Prabhakar, Grison, Lhuillier and Morgagn – TRANSIT MAPS – DO THEY SHAPE OUR MINDS

Description

This study experimentally tested whether transit maps shape inhabitants’ mental representations of their region, using Greater Paris as a case study and comparing public-transit users (n=41) with private-vehicle users (n=43). Participants plotted 15 well-known landmarks relative to Notre Dame on a blank sheet; sketches were compared to geographic and schematic (transit) reference maps using bidimensional regression metrics (scaling bias, rotational bias, correlation). The transit map itself showed expanded inter-landmark distances and a clockwise rotation versus the geographic map. Participants’ sketches lay between the two references: compressed relative to the transit map and expanded relative to the geographic map, with rotations likewise intermediate. Crucially, sketches showed a closer spatial fit to the transit map than to the geographic map for both user groups. Transport mode did not affect scaling or overall fit, though rotational bias differed by group (private users anticlockwise, public users clockwise). Results support a link between transit maps and residents’ spatial representations, warranting further research into underlying causes and exposure effects.