URBAN VERNACULAR DISTRICTS: METHODOLOGY OF IDENTIFICATION BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF MENTAL MAPS

Abstract

Vernacular regions/districts are areas distinguished based on the analysis of their perception by thepeople (local residents, tourists, residents of other regions, etc.). Interest in this kind of regionalizationhas been stipulated recently by the development of the behavioural approach in geography, shift of thegeography research focus on the local identity problems and, especially in Ukraine, by management practicechallenges, namely the formation of economically and socially integral and self-sufficient territorialcommunities. The article substantiates the expediency of using mental maps for the identification andsubsequent investigation of urban vernacular districts, shows the principal stages of regionalizationtechnique with an emphasis on the collection of empirical material and the interpretation of mental maps.The discussion presents the author’s view on the problem of objectivity of urban vernacular districts, as well as the interpretation and use of research results. A mental map is a source of primary information obtainedin a generalized and deliberately withholding form directly from a city resident or another person. Being asimplified representation of the urban landscape, such a map displays the most recognizable and popularobjects among local residents. Among the images that residents display on mental maps, vernaculardistricts occupy a special place since they are those parts of the city within which their everyday lifetakes place: commuting to work, receiving services, recreation, entertainment, communication, etc. Thestudy of vernacular districts involves, inter alia, their identification, classification by functional features,and analysis of their perceptual portraits (identities). The limitations of the method are related to theselection of a sample of respondents (authors of mental maps), as well as to the difficulties of interpretingmental maps. At the same time, mental maps as a method of investigating vernacular districts have theirundeniable advantages, since they are source of unique information about the perception of urban space.