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

Description

This study investigated the impact of transit maps on inhabitants’ mental representations of Greater Paris, replicating and extending previous qualitative research. Ninety-nine participants, comprising both public transit and private vehicle users, were asked to draw a sketch map of 15 local landmarks. These drawings were then quantitatively compared to a geographic reference map and a schematic transit map using bidimensional regression, analyzing scaling bias, rotational bias, and correlation. Surprisingly, the findings revealed that sketch maps from *both* public and private transport users more closely resembled the simplified transit map than the geographically accurate map. This suggests that the widespread presence or past exposure to transit maps significantly influences urban spatial cognition for all inhabitants, potentially leading to mental representations that align more with schematic diagrams than actual geography, regardless of their primary mode of transport. Further research is needed to fully understand why private vehicle users also exhibit this distortion.