Towards Integrating a Model of Urban Socioeconomic Structure and Urban Imagery

Abstract

In this paper a link is made between variations in socioeconomic characteristics of urban residents and the understanding of spatial relationships in an urban landscape. It is contended that the development of activity spaces and the understanding of space and place are tied to the social, political and economic organization of a social formation. Although some of the arguments posed here parallel recent works on space-time geography, it is argued that these could be usefully augmented with the consideration of the factors influencing the knowledge and understanding of place and space. Salient features of a case study undertaken in Columbus, Ohio, are included which indicate interrelationships between the activity space elements, the knowledge of the location of various commonly known places, and the socioeconomic characteristics that urban residents have in this city.