
e) to participate in organised sporting
activities.
This project derived a set of landscape types thus: Landscapes of a) to reveal community values
Association b) to belong
Broad Cultural Landscape Categories (BCLC)4 The intent c) to identify
demonstrated by d) to share a common interest or
BCLC Land Use Intentions Demonstrated by these broad cultural occupation
BCLC landscapes is e) to effect physical safety and /or
Landscapes of a) to conserve bio-diversity mental wellbeing for the individual
Nature b) to educate N.B. These cultural landscapes include
The intent c) for spiritual enrichment those landscapes which may be identified
demonstrated by this d) for recreation with a particular sectorial group. Such
cultural landscape e) for environmental cleanliness groups may be of various origins, refer
category is f) for aesthetic reasons. indicative examples.
Landscapes of a) to consolidate identity,
Landscapes of a) to dwell, Symbolism b) to confirm spiritual values,
Settlement b) to establish territory, The intent c) to express a Queensland character,
The intent c) to pioneer, demonstrated by humour, anti-heroic.
demonstrated by d) to provide services for the these broad cultural
these broad cultural community. landscapes is
landscapes is
This system of land categorization could be used in
Landscapes of a) to fulfil capitalist objectives, itself to understand the character/use of landscapes.
Enterprise b) to develop and improve, Can you apply this method to our Brisbane City
The intent c) to exploit the natural resources of the study areas?
demonstrated by land.
these broad cultural
landscapes is

3 Seto and Armstrong 2001:3.

4 Seto and Armstrong 2001: 8.
DLB310 People and Place
The Contested Terrains project analysis process
involved the preparation of several tables of data:5
TABLE 4.1: CHRONOLOGY of the GLASS HOUSE
MOUNTAINS REGION
TABLE 4.2 Reading the Cultural Landscape according to
THEMATIC STUDY (Report 2)
TABLE 4.3 Reading the Cultural Landscape according to the
AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE COMMISSION Cultural
Significance Assessment Criteria
TABLE 4.4 Reading the Cultural Landscapes according to
WORLD VIEWS
TABLE 4.5 Reading the Cultural Landscapes according to the
QUEENSLAND HERITAGE ACT 1992
TABLE 4.6.1 INTEGRITY of the NOMINATED VALUED
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
(1) DISTINCTIVE LANDMARKS
TABLE 4.6.2 INTEGRITY of the NOMINATED VALUED
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
(2) SUMMIT LOOKOUTS
TABLE 4.6.3 INTEGRITY of the NOMINATED VALUED
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
(3) COASTAL PLAIN
TABLE 4.6.4 INTEGRITY of the NOMINATED VALUED
CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
(4) COMMUNICATION CORRIDOR
TABLE 4.7 MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS &
OBJECTIVES
TABLE 4.8 MANAGEMENT PROPOSALS FOR GLASS
HOUSE MOUNTAINS REGION
TASKS:
Review the contents of these tables and discuss in
your groups. Tables 4.1 to 4.5 give the necessary
descriptive understanding of the region.
Consider these questions:
1. Why were these four aspects (landmarks,
lookouts, coastal plain and communication
corridor) of the region chosen for analysis?
2. Can you recognize a key problem in providing
protection for the REGION under existing
heritage legislation (State and Federal)?
To further immerse ourselves in the place, the
SECOND HALF OF THE WORKSHOP concerns
gathering and recording some personal stories,
reflections, or experiences about the Glass House
Mountains region.

REFERENCES:
Download from the BLACKBOARD site the 2 digital files
of extracts from Report 4: Chapter 1 Methodology and
Chapter 4 Glass House Mountains Region (case study).

5 Seto 2001:71-100 contains all these tables; this list drawn from
contents page of Report 4.
DLB310 People and Place
PLACE 2: 2. Cullens SERIAL VISION
Exploring Townscape Form Find an interesting route through the QUT/GP campus
and record it using Cullens technique of small vignette

WORKSHOP sketches and accompanying key plan showing arrows

related to each view. Level changes can be an exciting
addition to your journey such as going down the steps
beside the library into the rainforest garden below.
Sometimes the route map is presented as a section!

FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the

workshop and reflect on their effectiveness to aid
understanding landscape character and on their
usefulness for designers.
Background:
This workshop explores the application of townscape
theories and methods of analysis developed by Kevin
Lynch and by Gordon Cullen.
1. Lynchs CITY IMAGE Elements:
TASK: Map Lynchs image elements for the beloved
campus of QUT/GP. Remember the distinctions Lynch
made between landmark and node. You can choose
what factors constitute a district, e.g. landuse
(commercial, educational, recreational); by Faculty
building, etc. Similarly, what makes an edge here?
PATHS
EDGES
DISTRICTS
NODES
LANDMARKS
Remember every map or plan requires these essential
elements: scale; north point; legend; title.

Lynch 1997:146
NOTES: You can improve a lot on Lynchs clunky, hard
to read graphical style. Find some suitable symbols for
your spot symbols (landmark & node) and different
shadings or tones or patterns for the districts. Consider
different symbols for vehicular paths and pedestrian
paths. In other locations there maybe also tram/train
lines, commuter ferries and bikepaths! And be sure that
edges dont look too similar to your paths.
Cullen 1999: 17
Not feeling very confident with your free-hand sketching
abilities? Heres a tip: first take photographs. You can
use these instead or you can trace over them and create
quick hand-drawn sketches! Any graphic technique that
saves times and communicates the required message
and/or mood is not cheating!
FINAL THOUGHT: Both Lynch and Cullen can teach us
how to see more closely what is around us. We can then
make use of these skills when designing. We can
determine what is working well and what is not and thus
make appropriate changes or improvements to suit!

DLB310 People and Place

PLACE 3:
Exploring Meaning of Place
WORKSHOP
FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the
workshop and reflect on their effectiveness to aid
understanding landscape character and on their
usefulness for designers.
Background:
This workshop explores the application of theories
developed by Jay Appleton (Prospect-Refuge) and Yi-Fu
Tuan (Topophilia) to reveal how people are attached to
and influenced by physical places.
1. Appletons Prospect-Refuge
TASK: The exercise is about locating and recording
some examples of both High and Low Prospect/Refuge
in the edge zone between the Old Brisbane Botanic
Gardens and QUT. Search for seats or walls that can be
sat on are they comfortable or is their openness make
the user fell uneasy? Reminder about the meanings of
terms:
PROSPECT =outward looking, view from vantage point
REFUGE = inwardly protected, secure, safe, hideaway
One recording method is the photograph if students
work in pairs (one as subject and one as photographer)
you can show the relative openness or protected quality
of a seat. Addition explanation could be provided by a
quick plan of the location of the seat in its context.
Section and Plan together explain the situation.
Summary: find 2 examples of HIGH prospect-HIGH
refuge, and 2 examples of LOW prospect-refuge (either
both low or only one aspect low).
Verandah c.1890s [Fryer Library UQ; Hume #467]
2. Tuans Topophilia
TOPOPHILIA = Literally, love of PLACE
TASK: This exercise is about identifying some key
spaces that have great symbolic meaning for users. You
can search the whole of Gardens Point from Alice
Street back to the river. Having several very historic
buildings in this zone makes this exercise easy! Record
the space with a photo or sketch and describe the sorts
of attachments that you have experienced yourself
(preferably) or you believe many people have for your
choice. For example, the front forecourt to Parliament
House (really the pedestrian zone of George Street) has
become symbolic of the communitys voice of protest
many rallies terminate at this location and the cheers
and speeches are directed at the politicians inside PH.
Thus this place symbolizes the right of free speech and
assembly we enjoy in Australia.
Parliament House in 1886 (etching by Garan).
Sometimes meanings attached to a place can be more
negative horror for Nazi prison camps or scenes of
devastation like Manhattans World Trade Centre.
Sometimes the emotion is a mixture of good and bad,
such as the awe for incredible natural wonders like Uluru
or the Grand Canyon! Whatever, the emotion is strong!
Summary: find 2 examples of places with TOPOPHILIA!
DLB310 People and Place
PLACE 4: Visual Analysis Graphics:
Visual Landscape Analysis

WORKSHOP

FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the

workshop and reflect on their effectiveness to aid
understanding landscape character and on their
usefulness for designers.
Here are some basic diagramming graphics (Reid 1987):
Background:
Landscape architects have been undertaking various
sorts of visual analysis since at least the 1960s. This
workshop explores the core of those approaches:
understanding these visual characteristics:
external view points towards site
orientation points & vistas from within site;
including focal points
special landscape & visual characteristics
(rock outcrops, white water, ancient trees, building
ruins)
visual quality (poor / good condition etc.)
intrusive elements
landscape distinctiveness
viewshed (like a watershed: from ridge to ridge; horizon
to horizon); this is not really relevant when studying small
enclosed urban sites the viewshed is then the
surrounding walls of buildings!
TASK:
This workshop will use one of the larger open spaces on
the QUT/GP campus as a case study site:
D Block Yard
Kidney Lawn
between F and J Blocks, or
OBBG entry onto Main Driveway near B Block.
Work individually first to prepare a VISUAL SITE
ANALYSIS of one of these spaces and a hand drawn
MAP of the findings. Be sure to devise clearly legible
symbols that are described in a legend. Include map
title, author, scale and north point as always.
Return to Studio and compare with rest of tutorial group.
Consider the different graphic techniques used their
benefits and drawbacks! Were there significant
differences of opinion about what constitutes intrusive
(ugly) and what is pleasant (beautiful and/or
interesting)? What do these differences tell us?

DLB310 People and Place

Reid 1987:49

Reid 1987:49

Reid 1987:51

DLB310 People and Place

There are many ways of illustrating visual analysis. Here
are a few older versions (White 1983):

For next semesters DLB410, this is the set text (2002):

It also has some graphical examples of use in DLB310.

DLB310 People and Place

PSYCH 1: Group Work
WORKSHOP
FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the exercises and reflect on
the outcomes for your group and yourself.
TASK:
These exercises are aimed at making groups work effectively.
Group work is the basis of nearly all design practice, which often
mixes different disciplines. Finding good ways to communicate,
cooperate and collaborate is vital to achieve the assessment and
learning objectives of this unit. Let's learn from the excellent
example set in the BEB200 Introduction to Sustainability unit and
develop a clear understanding of group work processes and
responsibilities: their reference adapted from Woods et al. 2000.
The Future of Engineering Education. III. Developing Critical
Skills. http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Papers/Quartet3.pdf )
PROCESS:
GROUP ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
Once the groups have been formed encourage them to set the
protocols for their working together.
(1) Begin this task with a short workshop:
Ask each student to write down three things (positive and/or
negative) that they have previously experienced with group
work (5 minutes);
Each student is to pass their list to their neighbour who is to
suggest a strategy for dealing with each issue raised (5
minutes);
Using OHP transparencies to record the outcomes ask each
student in turn to report the three issues and three responses
in their possession. As this process progresses ask
subsequent contributors to only add those that are different to
items already recorded (20 minutes)
(2) Ask the teams to hold a meeting at which they
decide on group behaviour expectations,
reaching consensus on questions such as:
do we need a chairperson?
do we need to elect a chairperson or should we take turns
week by week?
How will we organise group meetings?
how will we handle missed meetings and lateness?
how will we make decisions?
how will we deal with team members who repeatedly fail to
meet their responsibilities?
how will we deal with conflicts that develop in the group?
(3) The teams should summarize their agreement
and each member record it in their Reflective
Journal.
LATER TASKS: Raising awareness of personality
differences and their influence on group work
Give the students the following web sites
http://www.win.net/insightsys/question.htm and
http://www.advisorteam.com/temperament_sorter/ .
Student in their groups should:
assess their personality type indicators using both test
versions and print out the summary descriptions of their
personality type;
compare the two to see how consistent they are in assessing
personality type;
share their results with other members of their team and
discuss the implications for teamwork; and
file the results and discussions in their Reflective Journals.
Please be aware that the most effective groups include people
with different styles. Although the differences might lead to
apparent conflict, they can be used to bring a synergy to group
activities that might otherwise be unattainable.
From time to time tutors will ask students to assess their
performance (eg 5-10 minutes at the end of a work session). For
example:
are our team protocols working or do we need to re-visit them?
are we working to our strengths?
are we meeting our targets?
Students should record their discussions in their Journals.
TASK ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
From time to time your tutor will ask students to monitor how well
they are engaging with the group task.
Monitoring encourages the meta-cognitive processes of keeping
track of, regulating, and controlling a mental process, considering
past, present and planned mental actions. For example:
Why are we doing this?
What really is the problem?
Have we spent enough time defining the problem?
What are the constraints?
If we were unsuccessful, what did we learn?
Are we finished with this stage?
What options do we have? Which is most likely to succeed?
Can we write down these ideas?
Can we use charts, graphs, equations or other graphics to
represent the ideas?
If we had a value of ....., how would that help us in solving the
problem?
Can we validate this outcome?
What other kinds of problems can we solve now that we have
solved this one correctly?
LAST THOUGHTS on making small groups work
A group should share a clear SENSE OF PURPOSE.
Recognise the different ROLES that can be played including:
initiator-contributor; information-seeker; information-giver;
elaborator; coordinator; orienter; evaluator-critic; and, recorder.
Agree on effective ways of MAKING DECISIONS: take on board
compromise, not just majority votes; respect everyones opinion;
arrange for arbitration; and find some consensus.
Where to do for more?
Wallace 1999, Chapter 8, especially pp.117-121.1
1 Wallace, Andrew, Schirato, Tony and Bright, Philippa (1999).
Beginning University: thinking, researching and writing for success.
Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin.
DLB310 People and Place
Making individuals work better
Getting individuals to work effectively is the basis of making
groups work well. So how can we work better?
Here is a bestseller from the 1990s written
by a motivational 'guru'. Covey deals with
issues of time management, leadership and
even self-fulfilment (in a way).2

Covey contends
Here is the relationship between consideration and courage that
that effective
can become a WIN/WIN outcome [Covey 1993:218].
behaviour is based
on developing Covey has
good habits. developed a 7-
Habits approach
[Figure from Covey
to helping people
1993:48].
develop effective
life strategies.
These habits
occur within the
private world of
each individual
and the outer
pubic world in
which they live.

The seven habits relate to each other in this dynamic diagram.

[Figure from Covey 1993:53]:
1. Be proactive = personal vision; freedom to choose response to
stimuli; taking the initiative
2. Begin with the End in Mind = personal leadership; personal
TIME MANAGEMENT: Covey 1993:151. mission statement;
3. Put first things first = personal management; (3=1+2);
4. Think Win/Win = seek the other (better) outcome
5. Seek first to understand, then be understood = empathic
communication; listening empathically; imagining the other
person's point of view
6. Synergise = creative cooperation; valuing the differences
7. Sharpen the Saw = balanced self-renewal.

Communication is the key to successful group work and

developing effective life/work strategies. Win/Win refers to the
outcomes of human interactions where both parties achieve
favourable outcomes (mutual benefits = win/win). Other less
desirable outcomes are Lose/Lose, Win/Lose, No Deal, etc.
[Figure from Covey 1993:270].

Balanced life/work/play is vital to survival [Covey 1993:288].

2 Covey, Stephen R. (1993). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
restoring the character ethic. Melbourne: Information Australia.
DLB310 People and Place
PSYCH 2: Methods of Recording Use &
Recording Public Space Movement Through a Space
MAPPING (lines = visitor routes)
WORKSHOP VIDEOTAPING
SLOW MOTION PHOTOGRAPHY
STOP-GAP PHOTOGRAPHY
COUNTING (incoming & outgoing)
ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS (written, draw 'shorthand'
FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the icon, stickers )
workshop and reflect on how appropriate this method is
for your chosen topic to investigate. Wear lines on fabric (goat tracks in grass)
TASK:
These exercises introduce some of the observational Context to Activities:
techniques that can be used to understand how people microclimate:
use spaces. temperature, wind, shade, sunshine, humidity
PROCESS: smells / aromas
This workshop will use on of the larger open spaces on noise / music / white noise
the QUT/GP campus as a case study site:
touch / texture (abrasion of surfaces)
D Block Yard
ground plane even, steep, slippery
Kidney Lawn
vertical plane narrow / wide passages
courtyard between Y and X Blocks, or
overhead low /high ceilings
OBBG entry onto Main Driveway near B Block.
signage / messages / symbols

Undertake some of the different observational

methods of recording usage listed below. Crucial Factors Influencing
Take note of the contextual and other influential factors. Results:
TIMING
EXTENT OF VIEWS
Try to find some examples of the following in your case
study area: SPECIAL EVENTS
Wearlines on built fabric or grass Other things?
Anti-vandalism devices (against wilful damage to
built fabric) Actions to watch out for:
Micro-climatic problems Hesitency or Purposefulness
Collisions (blind corners)
Finally, devise a strategy for observing these places at Confusions (too many choices)
different times of the day and year. How many times
would you need to get a more accurate reading? Anti-social behaviour (which is? e.g.)
Gatherings (how many people?)
Lone people (sitting / standing )

Refer to PSYCH 1 PowerPoint for more.

Mapping behaviour: Possible layout for recording findings:
Use a LEGEND with symbols and thus reduce the text Summary of Problems and Potential Solutions at XYZ
notes that obscure and clutter a plan. For example,
PROBLEM GOAL SOLUTION
B bin for rubbish (based on (proposed
G graffiti observations) improvement)
V vandalism Playgrounds get Provide shading Plant trees and
//// worn grass too hot install shade-
>>> erosion of ground structure.
Pw puddle of water Etc.
L litter, paper, metal cans, glass bottles etc. See Hopper 2007:63.
or be specific
Lb cigarette butts COMMENT: Social scientist/designers adore the
Ls syringes checklist and the table. Be careful of loosing the plot in
Lf dog faeces. an effort to fill in all the boxes. You can also be too
prescriptive of possible solutions and thus stifle creative
NEW ideas that greatly improve on traditional thinking.

Hopper 2007:58

Hopper 2007: 58
 (2) What information is missing from this data? A clue is
PSYCH 3: provided in the source of the ABS data, which is called
Documentary Evidence the "Census of Population and Housing (2001)".

WORKSHOP (3) Find examples of different kinds of graphs and other

figures used in the Statistical Portrait. You won't be able
to directly copy the images from the PDF file but you can
construct your own graphical analyses using the
techniques revealed.
(4) Compare the Statistical Portrait with original data source
from the ABS website. Are there other interpretations or
FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the workshop more data on that website?
and reflect on how appropriate this method is for your chosen
topic to investigate.
Background:
Direct observation is only one way of finding evidence.
Governments and other large corporations have been
recording statistics about people from earliest times. This
session will introduce some of the sources and tools available
to the investigator of urban settlements, and how they are
used and by whom. In particular, in this workshop we shall get
to know the information available from the Australian Bureau
of Statistics (ABS) and the analyses based on this data
prepared by Queensland Department of Local Government
and Planning (QDLGP) and the Brisbane City Council (BCC).
During this process we will find the language and terms
describing society and settlement used by Statisticians (and
by default, by urban and regional planners and politicians).
Figure 1: Brisbane Inner City Region boundaries (accessed 15 March
TASKS: 2007): http://svc189.bne146v.server-
web.com/statistical_portrait/inner_city/index.shtml
Find and download a digital copy (pdf) of
the document Statistical Portrait of
Brisbane: Inner City Region or Inner
South or whichever is relevant. We need
to become familiar with its contents and
its various modes of graphical recording
to find information and presentation
techniques relevant for the User Report.
The main sections in this document are:

Key Points Non-private dwellings

Population Change Income
2001 Population Mortgage
Age Profile Rent
Changing Age Structure Usual residence
Language Spoken at Home Different address by age group
Birthplace Labour force status
Population Composition Occupation Figure 2: Brisbane Inner South Region boundaries (accessed 3
Education Industry December 2007): http://svc189.bne146v.server-
Religion Qualifications web.com/statistical_portrait/inner_south/
Marital Status Field of Study
Family Type Travel to work
Relationships Motor vehicles Some Thoughts: (A) We need to establish where are the real
People per dwelling Households boundaries what streets and which sides where, etc. (B) The
Dwelling stock Household income naming of "City-remainder which includes two sections either
Tenure Computer and internet use. side of "City-Inner" seems peculiar. Why not give as separate
sections?
(1) There are four major search themes for the User Report:
Home, Play, Work and Transport (with an extra theme References:
of Education for one group in Area 1). Determine which
of the sections in the Statistical Portrait are relevant to Statistical Portrait of Brisbane prepared by Planning Information and
which themes. Explore their results and consider how Forecasting Unit, QDLGP; ABS; Brisbane City Council [Downloaded
on 3 December2007 from http://svc189.bne146v.server-
that relates to answering your research questions.
web.com/statistical_portrait/download/ ].
Australian Bureau of Statistics: http://www.abs.gov.au/

DLB310 People and Place

NOTE about FORMAT of REPORT:
Do not use long table lists of numbers as the ABS folk do this is
reference data not really useful for explaining your analyses! These
tables are difficult to read and understand. Imagine it was Joe and
Jane Citizen reading your report as part of a design proposal
presented to the community keep it simple and clearly (graphically)
understandable. By citing the reference back to the authoritative
source (ABS or the Statistical Portrait) you will cover your claims.
Other ways to find data:
Where to find other data? These sources are largely
drawn from my historical searches and do not reflect the
only avenues open to you.
GENERAL
To find out about businesses and community groups
try these:
Street Directories especially the close-up maps of
the inner city PLUS the listings of groups in the
"Facilities Index" or similar religious groups,
medical services, and community groups, etc.
telephone books, including local books
local free newspapers
local advertising brochures
local libraries and local community centres.
BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL
Telephone 3403 8888 and ask how to access these:
Sewerage Detail Plans:
Early (1910-1930s) hand-surveyed plans with roads,
footpaths, building footprints of that time, even some
garden constructions (paths, sheds, steps, tanks).
(Former) Works Department Plans:
for roads, bridges, some early waterworks. Now located
within City Design section.
City Design Plans:
combined collections of architecture and landscape
design sections; park structures and park designs and
much more.
Historic Photographs:
The Brisbane City Council Library website has digital
copies of many of their historic and contemporary
images for free access.
BCC Archives:
historic documents and photographs leave this source
until later when exploring "history".
[Brisbane City Council] BIMAP:
The city Customer Service Centre (Brisbane Square
building off George & Queen Sts; for all sorts of GIS
mapped data, aerial photos etc.
SELECTED INTERNET SITES:
GOOGLE EARTH: http://earth.google.com/
PICTURE QUEENSLAND (out of the State Library of
Queensland): http://pictureqld.slq.qld.gov.au/home
Press "SEARCH BRISBANE IMAGES" on the catalogue
of BCC library accessed through our QUT library thus:
http://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/elibcat/
[Brisbane City Council] CITY DESIGN:
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE:2109689836:
pc=PC_2012
[Brisbane City Council] CITY PLAN documents are also
on CD-ROM in the Resource Lab (level1 D block):
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE:2109689836:
pc=PC_238
BCC URBAN FUTURES (for Brisbane City Centre
Masterplan):
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE:2109689836:
pc=PC_2401
OTHER IDEAS:
For apartment blocks and office blocks under
construction, access all the advertising material
about those places in their showrooms or on the
Internet.
Physically count the floors of existing apartment
blocks and find out how many units per floor and
take an average of people per unit.
Physically count the number of construction sites.
Check out the Information Centre in the Queen
Street Mall: it has lots of advertising material related
to tourists, recreation sites (restaurants, pubs, clubs,
music venues, gyms, pools, etc.) and even a tiny bit
about cultural sites (galleries, theatres, museums) to
visit.
Check out historic places described on brochures
and websites of the National Trust of Queensland,
The Royal Historical Society of Queensland (HQ is in
Commissariate Stores, William Street) and the
Museum of Brisbane (City Hall).
To find out about homelessness: ask the charities
that offer sustenance each morning. Don't expect
any data from the Police or BCC.
DLB310 People and Place
PSYCH 4: Cognitive Mapping Materials:
You will need a piece of A3 paper and a pencil or pen.
WORKSHOP Then your usual note-taking paper to record your
discussions and conclusions.

FOR THE JOURNAL: Record the outcomes of the

workshop and reflect on how appropriate this method is
for your chosen topic to investigate.
Background:
This method of inquiry is one way of revealing how
individuals perceive place and memory. Some urban
designers and planners use these sorts of approaches
to encourage communities to express their feelings in a
simple but focused way. They can become invaluable
tools for future planning and design decisions.
TASKS:
(1) COGNITIVE (or Mental) MAPPING EXERCISE.
Through the use of diagrams ("maps", key words,
Dream on! Then draw it!
sketches) describe how you got from where you live
to QUT this morning.
Try to ensure that you identify the elements,
relationships and experiences that are important to you
in making this journey.
Swap your cognitive map with another in your class and
see if you can make sense of each other's map without
explanation from the author. Otherwise, you can pin up
everyone's drawings and jointly explore each other's
mental maps of the journey!
Task time allowed 20 minutes; then shared discussion.
(2) APPLYING COGNITIVE MAPPING to User
Analyses.
Discuss within your groups how this technique could be
Candy Rosmarin's Mind-Map 2004.
utilised to reveal answers (or parts there of) related to
A very well developed graphical rendition!
the User Report. Are there family or friends who live in
or visit your area that you could ask to prepare a
cognitive map? Consider what you this could contribute
to your searches.
Another suggestion: consider the collage you made
already of first impressions. Prepare a personal
cognitive map of your study district now you are several
weeks more knowledgeable about the place.
Second Task Time: allowed 20 minutes.

DLB310 People and Place