Toward Reassembling the Image

Abstract

Kevin Lynch's elements of city images are reexamined in the context of children's knowledge of suburban environments. In three related sets of studies we explore relationships among image components by focusing on the emergence of spatial knowledge. These investigations examine differential knowledge of specific locations as a function of their relevance for navigational decision-making and children's environmental experience. Our research program entails studying both knowledge of a familiar neighborhood as well as the processes of knowledge acquisition in an unfamiliar environment.