Prabhakar, Grison, Lhuillier, Leprévost, Gyselinck and Morgagni – TRANSPORT MAKES CITIES 2024

Description

This comprehensive research article, “Transport makes cities: transit maps as major cognitive frames of metropolitan areas,” offers cutting-edge insights into spatial cognition, published in the prestigious *Psychological Research* journal by Springer Nature in February 2024. Spanning 22 pages, this peer-reviewed work is a collaborative effort by researchers including Archana Prabhakar, Elise Grison, and Simone Morgagni from SNCF and LaPEA. The study presents two rigorous experimental investigations into how residents of major European cities (Paris, London, Berlin) form their mental maps, demonstrating that these often resemble schematic transit maps more closely than geographical layouts. The document is richly illustrated with 18 figures, showcasing diverse reference maps and participant-generated sketch maps, complemented by 3 detailed tables summarizing quantitative results. This significant contribution provides valuable evidence for the “schema effect,” influencing spatial cognition research and urban planning with its robust methodology and real-world applicability.