The Formation of a Composite Urban Image

Since image formation depends on the cognitive organization of perceptions, a change in the individual's available cognitive structure may affect his or her perceptual selectivity. This, in turn, might lead to a reconstruction of the image through selected fields of attention. Although this process is widely accepted, little is known of its neurophysiology, and the formation of an image, therefore, is drawn inferentially from introspective reports. This paper presents, accordingly, a conception of image formation and tests it with a model presenting paths among locational and nonlocational environmental stimuli and an introspective measure of a composite urban image. Changes in the paths due to information and personal attributes that reflect different realms (for example, fields of attention) are further examined with an expanded version of the model. Across the realms, the perceived residential appeal and the perceived level of activities are the main determinants of the composite urban image. Information and personal attributes not only affect the mix of image determinants, but also rearrange their relative effects on the emerging image.