IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/rjpaxx/v84y2018i3-4p263-275.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New Directions in Cognitive-Environmental Research

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Mondschein
  • Steven T. Moga

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Cognitive-environmental urban planning and design began with Kevin Lynch’s (1960) The Image of the City. Scientific and technological developments, including discoveries in brain physiology and cognitive psychology, the psychosocial determinants of health, and the spread of navigation and information technologies, have increased the pertinence of cognitive-environmental research to planning. Re-engagement in contemporary debates about brain function and cities can help address long-standing humanistic challenges in planning as well as new challenges arising from emergent urban technologies. We systematically review scholarly work that cites Lynch or invokes cognitive mapping and synthesize cognitive-environmental concepts and methods from fields outside planning. We propose how planning and design practice can align with a cognitive-environmental framework. Cognitive-environmental research engages issues such as the need for equitable access, codes and rules that create good urban form, planning data and information systems, and participatory planning imbued with local knowledge and civic engagement. Urban planners and designers can use cognitive-environmental approaches to work toward more just and humane cities, even as they are transformed by new technologies. Lynch’s ideas, particularly his insistence on an engaged approach to learning the city, remain highly relevant.Takeaway for practice: Insights from cognitive-environmental research identify specific priorities and methods for planning, including participant-generated urban information, community engagement and learning, revisions to urban codes and regulations related to neurological differences in the experience of the built environment and technological changes in wayfinding and navigation, and health-focused urban planning initiatives, particularly related to mental wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Mondschein & Steven T. Moga, 2018. "New Directions in Cognitive-Environmental Research," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 84(3-4), pages 263-275, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:84:y:2018:i:3-4:p:263-275
    DOI: 10.1080/01944363.2018.1526644
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01944363.2018.1526644
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01944363.2018.1526644?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Taylor Van Winkle & Zeenat Kotval-K & Patricia Machemer & Zenia Kotval, 2022. "Health and the Urban Environment: A Bibliometric Mapping of Knowledge Structure and Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Mikiko Terashima & Kate Clark, 2021. "The Precarious Absence of Disability Perspectives in Planning Research," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(1), pages 120-132.
    3. Weixing Xu & Peng Zeng & Beibei Liu & Liangwa Cai & Zongyao Sun & Sicheng Liu & Fengliang Tang, 2024. "Exploring the Built Environment Factors Influencing Town Image Using Social Media Data and Deep Learning Methods," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Xiaowen Zhou & Hongwei Li & Huili Zhang & Rongrong Zhang & Huan Li, 2022. "A Study on the Cognition of Urban Spatial Image at Community Scale: A Case Study of Jinghu Community in Zhengzhou City," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:rjpaxx:v:84:y:2018:i:3-4:p:263-275. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/rjpa20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.