Imaged Experiences: Mapping the Trabzon City Center

Abstract

This research sets out from the cycle of impaired belonging between city dwellers and the cities they live in and the weakened perceptibility of urban identity in spatial experiences as a result of the chaos and rapid flow of daily life in today's cities that evolve around consumption culture. This cycle is addressed with experiential mapping applications, which prompt citizens to take a step back and slow down their rhythm of life as a way to connect with their city. Based on this, it is aimed to reveal the deepening of the relationship between city dwellers and the city through experiential mapping, which provides a more meaningful and conscious interaction with the urban environment. In this research, the urban identity formed between urban space and the user was analyzed by image analysis, taking the Theory of Imageability as a basis. The application process consisted of three main phases and was conducted with ten students studying at Karadeniz Technical University, Department of Architecture. The research findings show that experiential mapping and semantic rating, applied with a view to increasing the visibility of urban images peculiar to Trabzon city center, enabled the participants to direct their focus on and explore the spatial components of Trabzon city center, suggesting that experiential mapping can be an effective tool in exploring the potentials and problematic aspects of cities.