MAPPING MEANING IN THE CITY IMAGE: A CASE STUDY OF KANDY, SRI LANKA

Research into environmental cognition has largely focused on the imageability of visual and spatial attributes of the environment and has neglected the meaning, or associational, attributes. This study examines the relationship between environmental meanings, especially the much neglected sacred meanings, and the distinctive perceptual characteristics of the environment in evoking images, using the city of Kandy in Sri Lanka as an instrumental case study. Interviews with residents reveal that Kandy evokes a very strong city image because of the meanings associated with the city and its features. Those meanings, in turn, strengthen the perceptual attributes of the city features as well as the cognitive structure of the city image. The sacred meanings attributed to the city play a vital role in this process. The image of Kandy, in essence, is a juxtaposition of several symbolic dimensions, including the senses of sacrality, historicity, scenic serenity, and well-being, all of which are complementary to one another Preservation and development activities for the city should focus on promoting these imageable dimensions. The study concludes that environmental meanings contribute strongly to the imageability of a place and that knowing the environment is informed by meanings.