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"Learning the City: Early Experiences with Travel and the Development of the Cognitive Map"
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Learning the CityEarly Experiences with Travel and the Development of the Cognitive Map
Andrew Mondschein, Ph.D., AICP
Department of Urban and Environmental Planning
School of Architecture
University of Virginia
Image: Franky Levy
Learning to Travel, Traveling to Learn
• Travel and exploration are developmental processes• How we travel and experience of the environment shapes what
we know• Adolescence is likely a critical stage in gaining urban-scaled
knowledge and experience• Early experiences will have long term effects
The Challenge and the Opportunity• Linking transportation/
urban planning and education/youth development
• Finding the right questions from both fields
• Tackling shared goals of individual and social welfare
Transportation Planning
• Transportation planning and engineering has been predicated for 100 years on increasing mobility.
Transportation Planning
• Redesigning the city to accommodate the automobile has been fundamental.
Transportation Planning
• Travel behavior is viewed from a microeconomic framework: minimizing costs, maximizing immediate benefits.
Transportation Planning
• Long-term effects have only relatively recently been incorporated into the framework:o Environment and sustainabilityoHealth
Recent Findings on Long-Term Travel Behavior• Habit
oRecent findings that “rational” choices skewed by habitual behavior.
oWalking and biking become more reliable after habituation.
Recent Findings on Long-Term Travel Behavior• Immigrant travel behavior
Youth Travel Behavior Research• Safe Routes to School• Fostering independent mobility
o To encourage walking and bikingoPotential effects on sense of community, safety, well-
being
• Emphasis on learning long-term sustainable travel behaviors.o Teen attitudes to cyclingoUnderstanding recent trends in youth mobility
Decline in Walking to School
Source: National Center for Safe Routes to School. 2011. How Children Get to School.
• Space as experienced by individuals
• Incomplete and error-prone, but error not random
• Within-group commonalities in cognitive maps
• Some youth research
“Cognitive mapping is a construct which encompasses those cognitive processes which enable people to acquire, code, store, recall, and manipulate information about the nature of their spatial environment. This information… is an essential component in the adaptive process of spatial decision making.” (Downs and Stea, 1974)
Cognitive Mapping
from Image of the City, Lynch (1960)
Cognitive Mapping and Travel
• Travel experiences are the primary source of spatial knowledge.
• Path-based conceptualization (Golledge and Stimson).
• Wayfinding – search, exploration, and path selection – facilitates spatial learning.
• “Choice points” are locations where travel decisions are made.
• Individuals retain greater knowledge of opportunities located at choice points.
Spatial Learning and Development
SurveyRoute
1 32Landmark
In this Study:Passive: Transit users and auto passengersActive: Auto drivers and walkers
“Cognitively” Active and Passive Travel
ActivePassive
• Survey of 196 adults in South Los Angeles
• In-person surveys in English and Spanish
• $10 Starbucks card incentive (Starbucks at shopping center)
• 15 verbal questions and 2 sketch maps
• Multiple and varied measures to capture information on:Travel modeSpatial knowledge / cognitive mappingSocio-economic status, spatial location
Methods and Design
Landmarks, Choice Points, and Mode of Travel
Rather than asking participants to draw a “static” cognitive map of the neighborhood or region, they were asked to draw the routes from one place to another.
Sketch Map:Home toSurvey Site
Sketch Map: Home to Survey Site
Sketch Map:Home toSurvey Site
“Sketch” Map
?
Mapping Methodology
How to analyze such diverse sketch maps?
Mapping Methodology
How to analyze such diverse sketch maps?
Break them in to their component parts.
Sketch Map Metrics
• Landmarks• Labels• Icons
• Routes• Segments• Choice Points
Sketch Map Metrics
• Landmarks• Labels• Icons
• Routes• Segments• Choice Points
Sketch Map Metrics
• Landmarks• Labels• Icons
• Routes• Segments• Choice Points
Sketch Map Metrics
• Landmarks• Labels• Icons
• Routes• Segments• Choice Points
Sketch Map Metrics
Landmark Icons and Labels
Choice Points=
• Comparable across varying distances• Tied to stages of spatial learning
Ratio of Landmark Elements to Choice Points
Home to Survey Site Survey Site to Los Angeles City Hall
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
PassiveMixedActive
34
Robust OLS:Combined Landmark/Choice Point Ratio
Model 1 Model 2Independent Variables Beta Sig. Beta Sig.Mixed Travel Style (vs. Passive) -0.453 0.038 -0.402 0.036Active Travel Style (vs. Passive) -0.569 0.012 -0.513 0.009Years in Neighborhood 0.195 0.122 0.201 0.090Education in Years 0.015 0.902Female -0.101 0.365African American 0.010 0.947Employment Status -0.072 0.579Student Status -0.078 0.596Age -0.165 0.149 -0.147 0.187Constant . 0.027 . 0.000
N 65 67F 1.90 2.95Prob > F 0.0709 0.0271R-squared 0.2511 0.2171
Describing: Home
Passive/Active
Street 0.96
Cross Street 0.98
Landmark 2.51
Describing: Work
Passive/Active
Street 0.79
Cross Street 0.77
Landmark 1.01
RelativeDistance
Which is closer? X or Y?
Passive travelers guessed wrong 16% more often than active travelers.
Variability in Distance Estimates to Los Angeles City Hall
Standard Deviation0
5
10
15
20
25
PassiveMixedActive
Controlling for Other Factors
Accuracy of the Distance Estimate Increases with:
Variable Sign of Effect on Deviation from Mean Distance
Active Travel Style (relative to Passive) ++
Mixed Travel Style (relative to Passive) +
Years in Neighborhood +
Currently Employed -
Currently Student -
Female Respondent --
African American Respondent -
Activity Spaces
• Torsten Hägerstrand (time-space geography)
• A measure of the experience of cities
• Higher correlation with long-term outcomes than traditional travel measures
• Content of an activity space matters as much as extent!
6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-300.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
18.0%
20.0%
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
140.0
160.0
180.0
Changes in Travel during Childhood:Non-School Days, Southern California
Walking Rates Activity Space (sqkm)
Wal
king
Trip
s as
% o
f All
Trip
s
Activ
ity S
pace
Size
(sq.
km
.)
Data: Southern California Association of GovernmentsRegional Travel Survey
Findings and Implications• How we understand cities changes over the
lifespan, including knowledge of opportunities.• Reliance on landmarks is particularly important for
young adults.• Active (independent?) travel engages spatial
learning.• Urban “legibility” is different depending on travel
mode.• Planners need to treat travel as an integral part of
the broader urban experience, including for youth.
Future Directions• Transportation planning and youth development:
oPromoting more sustainable travel behavior through urban legibility
oRole of information technologies in youth traveloMeasuring the affective dimensions of the cognitive map
– safety, security, attachment, engagementoMeasuring youth activity spaces
Future Directions• Learning and travel:
oHow is spatial learning tied to overall development?
o Learning outside school?oHow can planners foster
independent mobility?oWhat are the effects of
different built environments?o Old suburbano New Urbanisto Transit-oriented development
o Linkages to social and psychological health
Thank You!