Urban Memory in City Transitions: The Significance of Place in Mind 9789811610035, 9811610037

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Ali Cheshmehzangi

Urban Memory in City Transitions The Significance of Place in Mind

Urban Memory in City Transitions

Ali Cheshmehzangi

Urban Memory in City Transitions The Significance of Place in Mind

Ali Cheshmehzangi Department of Architecture and Built Environment University of Nottingham Ningbo China Ningbo, China

ISBN 978-981-16-1002-8 ISBN 978-981-16-1003-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore

This goes to the origins. For my hometown, the City of Shiraz, which needs more care, pride, and recognition.

Preface

As a continuation of my earlier book on Identity of Cities and City of Identities, this book offers a new discourse on the topic of urban memory in cities. In particular, this discourse is narrated from the consideration of ‘urban memory in city transitions’. The book covers several debates, including the memory-experience-cognition nexus, the notion of urban memory in place-making strategies and design decisionmaking processes, and the consideration of urban palimpsests as part of capturing, reproducing, and remembering places. For over six decades, many scholarly work examples from various disciplines focus on memory and human-environment relations. However, to date, there has been little attempt to put together the notion of urban memory and city transitions. The debates in this book shed light on some of the contested—and often contrasting— viewpoints. These debates include the memory of places versus places of memory, the place of significance versus the significance of place, etc. Existing scholarly studies have partially debated these topics, but often unconnectedly, not comprehensively, and in their specific sectors. As a response to this gap, we draw together many theoretical, practical, philosophical, and analytical debates of memory-human-place relations. Divided into eight chapters, this book puts together a comprehensive knowledge of urban memory in city transitions. In doing so, we delve into conceptions of mental mapping, knowledge of environments, cognition of places, and the perceptual dimension of urbanism. As a consequence, the book has three overarching aims. First, to highlight the importance of the space-time frame of place. Second, to critically discuss many global examples and to provide new perspectives on the memory of places, the experience of places, and the significance of place in mind. Third, to forward new debates and ideas concerning urban memory in city transitions, and to outline potential pathways, which might guide future debates and research. The ultimate goal is to develop places and cities through their continuity. Any reinvention should be there for a cause, or to utilise the dynamism of urban palimpsests, and to emphasise the significance of place in mind. Therefore, we believe the traces of the

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past meet us in the present; and we live through them, continuously learn from them, and enhance them, just to make better places and cities for the future. Ningbo, China

Prof. Ali Cheshmehzangi Head of Department of Architecture and Built Environment Director of Urban Innovation Lab (UIL)

Acknowledgements

Some ideas are born in a sudden moment. This book is one of them. I would like to mainly thank cities and places that inspired me in completing the book. To me, they have always been living entities. As always, I thank Ayra—but this time, for her creative representation of memories that I hope will never be forgotten. I hope today’s memories are not faded away tomorrow, and I wish her journey is long, healthy, and full of happiness and cherished memories. I also thank my father, Mr. Hesam Cheshmehzangi, for his positive energy and enthusiasm in creating long-lasting memories in our lives. In the short time we had with him, he took us to visit many cities around the globe. He had this fascination with taking photos of urban places, mainly for us to remember the pasts and changes of those particular nodes when we revisit them in the future. Those memories are still with us. He truly created some good memories (and moments), which cannot simply fade away. Unfortunately, he left us too soon. Lastly, I acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) to provide funding for project number 71950410760. I also express my thanks to the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) for funding my new research project and my recent specially appointed position in Japan.

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Contents

1 Urban Memory: Cognition, Signs, Symbols, Identity, and Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1 Memory and the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Memory of the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 Memory of the Place: Navigating Through Mental Maps . . . . . . . . . 1.3.1 Cognition, Socio-Spatial, and Behaviours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2 Cognition, Image, and Visual Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.3 Cognition and the Representation of Social Relations . . . . 1.3.4 Cognition, Space, and Mental Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4 Memory Through Signs and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 Memory and Place Identity: From Experience to Cognition . . . . . . . 1.6 Beyond What Urban Memory Offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Memory and Cities: Discovering Transitions Through Urban Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1 The Complexity of Urban Palimpsests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2 Urban Palimpsests and Memory of Cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.1 Palimpsests and Urban Landscapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2 Palimpsests and Urban Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.3 Palimpsests and Urban Land-Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.4 Palimpsests and Urban Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.5 Palimpsests and Urban Texture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.6 Palimpsests and Urban Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 City Transitions and Their Impacts on Urban Memory . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1 Urban Landscapes in Transition: The Case of PuDong District in Shanghai, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2 Following the Informal Form to Make the Formal Layout: The Case of Oshodi Neighbourhood in Lagos, Nigeria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3 Prioritising Urban Land-Use in Shifting Singapore’s Image and Spatial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 1 3 5 6 9 11 12 13 15 16 18 27 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

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2.3.4

Making Memories Through Multiple Identities of Cancún, Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.5 A Combination of Collective Memory, Youth Memory, and New Memories of Olympic Park in London, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.6 Building the Image Through the Gradual Pace of Monumental Urbanism in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan . . . . 2.4 From Urban Maps to Mental Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 The Significance of Place in Mind: Comprehending Memory Through Urban Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Capturing the Time: Space Through Collective Memory . . . . . . . . . 3.1.1 From What We Perceive to What We Remember . . . . . . . . 3.1.2 The Influence of Experience on Memory of Place . . . . . . . . 3.1.3 A Brief Introduction to Cognitive Mapping in Mind . . . . . . 3.2 Recording in Mind: Urban Experience and Spatial Processes . . . . . 3.2.1 Toronto, Canada: A Diverse City of Multiple Layers and Mixed Cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.2 Ipoh, Malaysia: A Hidden Dragon That Is Not Yet Awakened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.3 Bath, UK: A Manifestation of Urban Preservation . . . . . . . 3.2.4 Shanghai, China: A Mixture of Traditions, Colonial Past, and Modern City of the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.5 Cape Town, South Africa: The Regenerated Sites That Belong to a Longer History of Port Culture and Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.6 Santiago, Chile: The Prime Image of the Nation with Cultural, Historical, and Musical Memories . . . . . . . . 3.2.7 Barcelona, Spain: The City That Offers Many Things Through Restless Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.8 Kyoto, Japan: A Cultural Capital with Many Symbolic Representations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.9 Los Angeles, the USA: Where Places Belong to Movies and Movies Belong to Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.10 Chongqing, China: A Polycentric Hilly City with a Mixture of Heritage, History, and Modernity . . . . . . 3.3 From Mental Maps to Urban Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4 Urban Memory, Experiences, and Palimpsests: The Continuity and Discontinuity of Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Places of Significance: Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 Amsterdam, the Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.2 Andorra La Vella, Andorra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.3 Athens, Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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61 61 63 64 65 66 67 72 75 78

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4.1.4 4.1.5 4.1.6 4.1.7 4.1.8 4.1.9 4.1.10 4.1.11 4.1.12 4.1.13 4.1.14 4.1.15 4.1.16 4.1.17 4.1.18 4.1.19 4.1.20 4.1.21 4.1.22 4.1.23 4.1.24 4.1.25 4.1.26 4.1.27 4.1.28 4.1.29 4.1.30 4.1.31 4.1.32 4.1.33 4.1.34 4.1.35 4.1.36 4.1.37 4.1.38 4.1.39 4.1.40 4.1.41 4.1.42 4.1.43 4.1.44 4.1.45 4.1.46 4.1.47 4.1.48

Baku, Azerbaijan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bangkok, Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Biharamulo, District of Kagera Region, Tanzania . . . . . . . . Byblos, Lebanon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cardiff, Wales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changsha, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chongqing, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colombo, Sri Lanka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Derby, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dubai, the UAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Foshan, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frankfurt, Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fuzhou, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glasgow, Scotland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hong Kong, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Istanbul, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kampala, Uganda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathmandu, Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kiev, Ukraine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leeds, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . London, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manama, Bahrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Manchester, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montevideo, Uruguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montreal, Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Moscow, Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Muscat, Sultanate of Oman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ningbo, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nottingham, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Osaka, Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oxford, the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phnom Penh, Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pisa, Italy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seoul, South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shanghai, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shantou, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shenzhen, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shiraz, Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Singapore, the City-Country of Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sydney, Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taipei, Taiwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tokyo, Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

125 127 128 128 131 131 132 135 136 136 137 138 139 140 143 144 146 147 148 149 150 152 153 154 155 156 157 157 158 159 161 161 163 164 166 167 168 170 171 172 174 175 176 178 180

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4.1.49 Valletta, Malta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.50 Vientiane, Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.51 Xiamen, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.52 Yangon, Myanmar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.53 Yerevan, Armenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 When Places Meet People and When Experiences Create Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Capturing the Realities of Experience: Case Study Example of the City of Changsha, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 The Narrative: Experience of the Past and Its Traces in Present . . . . 5.2 The Impacts of Physical City Transitions on Community Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Case Study Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.1 Case Study Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3.2 The Palimpsests of the Past from Nostalgic Memories . . . . 5.3.3 The (Re-)Creation of the New from the Alienated Old . . . . 5.3.4 Capturing the Realities of Experience for New Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 The Significance of Spatial and Community Change in Physical City Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Reproducing the Perception of Place: Case Study Example of the City of Nottingham, UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Introduction to Reproducing the Perception of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 An Overview of Social-Behavioural-Perceptual Correlations . . . . . . 6.2.1 Behavioural Analysis Through Observational Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.2 Social Analysis: Questionnaires and In-Depth Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2.3 Perceptual Analysis: Mental Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Case Study Research: A Brief Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Data Analysis and Findings: Place Reproduction and Memory (Re-)Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.1 Example 1: The Old Market Square (OMS) Without Any Temporary Events/Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.2 Example 2: The Old Market Square (OMS) with the Christmas Market in Winter Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4.3 Example 3: the Old Market Square (OMS) with the Regular ‘Fruits and Vegetables Market’ . . . . . . . . . 6.4.4 Example 4: the Old Market Square (OMS) with the Nottingham Beach Event During the Summer Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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6.5 The Significance of Socio-Spatiality and Socio-Temporality of Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240 7 Remembering Through Naming and Palimpsests: Case Study Example of the City of Shiraz, Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Memory of Palimpsests and the Act of Remembering . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 Remembering Through Naming: Our Response to Toponyms Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 Case Study Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.1 Case Study Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.2 City Transitions and Their Impacts on Main Nodes of the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3.3 Data Analysis and Results: Remembering Through Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.4 Findings: The Act of Remembering Through Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 The Impacts of Socio-Political Transitions on the Memory of a Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Recording Urban Memory in City Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1 Urban Memory: Past, Present, and Future of the Place . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 Place and Perception: From Urban Memory to Place Identity, or Vice Versa? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 Spatial Syntagma and Mental Maps of Cities and Places . . . . . . . . . 8.4 The Significance of Place in Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5 The Role of Urban Memory in City Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.6 A Brief Insight on Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

243 243 245 246 246 247 262 275 277 278 283 283 284 286 287 289 293 295

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

About the Author

Ali Cheshmehzangi is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design with a Ph.D. Degree in Architecture and Urban Design, a Master’s Degree in Urban Design, a Graduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Architecture, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. He is an urbanist and urban designer by profession and by heart. He studies cities and city transitions, sustainable urbanism, and integrated urban design strategies. Ali is Head of the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET), and Director of Urban Innovation Lab at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. He is also a Specially Appointed Professor at Hiroshima University, Japan. More recently, he works on two research projects on ‘Integrated Urban Modelling’ and ‘ICT-based smart technologies for resilient cities’. Some of his previous projects are: ‘smart eco-cities in China and Europe’, ‘low-carbon town planning in China’, ‘green infrastructure of cities’, ‘nature-based solutions in China’, ‘toolkit for resilient cities’, ‘sponge city program’ and ‘green development in China’, ‘low carbon and climate-resilient planning’, and other urban transition studies. xvii

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About the Author

So far, Ali has 90+ published journal papers and six other published books. His books are titled Designing Cooler Cities: Energy, Cooling and Building Form—The Asian Perspective (2017), the award-winning Eco-development in China: Cities, Communities and Building’ (2018), Sustainable Urban Development in the Age of Climate Change—People: The Cure or Curse (2019), Identity of Cities and City of Identities (2020), The City in Need: Urban Resilience and City Management in Disruptive Disease Outbreak Events (2020), and Sustainable Urbanism in China (2021). When time permits, he continues to write.

Chapter 1

Urban Memory: Cognition, Signs, Symbols, Identity, and Beyond

As an artificial world, the city should be so in the best sense: made by art, shaped by human purposes. —Kevin Lynch

1.1 Memory and the City Memory of places are often overlooked and are not appreciated enough as valuable assets to cities. In urbanism, we often deal with developing urban environments that are meant to be attractive, profitable, and human-friendly. But, what makes them distinguished and valued as good places are the experiences that kindle meanings and memories in our minds. Despite the efforts in contemporary urban design strategies or solutions, there is more to be done on creating experiences that could develop and maintain memories that could then last for long (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). For us, collectively and individually, remembering and forgetting the past (RoseRedwood et al., 2008) are part of what defines our memory of places and cities, their experiences, and their specific values that we recognize, appreciate, and enjoy. Therefore, what is important is the significance of those memories in mind, despite the never-ending processes of urban change through the assortment of transitions, transformations, redevelopment, growth, decay, decline, and regeneration. As Tu (2005) suggests, “it is urban memory that turns a purely physical space into a place with environmental and cultural significance, temporal and spatial meaning and human cognition – a place that gives priority to convey inherent meaning contained with the external manifestations”. If we ought to summarize this through a simplified definition, then “urban memory” has to be understood as what we acquire from places and experiences in specific times. This also goes back to Lynch’s theory of the image of the city (Lynch, 1960) that truly reflects on what we see, observe, and record in mind. In a way, memory then evolves in mind (Nora, 1989) is significantly valued in what we remember. Therefore, memory could be identified as a method of

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_1

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preserving the past through remembering. Wang (2016a) adds to this discourse by arguing that “urban memory cannot only pass on urban history and features but also strengthen citizens’ sense of identity and cohesiveness, thus shaping the spirit and culture in the city”. She then reflects on collective memory and its development in the process of change and urban formation (ibid.), which then highlights the importance of cognition and memory of cities and the urban environments. In another rich collection of literature on urban memory, Crinson (2005) puts together a very comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment of urban memory in cities. He does this by analysing the notion of urban memory from multiple perspectives of architectural and art history, critical theory, culture, psychoanalysis, and sociology. In his work, he suggests some critical and creative ideas to existing theories of urban memory, which are relevant to the aim of this book—i.e., to recognise the role of urban memory in city transition. Much of contemporary scholarly research study urban memory in association with time (Mels, 2004), perceptual processes through time (Hayden & Temel, 2006), time and play (Stevens, 2007), symbols and time (Bleam, 2018), the nexus between place, identity, and time (Lengen et al., 2019), etc. Hence, we can see the importance of the time-factor or the temporal dimension, which is relevant to research on memory and the city, i.e., urban memory. In a way, we can say urban memory is a comprehensive representation of collective knowledge of our everyday living environments (Bélanger, 2002; Neill, 2004), something that is just beyond what we only see or imagine. In this regard, Wang (2016a) summarises the relationship between memory and the built environment through three research perspectives of architectural landscapes, cultural heritage, and sense of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2011). These are then discussed in the form of urban spaces, cultural landscapes, and local characteristics. In this book, however, we delve into the essence and value of urban memory in city transitions and not necessarily city transformations. In doing so, we aim to highlight the significance of place in mind through a threefold: (1) capturing the realities of experience, (2) reproducing the perception of place, and (3) remembering through urban palimpsests (see Chaps. 4–6). Before reaching those key discussions, we first further explore the topic of urban memory and provide some examples of how urban memory matters through urban maps, mental maps, and through the process of city transitions. Therefore, this book attempts not to explore the already-established theories in urban memory but rather to focus on the effects of city transition on urban memory by considering space and time.

1.2 Memory of the City

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1.2 Memory of the City The memory of the city is associated with many factors, such as the narrative of place (Ndebele, 1998), visual culture and public memory (Coombes, 2003), protection and preservation (Feng & Liu, 2007), space and identity (Murray et al., 2007), city imaginaries (Demirtürk, 2008), the phenomenology of spirit (Ferguson, 2009), historical memories (Edmonds, 2010), socio-spatial interrelations of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a, 2012b), collective memory (De Alba, 2012), social memory (Polyák, 2014), augmented localities (Cheshmehzangi et al., 2015; Cheshmehzangi & Ornsby, 2017), identity and heritage (Cheshmehzangi, 2020), etc. The so-far studies of urban memory, related to city transitions, highlight the role of cultural structure in developing a collective cultural and urban memory of place (Huan, 2014), considering spatial transformations in remaking the urban environments (Roux, 2015), and valuing the cultural politics of urban regeneration (Chen et al., 2020). Other main points of attention on the memory of the city consider the city as the locus for collective memory (Selvi Ünlü, 2019) or establishing specific associations to the meaning of place through memoir, memory, or mind (Oksuz et al., n.d.). In other earlier examples of urban memory studies, the role of landscapes of urban memory is highlighted as part of the civic society and urban life (Srinivas, 2004), which again is the representation of socio-spatial values of the urban environments, defining precisely the urban identities (Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012) as well as the structure of meaning in the urban environments (Lynch, 1960). In his book on ‘The City of Collective Memory’, Boyer (1996) highlights the importance of public realms to entail a continuous urban topography. This fact is the essence of creating a robust and defined spatial structure that could promote urban liveability (Cheshmehzangi, 2015) and enhance the diversity of communities and places (Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020) in our contemporary cities. It promotes liveability through multiple uses and experiences, and it enhances diversity through all-inclusiveness in design and the generation of social cohesion (Nail, 2018). An example of this is the study of reactivating entanglements of urban memory in Durban, South Africa (Del Monaco & Liu, 2018) that explores place and changes through the idea of “places of changes”. The study (ibid.) looks into changing identity and functions through the history of places in the city, which are then argued as part of social, spatial, and socio-spatial recreations of the city (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). This reflects on how cities should learn from experiences of their urban environments (Zhang, 2012), particularly from their past. In doing so, learning from the past becomes part of the strategy that defines pathways of regenerating and reconstructing cities (Ye, 2015); those that become vital to the continuation of urban memory and urban life. Furthermore, the study of urban imaginaries is very much linked to the concept of urban memory and city transitions (Yi, 2008; Notteboom, 2012; Espiga, 2013; Li, 2013; Mayat, 2013; Coletta, 2016; Wang, 2016a; Fraser, 2018). For instance, the combination of symbiosis with memory (Qian, 2008) is suggested as a method to trace back the city’s memory from its past and utilize it/them for future urban

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design methods. Other examples explore ways of contesting memory, space, and urban imaginaries (Larkin, 2010) or focus on the fundamentals such as space and spatial imaginaries (Huyssen, 2003). In particular, the nexus between cultural, identity, and memory (Shepherd, 2007) is highlighted as a way to define urban imaginaries as the symbolic sphere in which space and places are contested (Bloomfield, 2006). This is highly relevant for a better understanding of memory of the city, in particular, that we can explore city stories and narratives, as well as implications of urban structures, cultural attributes, and spatial values (Bridge & Watson, 2000). By studying networks in cities, Bender et al. (2010) suggest specific urban qualities that emerge from memory and shared urban imaginaries. Therefore, we can also reflect on the importance of memory in mind and how we perceive the quality of urban environments. What comes to our mind is usually what we perceive through our relations with the physical and social environments around us (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Pile (p. 111) argues that “we can see what is at stake in the relationship between memory and the city”, through which the materiality and physicality of the city are only parts of what we perceive. In the theory of remembrance, for instance, Benjamin (1932) sees city and mind as a labyrinth (Pile, 2002), which is narrated as: Memory itself is represented as ‘city-like’. The sense networks of streets and alley-ways are like the knotted, intertwined threads of memory. The open spaces of the urban environment are like the void and blanks of forgotten things. Lost times are like overlooked places…Memory and the city both constitute labyrinthine figures, without beginning or end, in which one may make endless interpolations. (Benjamin, 1932, p. 305, also see Gilloch, 1996, pp. 67–68, Weigel, 1996, Chapter 8, and Pile, 2002, p. 114)

In this regard, we question whether what has been mentioned decades ago could still apply to the contemporary city. Do we have the same sense of memory of cities? Or do cities offer the same values that could be remembered through the variety of characteristics, values, and senses? And do cities and their places create long-lasting memories? To answer these, we move from ‘memory of the city’ to ‘memory of the place’, by evaluating, in particular, the spirits, stories, and narratives of our everyday environments. From examples of restoring the forgotten city’s past (Lewicka, 2008) to evaluating the spaces of memory (Spiridon, 2002), it is essential to recognise the multiple realms of time and space in cities and places. In doing so, the emplacement of memory through the city, as described by Till (2004), could, in fact, be a constructive approach to represent the past in the future. Some of this could be combined with nostalgia (Elliott, 2017). Some could be the foundation of documenting the contested memory (Awad, 2017), archiving the city’s past (Hetherington, 2013), showcasing the significance of the past (Cochrane, 2006), or simply for the purpose of recapturing and preservation of socio-cultural, physical, historical, and heritage values of the city (Rosenberg, 2012; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). In doing so, we highlight how places are articulated by memory (Drozdzewski, 2016) and how urban palimpsests (Thomas, 2010) to help reflect the memory of places and cities. More importantly, we urge the role of memory to be seen and valued as a process, which also touches on the essence of space-time factors in the place.

1.3 Memory of the Place: Navigating Through Mental Maps

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1.3 Memory of the Place: Navigating Through Mental Maps It has to be noted that memory of the place is ‘what is recorded in mind’, felt through the moment, and remembered through time. In the study of human space (Said, 2000), the position of memory and geography becomes more visible and could be seen from the psychological perspective (Danziger, 2009). This said, the study of the memory of the place could also be associated with the spirit of place (Ferguson, 2009) and what could ultimately lead to further arguments on recognition and orientation of place (Cox, 1968). Partly, this is related to the overarching concept of distinctiveness (Crysler, 2003) and partly to other concepts, such as place attachment (Altman & Low, 1992; Davis, 2016) and sense of place (Rose, 1995; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). However, Trigg (2012) refers to the memory of place as a ‘phenomenology of the uncanny’, which is fundamental to the sense of self. In line with this conception, Till (2008) touches on place-based practice by defining how we experience the memory as multi-sensual and through our own spatial ways. This multi-sensuality enables us to record experiences of places in association with the socio-spatiality of our experiences. This is also discussed further in the studies of psychoanalysis (Antze, 2003), sense-memory (Bennett, 2003), matter and memory (Bergson, 1990), place and identity (Biggs, 2006), social memory and remembering (Kleinman and Kleinman, 1994), Realms of Memory (1997), social memory and psychic materialities (Papoulias, 2003), and place memory (Till, 2003). These are all very much relevant to evaluate and understand memory in the urban place or the memory of place. Moreover, much of the existing discourse is also rooted in attachment to a nostalgic sense of places, such as how past time(s) in present place (Lowenthal, 1975). Some of these are linked with the place and memory in visual culture (Burgin, 1996), the identity of place (Sheldrake, 2001), spatial cognition (Anooshian & Seibert, 1996), and collective memory (Kenny, 1999; Jones & Garde-Hansen, 2012). In essence, the memory of the place could be tracked through mental maps. In their study of culture-based urban regeneration projects, Chen et al. (2020) refer to the process of cultural production as part of changing the materiality of place and landscape of collective memory. They also suggest the development of emotional attachment within the social context (ibid.) that could lead to the establishment of collective memory in communities (Sacco et al., 2013). Moreover, place and memory are often tangled together in the form of indicators or urban intervention for the restoration of heritage spaces and buildings (De Leão Dornelles et al., 2020). Apart from the physical and social restoration, the memory of the place is very much associated with our cognition and social values of the place. The examples of how we navigate through places, how we learn from places, and how we become familiar with them through everyday activities (Spiers & Maguire, 2007) are just the foundation of what we record as spatial memories in our brain. In this recording process, we do more than just recovering the narratives of place beyond just a nostalgic attempt (Cauchi-Santoro, 2016). What we usually get engaged with is the simulation

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Socio-spaƟal and behaviours

Image and the visual reality

RepresentaƟon of social relaƟons

Space and mental maps

Fig. 1.1 Memory and cognition in four sub-categories through the space-time frame (Source The Author’s)

of realism and revitalizing the past layers of lived experiences (ibid.) in our sociotemporal atmosphere. These could be cultural expressions, socio-cultural representations, socialising values of everyday life, liberties of our society, and the meaning of our spatial structure of place or the city. Most importantly, place memory is for long recognised as the city’s foundation (Li et al., 2018), either through social or cultural attributes or within the space-time frame. Therefore, we can argue cognition and memory are inseparable (Fig. 1.1), as they reflect the meaning of place to our mind—both collectively and individually.

1.3.1 Cognition, Socio-Spatial, and Behaviours The importance of cognition and the place, in particular, is also seen in studies of Hillier and Hanson (1984) and through the exploration of the social logic of space. This then led to Hillier’s development of the configurational theory of architecture (1999), which profoundly emphasises the relations between space-people and continuously represents one another (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012). Hillier (1999, pp. 288–311) focuses on various “forms and functions” that can affect behaviours in space throughout his theoretical syntheses. He refers to this “form-function pairing” as a way to distinguish relations between buildings and spaces as well as spaces and their social arrangements. In a way, this is the essence of social engineering (ibid., p. 293), suggesting how meaning and memory of place are developed and sustained in mind. This is inexorably formed as an ‘organismenvironment paradigm’ that forces the theory to select between “objective determination by the environment” and the “subjective objections” of it (ibid., p. 297). However,

1.3 Memory of the Place: Navigating Through Mental Maps

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it is inevitable to argue that space is comprised of both objectives and narratives that influence socio-environmental values and spatial inter-relations (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). One of the popular tools widely used by many urban researchers and practitioners is Space Syntax. Developed by Hillier and his team, space syntax consists of a series of computer modelling and simulation tools that analyse spaces based on their components and network of choices. There are also mapping techniques with an analytical approach that illustrate the “relative connectivity and integration” of urban spaces (Jiang & Claramunt, 2002, pp. 295–309). The graph-based mapping techniques are developed on the basis of three various types of spatial conceptions. The first conception is a single ‘isovist’ approach that analyses the architectural space in a three-dimensional representation (Turner et al., 2001, pp. 103–121). This is a volumetric analysis of space, through which the overall shape of a particular space is analysed against its visibility, permeability, and the relative field of view (developed by Michael Benedikt at the University of Texas, 2002). The second conception is an observational approach regarded as an ‘axial space’. This approach synchronises the impact of space on behaviours in a metric scale. This spatial conception explores observations of movement and behaviours. Intuitively, we can refer to any spatial complex as a system that can identify spatial relations based on ‘space-time frame’. For this reason, non-discursive regularities are usually examined as part of the overall model frame to conceptualise possible paths and movements (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). Hence, the quantities of a continuous space are examined as relative descriptors, with which “synchrony of space” and spatial relations are measured (Hillier, 2004, p. 185). This is also closely linked with navigating through a place through the mental maps. The third conception is a single but two-dimensional virtual analysis of ‘convex space’. This mainly explores the possibilities of a bounded space to examine visibility and permeability within enclosures (Alexander et al., 1977; Jacoby, 2006). Within a convex structure, the spatial configuration of space is related to its social identity. It has a significant focus on differences in social uses and spatial arrangements that can argue “how space fits into a complex of space” (Hillier, 2004, p. 185—developed by John Peponis and his collaborators at Georgia Tech). Overall, we can argue that all three fundamental spatial conceptions explore spaces’ possibilities in a very objective approach. Although they analyse the primary spatial components by further behavioural and social observations, they often have a number of paradoxes that occur with specific geometric configurations. In general, Space Syntax is considered a prognostic tool that mainly generalises and predicts possibilities while neglecting the consideration of possible variables that may occur in any space. Thus, Space Syntax has apparent limitations that deteriorate its holistic practically. As discussed earlier, space syntax is a research tool and “a model for representation, analysis, and interpretation” (Hillier et al., 1987, pp. 217–231). It is a bi-polar analytical system that explores spatial configurations based on their social aspects and physical structuring. In space syntax, the spatial configuration is often regarded as the ‘relationship of relations’ or, in other words, how spaces are in relationship to one another (Hillier et al., 1993; Hillier, 1996). This also helps us to understand the network of places that shape the memory of place. However, this type of analysis is

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undertaken by a non-discursive approach that does not proceed to a conclusion by reasoning or valid arguments. Accordingly, the interpretation process of space syntax is broadly criticised based on its method towards data gathering (Osman & Suliman, 1995). It is arguable that because of the objective analytical procedure that space syntax follows, its numerical outcomes and predictive results cannot offer enough reasoning for a possible solution or suggestion. The results cannot elaborate the actual findings from the space syntax analysis procedure and sometimes give intricate data to the researchers (Peponis, 2001). This is less perceptible in the syntactic measures in space syntax. In syntactic measuring, there is a great emphasis on factors such as ‘connectivity’ and ‘degree of intersection’ (Yang, 2004; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). This then allows the researcher and/or the designer to measure accessibility, permeability, and the major notions of integration in space. Arguably, this may relate to the ‘intelligibility and integratedness’ of space, which Miraglia (2010, p. 1) criticise as modularity with a “mono-dimensional property of a complex system”. In this respect, it is inevitable to state that human activity and movement are the fundamental aspects of space syntax. Associated with the cognition of place, these aspects also help to form experiences and the memory of place. Therefore, this particular theory defines space syntax as a device that analyses spaces with lines of movement and behaviours (Cutini, 2003). For this, we can argue that although space syntax is comprised of various elements of the urban grid, but it has a major emphasis on the behavioural analysis of urban environments. We can then argue that the concept of cognition is a primary measuring tool for space syntax (and other tools alike) and is partly developed based on Lynch’s theory of visual cognition (1960) that consistently explores the importance of urban images and social spaces. Thus, the isovist conception of space syntax does not only analyse the “…degree of correlation between the connectivity and integration values in the system”, but also analyses movements with different visual views of urban environments (Topçu & Kubat, 2007, p. 5). This method can explore the socio-spatial analysis of spaces but cannot fully consider the possibility of having various variables that influence the socio-spatial values of the urban environments—e.g., the spirit of place that helps to form memory. Such tools, like space syntax, while focus on quantitative and objective methods of research, suggest the subjective attributes that need further consideration in the development of spatial cognition and place memory. For instance, space syntax neglects the three-dimensional understanding and metric information of urbanism and architecture (Ratti, 2004). Some of the methods, such as the axial mapping analysis, are only suitable for pedestrian movement analysis (Eyüpo˘glu et al., 2007). This can reflect on the earlier criticism that the “effects of spatial configuration” cannot merely determine stereotyped behaviours or generic socio-spatial values. In this regard, Hillier and Penn (2004) argue that the configuration of urban spaces is an independent variable, whereas the actual land-use of the space is a dependent variable. This matter illustrates that space syntax cannot control the overall spatial model with its various variables. Therefore, as suggested by Hiller and Penn (ibid.), the researcher should rather consider the variables in regression analysis in order to avoid any disingenuous measurements. Moreover, the spatial representation and spatial

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measures (i.e., integration, control, and connectivity) often cannot match each other (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). This could lead to difficulties in capturing and reflecting on realities of the place, which are essentially the basis of our cognition and memory.

1.3.2 Cognition, Image, and Visual Reality Following from the above discussion, we have to acknowledge that space syntax has developed a very structured quantitative research method towards the analysis of human-to-space relations. As a tool, it offers major analytical procedures in spatial networks and permeability of the urban environment. The use of space syntax in ‘Visibility Graph Analysis’ (Turner et al., 2001) and the ‘Geographic Accessibility Analysis’ in many GIS studies (Jiang & Claramunt, 2002) indicates the tool’s new perspectives in urban morphology. Besides, there is growing progress from graph representations towards an empirical and syntagmatic approach in spatial and architectural research work. In this respect, we can structure a mixed methodology that includes some of the space syntax theories (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). In this regard, the correlation between the human-space analysis and other observational and architectural research methods can be beneficial to studying space-time relations. This exploration could lead to better analysis of memory of place through cognition, space, and behaviours (Fig. 1.2). Now that architectural research models have developed into interdisciplinary and systematic tools or methods, both objectivity and subjectivity of place cannot be left isolated (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). The perceptual and social understandings of changing urban environments are as important as movement and permeability analysis. The cognition of space could help us better evaluate the image of the place in mind, ultimately helping to comprehend urban memory in mind. In social sciences, the relationship between humans and their environment is recognised as a significant challenge but essential in studies such as urban memory (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). This type of socio-spatial evaluation is often undertaken through a cognitive mapping or mental mapping technique. A renowned approach is the “person’s socio-spatial schema”, which explores the perceptual understanding of a place (Lee, 1968, 1970, 1976; in Walmsley, 1988, p. 48). It is a diagrammatic representation model that can identify a mental model of a particular environment for which cognition and perception processes are facilitated. This is an experimental mapping technique that is comprised of both ‘territorial’ and ‘social considerations’. Similarly, Redish (1999) suggests the concept of ‘self-localisation analysis’. This is a socio-physiological method beyond the cognitive mapping analysis and considers both “behavioural and neurophysiological” evaluations (ibid., p. 126). This method is the analytical study of interactions “between society and physical functioning” (Freund, 1988, p. 856). This method entirely relies on qualitative data and can only suggest hypotheses in the context of self-localisation and the behavioural environment. This method is dependent on the empirical method but is defined as a behavioural analysis undertaken by a researcher rather than a cognitive analysis done by participants. What is required

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SpaceƟme CogniƟon

Experience

(social)

Memory of Place Fig. 1.2 Memory of place and its three main aspects of cognition, space-time relations, and (social) experience (Source The Author’s)

is, therefore, an analytical study of “conception of space in social thought” (Sack, 1980, pp. 23–30) to evaluate the socio-spatial values and qualities of a particular place. The framework for this type of analysis considers spaces and substances as the essence of the ‘social science domain’. Hence, the subjectivity and objectivity of spatial patterns are examined in a ‘physical science domain’ (ibid., p. 25). A similar approach is undertaken by Lynch (1960, p. 14), which explores the concept of image and reality. Lynch’s study is a comparative study that explores various “images with visual reality” to examine different forms and layouts and their impacts on images of places (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). This also reflects on architectural determinism and urban design principles and uses mental mapping as a by-product (Lynch, 1960). This method also considers “the presence of various elements, their visibility, their image strength or weakness, their connections and disconnections, and other inter-relations” to explore spatial qualities, characteristics, and potentials for the image structures (ibid., p. 15). In this regard, cognition could shape the image in mind, and in doing so, meaning and memory are formed or structured. The visual reality is then the representation of what is recorded in mind, i.e., the memory of place.

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1.3.3 Cognition and the Representation of Social Relations In the context of political and economic science, the spatial variation and identity of places are examined based on a global understanding of environments (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; 2020). In this regard, the notion of space-and-time is a significant factor in arguing and supporting the concepts of social relations and growth dynamic (Allen et al., 1998, pp. 65–73). This research approach explores the detailed geography of social relations to identify the perspectives and organising elements or products that articulate the social relations of place. This type of study undertakes an interlocking analysis of spaces and argues that social relations extend beyond just one region or place (ibid., 68–80). Thus, the analysis of particular nodes and spatial qualities can support the recognition of ‘growth and decline’, ‘otherness and independence’, and ‘space-time and socio-spatial’ (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). In doing so, we could also reflect on the ‘typology of environments’, which ultimately categorises nodes and urban environments on the basis of the “cognition of the population involved” and the “relationship between built environment and behaviour” (Herbert & Thomas, 1990, p. 256). We then urge to explore the emergence of the urban system into the tradition and image of societies. While the focus is often on the quality of the urban environment, we suggest considering specific planning and design principles that suggest not only the physical definition of urban environments but also their social cohesion, cognition, and the representation of social relations. In doing so, we could also explore a demographic study of local nodes or points of conflux, and examine the images of the city on the basis of mental mapping in order to identify the spatial identity of the urban environments (ibid.). A well-recognised and similar research approach in urbanism is Lynch’s analytical study of the environment’s perception (1960, in Gould & White, 1986, pp. 11–19). The concepts of the neighbourhood and perceived environment are considered to be important values for the mental mapping techniques. The mental topography of citizens and their perceived knowledge of their environments help to evaluate principles such as legibility, imageability, and permeability. The meaning of cognitive mapping is then defined as the “…mental process through which people come to grips with and comprehend the world around” (Downs & Stea, 1977, p. 61). As a result, the cognitive map is described as the individual’s “organised representation of part of the spatial environment” (ibid.). Several social scientists and researchers (Day, 1976; Pocock & Hudson, 1978; Walmsley, 1988) criticise Lynch’s methodology of individual mental mapping as they believe sketch maps normally emphasise upon the aesthetic attributes “…at the expense of urban areas that may be noteworthy for other reasons…[such as]…sound, smell and etc.” (in Walmsley, 1988, p. 43). In this respect, it is also argued that images are “invariably more regular than reality…and intersections are frequently drawn as right angles” (Day, 1976, in ibid.). This means that visual understanding of a place alone cannot provide a sufficient evaluation of the socio-environmental values and spatial inter-relations of the place (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). Hence, urban memory is represented to be a true reflection of what we record through our experiences, our everyday life, and the social relations that define us in our society.

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1.3.4 Cognition, Space, and Mental Maps As Ley and Samuels (1978, pp. 50–51, in Walmsley, 1988, p. 52) suggest, it is essential to consider informative and humanistic approaches to “…break away from the objective, scientific view of human beings and place their emphasis squarely on the realm of human experience”. Therefore, our experience of any place leads to developing a series of cognitive knowledge about the environment, its physicality, characteristics, etc. Consequently, our cognition is tangled with mental maps that record the memory of places. Hence, cognition and memory are inseparable. In their book on ‘The Cognition of Geographic Space’, Kitchin and Blades (2002) provide a range of cognitive mapping theories and techniques that help us understand the importance of mental maps in recognising the place. As part of the discussions on spatial syntagma of a place (Cheshmehzangi, 2014), there is a great emphasis on three significant aspects of “sensing a place,” “relating to place,” and “knowing a place” (Fig. 1.3). The association of these three aspects with our mental maps shows the sequence of human-environment relations fueled by the space-time frame. The association between mental map and perception dimension of urban identity is also covered by Cheshmehzangi (2020), which includes some of the main theories, elements, and background knowledge of mental maps and memory of the place.

"Sensing a place" Through environmenal knowledge "RelaƟng to place" ReflecƟons and knowledge of interacƟons "Knowing a place" Social experience and mental atlas

Fig. 1.3 Spatial syntagma of place and its three aspects of sensing a place, relation to place, and knowing a place (Source The Author’s, extracted from Cheshmehzangi, 2014)

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The study by Imani and Tabaeian (2012) explores how people have some sort of ‘internal model of a geographical space’, which also is the basis of relating cognitive maps with the environmental perception. This is largely related to our spatial knowledge of place, which represents the internal representation of the environment, as well as the mental image and the environmental psychology in mind. Bottini and Doeller (2020) mentioned that the idea is more of the cognitive maps of image spaces, which is a dual system sophisticated in spatial navigation based on “self-centered and world-centered information”. In doing so, we can structure knowledge of the place or spatial knowledge with cognitive maps (Peer et al., 2021), or those that are suggested as mental maps (Cheshmehzangi, 2020) or a mental atlas (Burnett, 1976; Walmsley, 1988). The representation of place in cognition then reflects the environmental perception, which is then the foundation of building or developing a memory of places. Therefore, our spatial knowledge records both spatial and nonspatial information, which represents a set of complex information fundamental to spatial navigation through cognitive maps, cognitive graphs, and mental images in mind (Peer et al., 2021). Similarly, such studies could help us evaluate the relationships between spatial activities and environmental perception (Greenberg Raanan & Shoval, 2014) and create the opportunity to develop a visual presentation of mental images in urbanism (Topcu & Topcu, 2012). The latter could also be evaluated from methods of information visualisation that preserve the spatial knowledge and then the memory of a place in mind (Lin et al., 2011). In doing so, we are able to record space-time mappings (Li & Cao, 2020), which also leads to mapping the mental maps (Archambault & Purchase, 2013) in the broader scale of behavioural geography and through our environmental perception and human spatial behaviours (Bell, 2009; i Agustí et al., 2019). More recent studies also show the significance of mental maps in decisionmaking processes through the internal model of environmental knowledge that helps structure memory (Kaplan et al., 2017). This also means that socio-spatial decisions (Sullivan-Wiley & Teller, 2020) are significant in our perception or cognition and memory of the environments/places.

1.4 Memory Through Signs and Symbols We usually remember places based on their association with specific signs and symbols. To interpret places as part of our memory, the relations between objectivity and subjectivity of a place are essential. If the place is not experienced in full (i.e., not through direct experiencing or interactions), the memory of a place is then based on what we see and perceive, and often through the visual and in combination with other senses (Lynch, 1960). Thus, place memory is often understood through sequence-based navigation (Iglói et al., 2010), which defines our continuous relations to our surroundings (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). It is evident that we develop memory through particular or even a combination of signage systems, such as colours (Do˘gan, 2020), interactivities (Lim, 2019), level of engagement (Han, 2018), mode

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of display (Cheshmehzangi & Ornsby, 2017), etc. Some other aspects are associated with experiences (Crinson, 2005), visual culture (Ward, 2016), exhibiting the history of the place (Sahu, 2018), and urban landmarks (Evans et al., 1984), that may or may not be processed as part of the signage systems in the city. The relations between signage systems and memory of places are already studied in research areas such as urban forms (Evans et al., 1982), wayfinding accuracy and navigation studies (O’Neill, 1991), sensory experiences of places (Degen & Rose, 2012), reinventing places (Seifert, 2013), spatial practices (Bakshi, 2014) visual forms (Talebzadeh & Nowghabi, 2019), as well as from the analysis of urban palimpsests (Huyssen, 2003; Crinson, 2005; Samuelson, 2008; Khirfan, 2010; Uricchio, 2012; Bartolini, 2014; Farahani et al., 2015; Shep, 2015; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). The latter will be discussed later in Chap. 6, as it represents the comprehensive analysis of subjectivities (Campbell et al., 2019) and structuring collective memory of place or city (Felasari & Roychansyah, 2016). However, there is an objective emphasis on signage (Quinn, 2017) that influences or even determines the subjective understanding of the place. This is then understood and recorded in the forms of meaning and memory in mind. Furthermore, as Merleau-Ponty (1982) described, the phenomenology of perception is the foundation of how we perceive places (also see Webster et al., 2005; Mooney, 2012). Apart from signs and signage systems in our everyday places, we also perceive and memorise our experiences through the notion of symbolism (Nas, 1993; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Lukito & Pratama, 2018). The relationship between imaging and remembering is evaluated through the nexus between memory, space, and symbolism (Mijatovi´c, 2014) and is well-studied in the study of place representation in mind (Denison, 2009; Han & Zoh, 2010; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Therefore, the relationship between spatial symbolism (Dellenbaugh-Losse, 2020) and changing spaces (Shatkin, 2005) are identified more visible in the earlier scholarly work on socio-spatial symbolism (Feinberg, 1988), the study of functionalism (Shilhav, 1983), the temporal and cultural analysis of place (Foster, 1994), and mapping the characteristics of the place in mind (Schlichtmann, 1985). For instance, in sociology, sociospatial structures are defined by the cultural capital (Zukin, 1990), which are generally developed through socio-spatial symbolism and the representation of places (Richardson & Jensen, 2003). Therefore, we can say socio-spatial studies represent a decent set of sociological, psychological, and socio-psychological analyses of memory-place research. Consequently, the study of socio-spatial changes (Rankin, 2003; Terkenli, 2005; Cheshmehzangi, 2020) could also indicate issues and opportunities of socio-spatial practices (Bird & Sokolofski, 2005), socio-spatial inequalities (Méndez & Otero, 2018), socio-spatial identities (Jones, 1999), social space interactions (Wilson, 1980), and socio-spatial reproduction of urban places/areas (Rodenstedt, 2014). From materialised symbolism to cognitive symbolism, we refer to a set of environmental knowledge formed through the representation of places, our interactions, and experiences, and the social relations we may acquire from them. While signage and symbolism are understood as “dynamic forms of understanding a place” (Cheshmehzangi, 2020, p. 71), they could also appear separately in the urban environments. For instance, we

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may develop our perception based on specific signs of socio-cultural and/or sociospatial attributes of the place. We may also associate a place or a city with certain characteristics or values that are represented through specific symbols (Walmsley, 1988; Walmsley and Lewis, 1993). Those symbols could be identifiable for us collectively or individually or could simply be distinct (in their nature) and how they are represented in mind. Either way, symbolism is meant to convey (or represent) information to us, those that we may choose to record or not as the memory of place. In some cases, we may have no chance to choose and entirely rely on the natural processing of our experiences from a particular place or city. The further debates on this topic relate mostly to the next sub-section, i.e., on the topic of ‘memory and place identity’.

1.5 Memory and Place Identity: From Experience to Cognition As Lewicka (2008) suggests, there is a close link between place attachment, place identity, and place memory. This is mainly discussed through the perspectives of urban memory restoration and preserving the past in cities and urban environments. The examples of reinventing places (Said, 2000; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a) suggest the collective character of places and towards the development of a robust system of meaning, such as for place quality and place-making approaches (Yuen, 2005) and enhancing the sense of place (Lengen & Kistemann, 2012). Moreover, the actual experience of place is believed to be developed from the cognitive process of memory and what we interpret and define in the place-identity (Proshansky et al., 1983) or the nexus between the phenomena of place-related identity and memory (Knez et al., 2018). More importantly, Wheeler (2014) argues that our everyday landscapes are, in fact, the essential parts of processes of memory and place identity, those that are considered to be primarily centered on our needs and placeness (also see Baker, 2012; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). For Magnaghi (2005, p. 37), the place is defined differently that suggest the nexus between memory and place identity: Place is a cultural entity speaking to its contemporaries in the long process of the anthropization of the landscape creating identity, memory, language, material culture, and symbolic and effective messages. As long as we treat places – in the wake of mass industrial culture – as a beast of burden (without loading them to death, making them carry a sustainable weight), we will still have no idea of their deep riches and we will hardly be able to reverse permanently the planetary catastrophe caused through our lack of knowledge about local places and the environment.

In this regard, Sepe (2013a) adds to this argument by suggesting the analysis of places beyond their aesthetic essence and physical geometry. This is largely covered by the fundamental factors of meaning, memory, and identity of the place, such as those discussed by Lynch (1960), Rose (1995), Migliorini and Venini (2001), Sepe (2013b), Sepe and Pitt (2014), and many other scholars. Memory and identity can also be defined as inseparable parts of a place or a city. Hence, the memory of a place is vastly associated with what we perceive and

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experience in our engagement and interactions with places. In her study of ‘Place Identity and PlaceMaker’, Sepe (2010) highlights how the quality of a place is beyond just the physical resources and includes subjective factors. Essentially, the quality of a place is also the representation of our good or bad experience of the place, which could then form our good or bad memory of the place, too. It is then that we decide whether we visit that particular place or not, or we decide if we would recommend the place to others or not. All these then form how we identify the place in our mind. The quality then suggests the combined perception and experiences of the place, something that connects experience with cognition, and vice versa. By comparing three identity theories, namely (1) place-identity theory, (2) social identity theory, and (3) identity process theory, Hauge (2007) explores the relationship between place and identity and argues how our perception of a place is influenced by what our experiences. In doing so, she (ibid., p. 49) also refers to place identity as “a dynamic, social product of the interaction of capacities for memory, consciousness and organised construal…[which is]…seen as both a structure and a process”. In this regard, we can conclude the links between 0, cognition, and memory, which are then come together in the form of place identity. Hence, as discussed by Cheshmehzangi (2020, p. 105), “socio-spatial cognition of the environment” could be a step forward for us to better evaluate (urban) memory of places and enhance our planning and design strategies that could lead to making better quality urban environments (also see Hart & Moore, 1973). In doing so, memory and place identity would remain tangled in defining our experiences, perceptions, and cognition of the place.

1.6 Beyond What Urban Memory Offers This chapter has focused on the topic of urban memory as the foundation for the following chapters of the book. While no attempt was made to recapture the existing theories, we aimed to highlight the importance of urban memory from multiple perspectives. Hence, the topic of urban memory is discussed in detail and associated with cognition, signs, symbols, and identity. We express what urban memory offers and how it should be preserved, enhanced, or even augmented through the process or processes of city transition(s). We note the significance of urban memory in studies that highlight the growing demand for place-identity formation, cultural preservation, urban regeneration, heritage restoration, city branding, and place invention. More importantly, the nexus between memory and the space-time frame of urbanism is something that we hope to cover in the next few chapters. Thus, we explore this important topic from the city transition point of view; and hence, the book’s title is ‘urban memory in city transitions’. As cities and their environments face transitions, the notion of urban memory becomes even more critical for the present generations and those who may need to learn from their cities’ past layers. We often forget that what we do at present is what we offer to our cities’ future. The emphasis has, for long, been on the development of future cities, that we sometimes overlook what we could offer now. In addition,

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in the face of continuing globalisation, cities develop fast and sometimes transform at a much quicker pace. The change in their beings could cost us more than what we think. Nowadays, in the rapidly-developing countries, we see such progression that is branded as a positive change. Economically positive, yes, and to some extent; but, environmentally, not very much; socially, depending on how the progression is directed and managed; and culturally, probably not, and often seen destructively. In such a rapid process, often valued as a progression, we often face the urban environments’ crude renewal development, those that are no longer representative of cities in transition, but cities in transformation and dealing with change. Some may occur for the better, and some have significant implications on society, such as displacement and gentrification that often lead to broader issues of social unrest and social exclusion. In the case we lose our sense of belonging, our spatial attachment, and identity of the place, we are likely to end up with faded memories that are no longer present in the physicality of the newly replaced urban environments. As Ferguson (2009) describes, the silence of design describes for the spirit of place could simply turn into the absence of meaning and memory, those that are particularly enriched through the space-time frame of urbanism. Undoubtedly, the topic of ‘urban memory in city transitions’ is unique in many ways. It reflects on many ongoing irreversible redevelopment projects across the world, highlighting how, in the name of the incessant economic growth, cities and city authorities decide to replace their past with the glossy future of generic anywhere-fit planning and design. Regrettably, there are many examples of such in recent decades, and some that are still ongoing with no sympathy for their history, heritage, and culture. Some of these redevelopments sacrifice their cities through the never-ending cycle of progression, without recognising the values of the past in the present and the future. Nevertheless, there are also many examples of cities that go through the usual transitions. And those are the ones that need to pay attention to sustain and conserve the multiple layers of their communities. If not late, we could also reverse some of those irretrievable trends, helping to bring back the memory of places, cities, and the joy and experiences that are meant to be locally generated and globally appreciated. Finally, urban memory has to be valued as an asset to revive, reinvent, promote, and/or sustain urban identity, meaning, and the socio-spatial structure of the city. The experiences that are offered in cities are as meaningful as their economic growth. We may mistakenly replace the values today will turn our cities into soulless ubiquitous living habitats, not cities that are meant to be lived with passion, joy, pride, and excitement. In the next two chapters, we delve into two critical streams of ‘memory and cities’, and ‘significance of place in mind’, the two that are the core of this book. In doing so, we discover the significance of urban memory in city transitions. We move away from the literature and theories and more towards practices and implications in urbanism. In particular, we highlight the importance of urban palimpsests and explore some of the global examples representing the value of urban memory in city transitions.

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Chapter 2

Memory and Cities: Discovering Transitions Through Urban Maps

The Charm of a city, now we come to it, is not unlike the charm of flowers. It partly depends on seeing time creep across it. Charm needs to be fleeting. Nothing could be less palatable than a museum-city propped up by prosthetic devices of concrete. —Robert Doisneau

2.1 The Complexity of Urban Palimpsests This chapter is the starting point of our exploration of memory and cities, particularly through urban maps. This is mainly done by discovering (city) transitions and how they appear in different urban contexts (see Sect. 2.3). We first, however, explore the concept of palimpsests and its complexity in urbanism. In doing so, we argue for the importance of the past in the present and the future, highlighting how the city’s past layers resemble the richness of urban narratives, heritage, and culture. In her novel on ‘City of the Mind’, Lively (1991) brings together the “confluence of city and mind, space and imagination, and urban planning and fiction planning” (also see Gutleben, 2017). This conception is also visible in Ricœur’s work on memory and forgetting, through which the construction of the future is based on the act of remembering. In this regard, ‘remembering’ is regarded as the duty “not only in having a deep concern for the past but in transmitting the meaning of past events to next generation” (Ricœur, 1999, p. 9). The same ideology is also discussed by Gross (1990), who argues the correlation between urban knowledge and remembering, especially in regards to the relationship of the past to the present. The essence of urban palimpsests is, therefore, lived through experiences, the past memories, and the ones (i.e., both experiences and memories) (Cheshmehzangi, 2015b), which are yet to be reconnoitered, seized, and recorded in mind. As Huyssen (2003, p. 7) describes, urban palimpsests are interpreted as “the conviction that literary techniques of reading historically, intertextually, constructively and deconstructively at the same time can be woven into our understanding of urban spaces as lived spaces that shape our collective imaginaries”. This is further recognised in the form of architectural representation of the urban environments © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_2

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(Maller, 1991; Andrés & Pozuelo, 2009; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Verovšek et al., 2013; Cheshmehzangi & Munday, 2021), and more specifically associated with the perceptional dimension of urbanism/urban design and our cognition of places, buildings, as well as the physical and non-physical beings of the city (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Hence, we can verify urban palimpsests are complex as urban realities are complex, too (Samuelson, 2008; Artopoulos & Bakirtzis, 2014; Lamond et al., 2020). This is also partly related to “all the complex processes of construction and decay, celebration of depreciation, that render urban environments” (Hall, 2006). In the study of ‘envisioning urban histories’, Crang (1996) refers to palimpsests as historicity and the passage of time. The two enable us to represent urban visions, imaginaries, and images of the city. This is also the same approach in how we interpret our communities, our heritage, and the image of what we perceive from our surroundings (Binks, 1989). More importantly, as Vâlceanu et al. (2014) put it well, the urban palimpsests nurture the interplay between multiple layers of the city in both urban spatial systems and urban life. In this regard, there is a close link between our perception through the space-time frame of the city, and what essentially forms our memory of places. Van Assche and Teamp˘au (2009) nicely articulate this as the “situational interpretation of the spatial palimpsests”, which could ultimately help us reproduce places and their memories through spaces and the temporality of those transitions cities usually experience. Thus, this chapter sheds light on the diversity of urban palimpsests and how they appear through city transitions of various types.

2.2 Urban Palimpsests and Memory of Cities The manifestation of urban palimpsests differs from case to case, location to location, and time to time. They reflect on the realities of places differently as they are often diluted in the ethno-political identities and socio-economic attributes of the specific city, region, or even country. In the many studies of urban imaginaries, the combination of formal-aesthetic and ethno-political attributes of the city appear to be playful parts of tracing the past in the palimpsests-like form or a sort of development (Detmers et al., 2011). This is similar to the understanding of the narrative of spaces in the city, which as Janev (2016) suggests, resemble the ‘contesting ethnocratic spatial order’ indicating a strong relationship between buildings, places, and the urban environments. Moreover, in the form of collective memory, we are selective in remembering and forgetting (Huyssen, 2003; Cheshmehzangi, 2011). We may choose what is offered to us through the experiences of urban life. This selection happens through space and time, and the correlation between the two appears strong in urbanism, particularly in spatial planning and urban design (Kusno, 2010). What becomes significant in mind is contextualizing palimpsest of collective memory (Farahani et al., 2015), which is also a perfect reflection on the contextualization of urban identities (Cheshmehzangi, 2015a).

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Urban Landscapes

Urban Image

Urban Form

Urban Palimpsests Urban Texture

Urban Land-use

Urban IdenƟty

Fig. 2.1 Six variations of urban palimpsests in city transitions, through (1) urban landscapes, (2) urban form, (3) urban land-use, (4) urban identity, (5) urban texture, and (6) urban image (Source The Author’s)

Depending on the level of contextual changes, development, and transitions, we apprehend memories of the past appearing in different forms and through various mediums. Here, we summarise six variations of urban palimpsests in city transitions (Fig. 2.1). These variations are what we believe that influence or even structure urban memory in city transitions.

2.2.1 Palimpsests and Urban Landscapes Urban landscapes are mainly formed by human activities or under the influence of what we do in the built environments. Creating urban landscapes is the foremost goal to create spaces that respond to specific problems, issues, challenges, or even opportunities. In urban conservation practices, the urban landscapes are part of the morphological dimension of urbanism (Gospodini, 2004), which also change as

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communities change or evolve over time. In association with place identity, Kaymaz (2013) argue how places change through changes or transformations of urban landscapes; and how this ultimately influences the change in the identity or essence of place (Antrop, 2005). For instance, much of what we see in cities’ cultural landscapes is related to what happens as part of transitions that continuously occur in our contemporary urban environments. Vâlceanu et al. (2014) explore this matter from the influence of spatial and temporal factors on urban life and its quality. In their work, they investigate morphological changes of urban tissues as the ultimate product of landscape transformations. In doing so, the evolution of urban systems (ibid.) is seen as a mechanism for transition beyond just the city’s geographical descriptions. This idea puts together aesthetic qualities, experiences, and social practices of the urban landscapes (Krutkin, 2018); and also one that defines urban memorial landscapes (Pirker et al., 2019) and even the essence of place-making from urban palimpsests (Golda-Pongratz, 2020). Furthermore, in her studies on urban palimpsests, Golda-Pongratz (2020, p. 14) suggest that “if we take a step further and start from the idea that the daily urban space is itself a permanent overlapping of vernacular imaginaries and memories, we can define the present as an immediate space of memory”. Through this description, we could simply recognise the value of multiple layers of memories in our urban landscapes, those that belong to space of memory (Abad, 2016), our collective memory (Halbwachs, 1992), and the sort of “memory that can emerge from a holistic view of the place and all its physical and social layers” (Golda-Pongratz, 2020, p. 1). Hence, the traces of the past in urban landscapes belong to the memory of places that live through them over time and within them through spaces.

2.2.2 Palimpsests and Urban Form Partly related to urban landscapes, palimpsests through the urban form are usually based on narrative structure and memories (Monaco, 2020) or urban imaginaries of places (Dunn, 2018). This mainly appears through the physical characteristics of built-up areas, including—but not limited to—the main aspects of urban forms, such as shape, density, size, and configuration of the built environment. In this category, also linked to the morphological characteristics, palimpsests are very much associated with urban environments’ physicality, such as street layouts, buildings, and spatial forms. Through the configuration of urban spaces (Huyssen, 2003), we can build on the memories of the past and create a structure that represents the language, narrative, and/or objectivity of the place. Associated with eidetic theory to urban form (Newman, 2016), eidetic memory is the representation of the cognition of place in mind (Coon, 2005; Taylor, 2013), through which we can distinguish a place from another. As memories could be recorded as photographic thoughts or images (Rothen et al., 2012), one can argue how they appear in mind through the significance of place and urban palimpsests. Taylor (2013, p. 1099) argues this point by stating:

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In eidetic memory, a person has an almost faithful mental image snapshot or photograph of an event in their memory. However, eidetic memory is not limited to visual aspects of memory and includes auditory memories as well as various sensory aspects across a range of stimuli associated with a visual image.

There are, however, some debates that suggest eidetic memory exists in various forms and could be in an ordinary form memory or exceptional memory in mind (Dunning, 2016). In this regard, understanding urban form through its impacts or influences on our mind cannot be simply neglected. We consume the interpretation of places in mind through how they are experienced, seen, or even passed through; thus, the importance of urban form must be considered in design decision-making procedures. In her studies on traces on the palimpsest, Khirfan (2010) explores the heritage and urban forms as two elements of identifying the city’s past, which is also represented in the continuous narrative of place (Monaco, 2020). This can be done by reviving what is recorded in mind (Simola, 2015) or simply through the environments’ learning process (Hudmon, 2009). In the study of different urban changes, Knox (2012) highlights the importance of urban form in creating palimpsests. For instance, the nexus between urban form and palimpsest is well represented in the postcolonial (Hartwiger, 2016) and socialists (Schwenkel, 2014) contexts, where a new generation of urban design is complicated and requires detailed placemaking strategies. As Newman (2016) suggests, urban form plays a significant part in creating the structures of what has been constructed in mind. Thus, the space-time frame of the place is recognised to be highly influential through the urban forms.

2.2.3 Palimpsests and Urban Land-Use There are not many studies that include urban land-use as part of recognising urban palimpsests. The existing scholarly work focuses on urban spatial system (Vâlceanu et al., 2014) and the interplay between the historically generated layers of the city (Azimzadeh & Bjur, 2007). This fact is very much linked with lands and land-uses, and how they form the conception of place memory in mind. Johnson and Ouimet (2018) refer to the position of ‘humans and their land use practices’, while Bailey and Galanidou (2009) suggest land uses are beyond the physical features of palimpsests, meaning that they could develop in a process that may be subject to change (Jones & Shaw, 2006). In their study of land use patterns, Sarzynski et al. (2014, p. 60) highlight how time and urban land use patterns create distinctive territories in the urban environments: Each new developmental era made an imprint on the urban palimpsest already present, sometimes virtually obliterating the former land use patterns but, more often, only partially modifying what had been developed earlier and instead making its most distinctive imprint on the newly developed fringe territories.

This fact could be driven by land-use morphologies, patterns, typologies, and their spatial distributions in city environments. In addition, what we see in land-uses is

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not just the typologies that may change in the urban environments, but also indeed the socio-spatial formations that become the essence of places in mind. McManus (2004) argues that palimpsests are valuable in representing urban changes, as they could be seen through city landscapes and spatial forms (Ford, 2000) that are likely to emerge as meaning and memory of places. This could go back to the argument that palimpsests are, in fact, part of the land-use planning processes (Callens, 2020) and are often seen in the form of physical activities with the socio-spatial dimension of the urban environments (Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012a, b). The appropriation of places as palimpsests (Morata et al., 2020) indicates how land-use systems (Rimmer, 1988) form cultural landscapes or regenerated urban environments and become the conception of cultural palimpsests in representing the past through the functionality of places. This is discussed as environmental entanglement of present and past (Layne, 2014), which help to reinvent places through their histories and historical interpretations of their land-use patterns.

2.2.4 Palimpsests and Urban Identity In the study of Radok (1999), palimpsests are curated as new geographies of knowledge, and those that are inherently formed through distinctive characteristics, cultural values, and identity of places (Crang, 1996; Khirfan, 2010; Hall, 2016; Gönül et al., 2017; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). The two notions of ‘palimpsest’ and ‘identity’ appear in multiple theories and practices in urbanism, such as in cultural diversity (Alarcón, 1990), cultural palimpsests (Dillon, 2005), cultural identity (Alarcón, 1997), urban mapping studies (Powell, 2008), etc. In typographical traces of cities, the identity of places are related to the layers of palimpsests (Shep, 2015) and are argued as the locus of identity formation (Daniel & Levi, 2013). For instance, in archaeological studies, we see a greater appreciation of the combination of identity, memory, and landscapes (Yoffee, 2007) that also include the significance of heritage and local identities in diverse city environments (Khirfan, 2010). By creating the sense of identity in cities, therefore, we are able to construct urban cultural landscapes and living through the model of “place as palimpsests” (Mitin, 2018, Sect. 7): The palimpsest model turns out to be not about the temporal changes alone, but also about the differences in the landscape as it is “read” by social groups and individuals, differentiated by identity, occupation, lifestyles, experience, imaginative power, and emotional factors. (also see Mitin, 2010)

This statement reflects on some of the earlier theories related to the meaning of culture (Norton, 1981, 1984) as well as the reinvention of cultural geography (Price & Lewis, 1993), mainly through the appreciation of differences (Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020). Hence, places as palimpsests are not mere landscapes (Schein, 1997) but are indeed the interpretation of many things in mind. There could be translation of environmental perception, or certain attitudes and values (Tuan, 1974, 1977, 1991), which are embedded in the placeness of places (Cheshmehzangi, 2014); or

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there could be the position of power of place (Quaid, 2017) that represents Hayden’s exploration of the intersections of cultural identity social history, and urban design (Hayden, 1995). Whether it is regarded as the collective identity development or our personal/individual relations with the urban environments, the captivity of the present by the past (Langenbacher, 2003) is represented through places’ identity and are continually re-envisioned through cityscapes (Li, 2013). In the arguments of palimpsests between permanence and change (Riondino, 2014), one can argue in the continuity of palimpsests through identity formation, identity branding, and identity enhancement of places (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Thus, the relationship between palimpsests and urban identity could represent the actual form of transition in mind regarding how we perceive and develop the memory of a place in mind.

2.2.5 Palimpsests and Urban Texture Urban texture and space configuration are studied to create and characterise urban palimpsests (Amorim et al., 2009, 2014). Urban textures are often considered the “geometrical structure formed by the spatial distribution of urban elements” (Ober et al., 1997), such as buildings, roads, green spaces, etc. The relationship with palimpsests is in urban grain, the network of streetscapes, urban space patterns, and urban space/spatial structure. In an example of rediscovering historical palimpsests, the regeneration of urban texture is identified as a significant approach to space usage and new space formation (Atzeni, 2018). This is also represented in the study of generating meaning in urban spaces (Hamlyn, 2010), interpretation of perceptions (Rogobete, 2008), and memoryscapes (Trostel, 2016). Similarly, Turgut and Özten (2018) study the agglomeration of historical, spatial, and socio-cultural palimpsests and how the interactions between urban dynamics could form new spatial patterns. This is also argued as the layered texture of urban environments, which is the representative of urban narratives in connecting the past with present (Bass, 2011). The texture could be part of the urban form and in a traditional setting (Yuan et al., 2019) or simply as part of the rediscovery of the texture of innate time (Koo, 2009, p. 834), helping to identify place identity: …considering the site to be palimpsest premises the coexistence of textures of different times. Since palimpsest connotes the trace of time and space, it is constantly re-code…As a consequence, architecture of strata, which is simultaneous recognition on the space created between architecture and the site, provides an opportunity to reconsider the interdependent or opposing relationship between city and architecture in perceiving the form and pattern of the city and the architecture. And at the same time, it is verified that an analogy of palimpsest to the site may make the alternative design strategy to overpass the limit of modern architecture that had misunderstood the city.

Furthermore, in urban design practice, the idea of historical preservation is developed from Giovannoni’s theory of conservation, arguing that urban form and texture are in the process of interminable transformation (Mancini & Glusac, 2018; Yuan et al., 2019). This, again, is very much linked with the morphological dimension of urban

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design (Qiu, 2008), which is utilized for the reconstruction of place narrative through urban places and urban texture. Consequently, Pezzetti (2019) suggests approaches to overwrite the urban palimpsest in a regenerative structure, enabling the opportunity to maximise the potential use of historic public places and buildings. In doing so, the urban texture, particularly in the traditional form, could synthesize a new form of being a part of the city’s form and structure (Menghini, 2002). Thus, by considering the land as a palimpsest (Corboz, 1983), we are in the position to assess and classify urban textures as part of evaluating both the long-lasting and ephemeral memories of places.

2.2.6 Palimpsests and Urban Image The correlation between urban image and palimpsests is based on learning from the memory of places (Brewer & Treyens, 1981; Salmaso et al., 1983), which is essential for the act of remembering (Teng & Squire, 1999; Cheshmehzangi, 2012b). Crang (1996) refers to this as part of envisioning urban histories, or what could be regarded as traces of the past. In his study of ‘urban imaginaries and the palimpsests of the future’, Dunn (2018, p. 375) concludes with the importance of image and imagination as part of creating urban imaginaries for our collective tomorrow: The role of imagination is fundamental to processes of conceptualisation, envisioning and performing urban futures. The importance of such creativity extends in other ways to their questioning of reality, reshaping our spatial conceptions or providing expressions of alternatives.

Furthermore, there are examples of projects that show how urban image has played a significant part in representing a palimpsest of some sort (Lo, 1998; Carvaho, 2011; Carrasco, n.d.). This again could simply be rediscovered as a part of many traces of historical layers of the city (Malas, 2013) and those that may or may not reproduce the original urban image (Quiroga, 2005). Hence, we can argue there could be a difference between the original and what comes to our mind as part of the modern imagination (Alarcón, 1997) or simply the current image of what is perceived from the place. This phenomenon is discussed as part of ‘time perspectives’ (Machado, 2016) or the essence of memory through the time-space frame of the city and its environments. Similarly, Singh (1996) suggests the chance of interpretive memory provided to us through the image of the place, which is the essence of how imagination had influenced urban reconstruction of places. In this regard, cityscapes are not imaged but are also excavated as urban palimpsests (Li, 2013). Furthermore, partly linked with the idea of visual palimpsests (Gaebel, 2014; Tsakiri, 2017; Beck & Gallery, 2019), the urban image could be the representation of urban life, quality of places, our experiences of places, and the meaning that we acquire from the environments (Lynch, 1960). This is also interpreted as the “production of urban imagery and the acts of appropriation” (Stilinovic et al., 2014),

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which is discussed as part of palimpsests of time and place (Fishenden & Hugill, 2011). Lastly, the viewpoints from various scholarly research, such as Muller (2014), Schultz (2015), and Diener and Hagen (2018), refer to the topic of urban evolution that could occur in urban landscapes, urban images, and urban palimpsests. As Vâlceanu et al. (2014) suggest, “the role of time in the evolution of land and landscape as palimpsest is very important to identify the profile and current urban image”. Thus, what is important is not just the image of place but how it is ultimately represented in mind at a specific time and through a process of evolution.

2.3 City Transitions and Their Impacts on Urban Memory So far, what we have covered in this chapter are the importance of urban palimpsests in urban memory formation and the variety of how they may appear in mind. This section looks into some examples of how these are then perceived, understood, and experienced in cities around the globe. First, for palimpsest and urban landscapes, we explore the case of PuDong new area in the City of Shanghai, China, which is a suitable example of remaking a city (Yeh, 1996) through large-scale city transitions. Second, for palimpsest and urban form, we explore Oshodi Market’s case and its surrounding areas in the suburb of Lagos State, Nigeria. This case is crucial as it includes many spatial planning strategies (Ifekwem & Adedamola, 2016), which has transformed the informal setting of the urban areas into a formal layout. Third, for urban land-use, we explore the multiple stages of transitions in Singapore’s Marina Bay and its surrounding areas (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). We emphasise the transitions of the more recent years, with the ongoing replacement of existing port areas with new leisure and entertainment zones. Fourth, for palimpsest and urban identity, we explore the famous case of Cancún in Mexico, which has developed to become one of the renowned tourist/holiday destinations around the world (Hiernaux-Nicolas, 1999). Fifth, for palimpsest and urban texture, we explore the case of the Olympic Park in the City of London, UK, which has ultimately changed the social and physical landscapes of East London from the inside (Cohen, 2013). And sixth, for palimpsest and urban image, we explore the City of Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan (Karaca et al., 2019), which has gradually developed to become a monumental city of many colossal open spaces and buildings. These cases are explored through urban maps of four recent stages, representing how and in what form these transitions are taken place. Ultimately, they influence the urban memory of those specific places, areas, zones, and urban environments.

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2.3.1 Urban Landscapes in Transition: The Case of PuDong District in Shanghai, China Known as a ‘miracle forged in 28 years’ (Yang & Liang, 2018), Shanghai’s PuDong District has developed from a cluster of villages to a global financial centre. In this relatively rapid transition, we see examples of inward and outward images through the urban landscapes that are developed over the years. Once desolate farmland, Shanghai’s new financial district is the picturesque example of a modern financial city, not only important nationally but also globally. As shown in Fig. 2.2, since its early phases of development, PuDong has been part of Shanghai’s rural-urban transition (Junde & Zaide, 1996). The rapid pace of development here indicates China’s urban development (Figs. 2.3 and 2.4) through global-local interactions (Chen, 2007). However, the memory of PuDong is twofold: one that has lived through it with its local communities, and the other that has grown outward, representing it as a place of change. Formed through planned urban landscapes, the memory of PuDong has grown with its recent three decades of development. As such, we see the stabilizing growth of this district (Fig. 2.5) as it sits within the more extensive expansion of the city beyond its existing boundaries. The urban landscapes of PuDong district are the product of spatial transformations, resembling a city of continuing urban transition. While we observe PuDong as a significant financial hub, the locals see it with pride and livelihood of its remarkable urban landscapes, landmarks, and destinations.

Fig. 2.2 The second phase of PuDong District development, following the early phase of development in the early 1990s, represents the rapid pace of new development between the abandoned farmlands and existing residential quarters (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.3 The new district was soon no longer new, filled with many new buildings and many existing residential blocks (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.4 The inevitable growth of PuDong, in the face of rapid city expansion and growth (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.5 By getting closer to shaping the urban landscapes, PuDong district is dually acknowledged inwardly and outwardly by those who live and work there and those who look into it as Shanghai’s financial hub. PuDong’s urban landscapes represent transitional phases of growth, power, and finance (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

2.3.2 Following the Informal Form to Make the Formal Layout: The Case of Oshodi Neighbourhood in Lagos, Nigeria A significant case of city transition is the Oshodi neighbourhood in Lagos, Nigeria. In the recent decade or so, the Oshodi neighbourhood has gone through significant redevelopment and formalisation processes. The impacts are mostly seen in the area’s many informal markets, known to be one of the most vibrant places on the planet (Cheshmehzangi & Bond, 2014). These recent regeneration-based projects have had major impacts on the perception of places in the area (Okunola et al., 2011). They have also influenced the process of displacement of businesses and trade (Omoegun, 2015), partly through the transformation of the basic informal layout of the market areas to a formal setting. The area is comprised of several markets (Fourchard & Olukoju, 2007). In many years of its development and trade, it has attracted many small and medium enterprises and many informal workers (Ifekwem & Adedamola, 2016). The place’s informality has created a sort of urban form with a strong sense of place and memory. The unstructured structure of the market areas, in particular, has played a vital contribution to the larger scale of neighbourhood layout. This, as Chukwuemeka et al. (2017) suggest, becomes a significant part of the “reading of urban fabric and built environment”, those that represent temporal activities, vibrant trade, and sequential intensity of uses. As shown in Fig. 2.6, the informal urban form is a magnificent example of making an urban fabric through the informality of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). As shown in Figs. 2.7 and 2.8, the gradual transitional

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Fig. 2.6 The earlier phase of regeneration in Oshodi neighborhood in the City of Lagos, Nigeria (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.7 The vibrant trade atmosphere of many markets in Oshodi transformed the area into a major urban hub in the city. This led to the expansion of existing market areas as well as new additions to the market and trade areas (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

phases have been based on the original urban form of the informal markets and areas in the neighbourhood. With some added market areas and the formalisation of the markets, the progressive project led to the development of new market structures, as shown in Fig. 2.9. In more recent years, the transition has changed to a sort of urban transformation, which has led to some demolition of existing market areas

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Fig. 2.8 The gradual transition is starting to create a unique urban form based on the existing market areas in Oshodi (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.9 The gradual transition turns into a large scale redevelopment project, which is recognized to be transformational through the formalisation of some of the market and trade areas in Oshodi (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

and the redevelopment of larger urban grains, some in the form of closed buildings. However, the memory of the markets in this neighbourhood represents the scent of the vibrant and livelihood of the City of Lagos.

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2.3.3 Prioritising Urban Land-Use in Shifting Singapore’s Image and Spatial Configuration The case of Singapore’s Marina Bay is known to many and requires little introduction. In official reports, as Lee (2018) highlights, this major development is narrated as “the culmination of Singapore’s historical evolution, and this idea of progress is to be materialized in the seamless transition from the old downtown to the urban waterfront created by land reclamation”. Earlier, Yang and Chen (2013) highlighted Singapore’s strategy on city image building, which was then summarised by Cheshmehzangi (2020) as a shift from a financial image to a more leisure-based and entertainment image. As one of the multi-purpose urban reservoirs of Singapore (Galelli et al., 2014), Marina Bay has been very much developed through the combination of landuses and reinventing memories. As shown in Fig. 2.10, almost two decades ago, the reclaimed land was mainly surrounded by financial quarters and port areas. The later phase of development aimed to reinvent the memory of place through land-uses, primarily through the new functionality of leisure and entertainment (Fig. 2.11). In doing so, the gradual pace of development has enabled the city to focus more on the recreation of spaces, activities, events, and playful environments. As shown in Fig. 2.12, this progressive planning has led to the gradual displacement of the port areas to the western parts and closer to the Malaysian border. The intention here is to shift land-uses and yet create a sense of remembering through the histories of the places that are created in and around Marina Bay. The impact is very much seen

Fig. 2.10 The first phase of development in Marina bay following the land reclamation and the initial infrastructure development indicate the starting point of this progressive urban development that has shifted the image of Singapore from a financial hub to a cluster of leisure-based and entertainment city-country (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.11 In less than a decade, Marina Bay became a destination of its own and a remarkable case of multi-purpose and multiple uses of a new area in Singapore (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.12 The gradual land-use change happen in a dual process of redevelopment through placemaking strategies, and demolition of the existing port areas (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.13 The more recent demolition of the existing ports (and their displacement) indicates the success in the earlier phases of the Marina Bay development. The government plans to expand on leisure-based and entertainment land-uses and simultaneously keep the past histories and memories through waterfront development and regeneration projects. The continuing use, re-use, and recycling of land-uses in Marina Bay is a remarkable example of shifting image and sustaining the sense of place through a gradual pace of development (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

on waterfront areas (Fig. 2.13), where local memories of the port areas, fishing, and trade industries are still alive.

2.3.4 Making Memories Through Multiple Identities of Cancún, Mexico Cancún’s original transition was accomplished by “making the enclave into a regional city resort” (Hiernaux-Nicolas, 1999). In this transition, there are also spaces of resistance in contesting neoliberalism (Leitner et al., 2007) in urban expansion of the city beyond its original boundaries. The many social movements in the city (Kray, 2006) reflect on the importance of transition beyond just the economic growth and success in becoming a touristic hub. Through its early transitional phases, the city of Cancún was identified as the city of thousand and one faces (Cruz, 1996), which differs from how it is imaged and imagined by visitors and tourists. In their study of memories as assets, Zauberman et al. (2009) evaluate strategic memory protection in choice over time. Their argument on collective memory as opposed to individual memory is relevant to the case of Cancún, as we see a growing difference in memories of the city in between different groups of people (e.g., visitors/tourists vs. residents, residents vs. workers, etc.). Nowadays, the city has grown to become a

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Fig. 2.14 Started in 1976, the city of Cancún started to expand on its tourism through the nationallevel regeneration strategies that led to the development of the beachfront strip, dividing the city into two zones of the city and resort areas (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

city of multiple identities (Cheshmehzangi, 2020), while keeping its ‘bliss’ status in the wider context. Started as early as 1976, the larger-scale development of tourism industries, resorts, and facilities (Fig. 2.14, showing 1986), has led to the formation of the city’s identity. In this regard, the city has kept its values of history, identity, and social groups (Hiernaux-Nicolas, 1999), through which the city has grown to become more than just a resort city. While the beachfront strip of resorts and hotels (known as ‘Zona Hotelera’) has limited space for expansion, the more traditional central part of the city (or ‘El Centro’) has expanded drastically to more than six times of its size, just about 40 years ago (Figs. 2.15 and 2.16). As shown in Fig. 2.17, Cancún’s traditional areas are further expanded to get closer to historical and natural areas in a wider network. This is recognised as an impactful strategy that has revealed the other faces of the city, such as its heritage, history, and many attractions that are no longer just resort-based. The restored connection with regional attractions, such as the Mayan Ruins of Chichén Itzá, El Rey Maya Ruins, El Meco Archaeological Site, and Tulum, has created new opportunities to build on the growing identities of the city and its historical region.

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Fig. 2.15 The gradual pace of development in Cancún led to further expansion of the city’s traditional core, creating a wider network with outer areas in the region. The newly-formed connections with historical and heritage sites enables the city to expand further on its tourism industry beyond just the resort area (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.16 As Cancún started to expand outward, many infill development projects made the new zones to become more popular for the outsiders, such as visitors and tourists (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.17 Expanded to more than six times its size almost 40 years ago, Cancún has expanded even further to many of its regional historical and heritage sites, building on the identity of traditions, culture, and heritage that represent the memory of the past (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

2.3.5 A Combination of Collective Memory, Youth Memory, and New Memories of Olympic Park in London, the UK Finding a location for the new Olympic Park in London appeared to be a difficult task at first. However, soon after announcing London as the official host of the Olympic Games in summer 2006, the city officials had to respond quickly in finding the right spot for the new development. In less than six year, the plan had to consider significant changes to social, economic, and physical landscapes of East London, those that are believed that should have considered the voices from the local communities and workers (Cohen, 2013). In the study of evolving legacy for London’s Olympic Park, Smith (2014) highlights how the project evolved from the initial plan of a theme park, subjected to intense planning, debate, and envisioning on how it would eventually develop and continue to be part of East London communities (Fig. 2.18). A large area of rich industrial history was constructed through the landscape in transition (Anton et al., 2013) based on the existing urban texture that was left from the industrial buildings. For some, the area was an abandoned and polluted part of the city (Azzali, 2017), but for others, the site included traces of the industrial past in the form of palimpsest in the larger East London (Gold & Gold, 2007; Armstrong et al., 2011; Gibbons & Wolff, 2012). The project is believed to have influenced significant socio-technical transitions (Brooks & Rich, 2016) in its wider context. Set aside the contaminated land that had to be treated, the urban texture from the industrial areas shaped the actual layout of the new Olympic Park (Figs. 2.19 and 2.20). The traces of industrial identity of the site, in fact, enabled the authorities to think of design

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Fig. 2.18 The London Olympic Park, located in East London, was home to many industrial buildings and complexes that were meant to become a theme park for the city (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.19 The urban texture of the past created an opportunity of an urban layout with a distinct spatial configuration to include and integrate the new structures and infrastructures in the area (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.20 During the Olympic Games of 2012, we still see traces of the industrial past of the area with large urban grains and texture that were once one of the industrial hearts of the city (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

development through the integration of the venues and park with “buildings and open spaces that connect existing and new communities in East London” (Naish & Mason, 2014). Through the early stages of the project, some of the existing buildings were reused through retrofitting and renovation strategies. Some had to be displaced to open up new spaces for the new infrastructures. Although Kohe (2017) argues that youth memories came from the legacy of the Olympic event, there are still ongoing attempts to enhance the making of community in the area (Woodcraft, 2019). However, we argue that there is the presence of collective memory (Boyer, 1996) that represents the past in such architectural entertainments of the present. In this regard, the locals still refer to the industrial image of the past as part of the identity of East London. Despite the fact the project is believed to have regenerated the larger context of East London (Zhou et al., 2018), it has indeed included some of the local characteristics based on the area’s existing texture. Labeled as a “super-sized and super-speed regeneration” (Lindsay, 2018, p. 315), there are rhetoric and realities of this project in regards to spatial and social changes (Fig. 2.21). Through the traces of urban maps, this fact is partly visible (at least spatially) in the urban texture that shaped London’s Olympic Park from the layout of its past.

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Fig. 2.21 Some aftermath of the project led to new developments and new extension of housing projects, some that fit better to the local communities and utilize the urban textures left from the industrial past (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

2.3.6 Building the Image Through the Gradual Pace of Monumental Urbanism in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan Much of the focus of Nur-Sultan’s development (previously known as Astana) is based on the central strategy of ‘building the future’ (Laszczkowski, 2011). In the study of ‘the monumental and the miniature’, Koch (2010) expresses how modernity is ‘imagined in the city’. This is also represented in the city’s new image, and more specifically, through the city’s dynamic land-use changes (Ilyassova et al., 2019) and shifting away from industrial clusters (Petrenko et al., 2019). The role of making the urban design process is visible through the traces of early development of the monumental image of the city (Fig. 2.22), which included a new large urban square, new monumental nodes, monumental buildings, and linear promenades that connected them (Fig. 2.23). The many democratic reforms of the recent decades (Janenova & Kim, 2016) has encouraged the authorities to represent their success in new urban environments of various parts of the city. As shown in Fig. 2.24, the pace of development has been rapid. The planning is a sort of modernist model, underpinning the idea of creating a modern civilization (Saltybayev & Parkhomchik, 2020), a modern city, and a modern image of the city. The grid pattern and the city’s large monumental spaces (Fig. 2.25) represent a modernist approach that has gradually created a new image that was once an empty land.

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Fig. 2.22 The start of monumental urbanism and modernist planning in Nur-Sultan/Astana is visible through its new urban layout (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.23 The new grid pattern starts to shape the city’s planning layout that includes many monumental buildings and urban spaces (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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Fig. 2.24 The added monumental and symbolic buildings and urban places provide a sense of national imaginary and local imagery (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

Fig. 2.25 The city as seen nowadays is imaged as a modern city with a modern spatial layout and modernist planning (Source Extracted from Google Earth, adapted by the author)

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By questioning ‘whose urban memory?’, Gilloch et al. (2006) argue the postindustrial mediation of cities like Astana/Nur-Sultan could be alternative cultural forms of memory and forgetting. In this regard, Nur-Sultan is in a way reborn from many of its new “architectural features (both individual buildings and urban areas), monuments and other places of memory, toponymics and, finally, specific elements of urban design including façades, sculptures, arches, and other decorative features” (Bekus & Medeuova, 2017, p. 10). In the form of nationalising the city’s urban spaces, we see traces of historical toponyms, contemporary administrative buildings, and the manifestation of pathways and independence exhibitions (ibid., p. 16, also see Bekus & Medeuova, 2011). The city’s new cityscape and archetypes are both symbolic and monumental, representing a strong sense of visual image of the city through modern buildings and urban environments. As it has grown to become a major hub in the Central Asian Region, the city includes many national symbols and ideas of Kazakhstan, which are also the representation of memories of culture and heritage. The formal urban landscapes of Nur-Sultan, while referring to the cultural, historical, and visual imagery of the city, are also meant for the “fashioning of a national image”, which is inflexibly visible in “the outcome… the city…is designed to produce” (Bekus & Medeuova, 2017, p. 19). The combined effect of national imaginary and local imagery represents the monumentality of urban design (Adams, 2008), urban life (Alexander et al., 2007), spatial apparatuses (Talamini, 2011), and a masterplan that is recognised as an art (Bissenova, 2013). As a process of nationalistic city making (Schatz, 2004; Fauve, 2015), the city creates a unique sense of urban networks (Koch, 2013), which is only represented through the image of the city. This image is new and is the reflection of memories of the past.

2.4 From Urban Maps to Mental Maps In the twenty-first century, as we shift towards a consumer society, we may have to consider the many realms (Schwarzkopf, 2011) of the living habitats that form the city of the past, present, and future. From the network of urban texture and space configuration (Amorim et al., 2014), to history and amnesia (Crinson, 2005), and towards narratives of places and development of urban memory in space and time (Ringas et al., 2011), we could see the significance of palimpsests in cities and the urban environments. We see how perception(s) and cognition could shape the meaning and memory of places and how they are then represented or even interpreted in the process of transition and the form of place-making strategies. These could lead to design decision-making processes that could help to enhance the qualities of our contemporary urbanism. The examples of this chapter highlight the diversity of urban palimpsests through the exploration of urban maps. These examples represent transformative transitions and not urban transformations. The pace of development in each example is very much related to its context. The process in which memory is developed, reinvented, or emerged is unique and subject to the place’s local characteristics. So far, we have

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explored palimpsests through urban maps, and we relate these through the examples of city transitions. This is yet to be further explored through the knowledge of mental maps, which is covered in the next chapter. Urban memory in city transitions is sometimes challenging to get adequately and accurately recorded. What we memorise in our mind, as expressed earlier, is not just through the physicality of place or city. The experiences we acquire, the relations that we develop, and the social life that enhances our position or status in the city are all essential aspects of how we may or may not choose to remember places. More importantly, as noted earlier, the way we may remember places could differ individually and collectively. We may have a memorable experience of a place that could shape our personalised memory of a place, or we may simply remember a place based on the collective experience it offers to its users. In both ways, how we perceive places comes to the representation of places in our mental maps, which is also the structure of memory that is nurtured through the power of mind, experience, and relations. So far, the book’s arguments are further expanded through the broader understanding of the significance of place in mind. This is done in the next chapter as a complementary chapter to what has been discussed here. As we shift from urban maps to mental maps, we urge to see the overlaps, the relations, the similarities, and of course, their differences between the two. We aim not to confuse one with another, but we aim to highlight how one influences the other. In doing so, cities’ exploration through both urban maps and mental maps is recognised as valuable methods of understanding urban memory or memories in city transitions.

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Chapter 3

The Significance of Place in Mind: Comprehending Memory Through Urban Places

Cities are not only a place where we live but also a place where humanity evolves. —Planners Realm

3.1 Capturing the Time: Space Through Collective Memory The relationship between space, time, and memory is discernable in many urban design theories, many projects, and many urbanism initiatives. By integrating the three, we see how interacting systems are developed, primarily through spatial and temporal aspects of memory development and memory processing (Eichenbaum, 2017). Similarly, as Boyarin (1994) highlights the social dimensions of time and space are crucial aspects to define and value the relations between history and memory (Yates, 1966; Nora, 1989). This is considered both ‘individual’ and ‘collective’, and in a way, regarded as a true reflection on geographic imagination (Knapp, 1992), ethnographic situations (Fabian, 1983; Pink, 2008) or socio-ethnography of memory (Halbwachs, 2020; Truc, 2011), and representing or even preserving the image of the past (Anderson, 1983; Alonso, 1988; Boyarin, 1994). In this regard, Kant (1964) refers to space to be more important than the experience, highlighting the discrepancy that often exists between spatial extension and temporal successions: Time has only one dimension; different times are not simultaneous but successive (just as different spaces are not successive but simultaneous). These principles cannot be drived from experience, for experience would give neither strict universality nor apodeictic certainty. (Kant, [1781] 1964, pp. 110–111)

However, this reflection is contrary to what could argue as the formation of cognition through experiencing, development of meaning (of a place), and memory processing. As we see the transmission of memory from generation to generation (Moses, 1989, p. 15), we also see collective memory development through expressions of space-time frame of places. In comparison to discursive claims on temporal priority (Boyarin, © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_3

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1994), we see memories are developed through both space and time; and both are equally important in representing the image in mind, enhancing our imagination of places, and enhancing our relations to the environments (Cheshmehzangi, 2014, 2020). Hence, the abstraction of space-time-memory is very much dependent on our cognitive map (Ferrarotti, 1990; Manns & Eichenbaum, 2009; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Stachenfeld et al., 2014; Schiller et al., 2015; Epstein et al., 2017; Ekstrom & Ranganath, 2018), which could lead to metamorphosing temporal foundations of matter and culture and provide us with different conceptions of time (Grosz & Grosz, 1999). This also described as part of the evolution of the cognitive map (Jacobs, 2003), which should be discussed beyond the positional cues in absolute space (also see Redish, 1999; Schuck et al., 2016) but rather in the relations that are created between space, time, and memory. In the study of a cognitive map of many cities, Bahrick (1983) reflected on how we use our sense of navigation to go around places ad perceive them through what Lynch (1960) portrayed as the conception of the image in mind (Also see Pocock & Hudson, 1978; McNaughton et al., 2006; Heft, 2013). We use that through a larger network of cognition with others, through our experiences at certain moments or collectively, and through the continuity of space-time relations with memory processing (Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012). Therefore, the cognitive map of perceived space (Lew, 2011) is somehow intertwined with our shared knowledge of places through the opportunities of shared experiences and cognition (Langfield-Smith, 1992). In this regard, Wills et al. (2010) argue that activities, events, and experiences are associated with places (and spaces) and are then represented through our cognitive maps and brain. This is further discussed as part of the study on ‘time maps’, by Zerubavel (2012), which explores collective memory and the social shape of the past. By reflecting on the role of collective memory in comprehending places, particularly through capturing the time, we address very much the basis of organizational learning (Lee et al., 1992), recording and shaping memories (Van Dijck, 2006), and environmental knowledge of places (Appleyard, 1973; Relph, 1976; Schmid & Richter, 2006; Cheshmehzangi, 2012b, 2020). By studying these further and addressing collective memory of places (Halbwachs, 2020), we could assess how space-time frames (of places) help build or shape memories in the most effective way. This is undoubtedly important in urbanism, particularly from the consideration of design process and design decision-making methods to place-making strategies. In the following three sub-sections, we explore very briefly the relationship between perception and act of remembering (Casey, 1979, 2009; Mace, 2011), the influence of experience on the memory of places (Brewer & Treyens, 1981; Halbwachs, 2020; Till, 2003; Truc, 2011; Cowansage, 2018), and the importance of cognitive mapping in mind (Wallace, 1989; Hirschfeld & Gelman, 1994; Kitchin & Freundschuh, 2000). Afterward, we highlight examples of memory of places through the relationships of spatial and social contexts, activities, and people (Tuan, 1974; Till, 2003; Agnew & Duncan, 2014; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Through 10 selected global examples, this chapter concludes by accentuating the relationships between mental maps and urban memory; something that will be further discussed in the following four chapters of the book (see Chaps. 4–7).

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3.1.1 From What We Perceive to What We Remember What we perceive is not necessarily what we usually remember, and the perception alone does not shape our memory (of places). However, we can verify the two notions of ‘perception’ and ‘remembering’ are interrelated. Seremetakis (1993) argues that our perception of places is very much dependent on ‘the memory of senses’, which is related to changes that continuously occur (or develop, grow, and decay) in our memory system (Ofen & Shing, 2013; He et al., 2018). This is then generated in a process through which we may choose to remember, behave, respond, or react to a particular place and its happenings (e.g., activities or events). In sensory experiencing of urban design, as Degen and Rose (2012) highlight, the sense of perceptual memory is mainly described in the correlation with our mode of interaction and experiences in cities and city environments. These experiences could be direct or indirect, and they could be individual or collective (Cheshmehzangi, 2015). Nevertheless, the experience is very much linked with the temporal aspect, through which we may attach a specific socio-spatial value to a particular place. In doing so, we may choose to remember a place in a biased perception (Lewicka, 2008) or through the structure of memory in mind (Jordan, 2006). This is strongly liked to what Lewicka (2008) suggests on processing the “urban reminders” and how they influence the memory of places. This processing in mind is, undoubtedly, developed through a complex network of what we essentially perceive as the knowledge of the environment, which is recognised to be a kind of stipulation to connect our mind to the wholeness of place (Walmsley, 1988; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). In doing so, we perceive things through the multiplicity of environments; some could be experienced in a group of people, with people, through interactions, through social relations, and some that could be simply based on our personal experience(s). In reality, both perception and remembering are acquired, developed, and strengthened based on our ‘relations to place’. This is argued as part of our affective perception of place (Ujang, 2016), which is also nicely narrated by Hayden (1997) in the arguments of the power of place. As perception and memory complement each other, we can see the loops in which one influences another. They could even influence their previous selves or possibly override what has been previously recorded in mind. In their study on ‘spatial perception versus memory-based representation’, Hreha et al. (2018, p. 151) highlight that “neural circuitry of active spatial perception may differ from that used to encode spatial memory”. This viewpoint opens up an exciting debate on how perception and memory could also differ, and our place attachment could, in fact, be just based on the environmental perception of place (Rollero & De Piccoli, 2010). In this regard, we can argue that the notion of memory, particularly urban memory, is, therefore, something that is attached to another entity of some sort. This ‘otherness’ could be an experience, a certain value we have given to a place through our socio-spatial relations or interactions (Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012), or it could be just based on our association with specific demographical and psychosocial variables of the place and its inhabitants (Rollero & De Piccoli, 2010). Regardless of what we choose to remember and what we choose to forget, our experience of places is important in perceiving and recording environmental knowledge

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(of places). In doing so, we can shape our memory of places through a natural process of cognitive dimensions, environmental perception, and an instinctual relationship with our environments.

3.1.2 The Influence of Experience on Memory of Place A good or bad experience could simply influence how our memory is shaped. Regardless of what experience we could have, we are still biased in our selection to remember or forget. Sometimes, we are naturally forced to remember that the experience could remain a negative or positive personal experience. But in all cases, our memory is molded through a relational process. It could be a fading memory; it could be a shortterm memory, a long-term memory, or something that may get stuck in our minds for a long time. In a simple analogy, if we have a bad experience of a restaurant, we still would have a negative memory of that place. It is then that we choose not to visit the place again, and it is unlikely that we would recommend the restaurant to other people. The experience, either bad or good, still creates a memory that could influence what we may or may not choose next—i.e., our behaviour, as well as, our act of remembering or forgetting. Consequently, our social experiences of place, directly or indirectly, are what we perceive of activities of places (Cheshmehzangi, 2020, p. 141). There are also other aspects, which should be taken into considerations, such as specific local characteristics, landmarks, paths, historical values, cultures, visual aspects, social life, social relations, heritage, geographical location, spatial attractions, leisure and entertainment, etc. Some of these could shape our episodic memory, which is a longer-term memory through the collection and/or recollection of experiences, situations, and specific events. And some are merely part of our semantic memory, which is generally drawn from our personal experience(s) through our common/shared knowledge of places. For both types of memories, the example of landmark navigation (Buzsáki, 2005, also see Hubbard & Ruppel, 2000), specific architectural characteristics (Liu, 2017), and route memory (Sameer & Bhushan, 2017) are considered to be significant—yet different—in mind. In addition, the impact of specific urban grain on memory and particularities of landmark hierarchies (Winter et al., 2008) is vital in the form of memory development in our minds. Place as palimpsests, as discussed in Chap. 2, are more than just the preservation of historical, visual, and cultural memories that often occur through conservation plans (Yankui, 2002). More importantly, they are the traces of past experiences, social life, the urbanity of spaces, and cortical memory networks (Llewellyn & Hobson, 2015) in our minds. In this regard, the human hippocampus is studied by understanding cognitive maps and relational memory (Kumaran & Maguire, 2005). This fact suggests that places, activities, and events develop the memory we normally acquire from places, which is developed through both spatial and temporal (as well as their combination) aspects of episodic memory in the human hippocampus (Sherry et al., 1992; Burgess et al., 2002; Lee & Kesner, 2003; Deuker et al., 2016). While

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the visual cortex (as part of our cerebral cortex) receives and processes sensory nerve impulses from the eyes, it is mainly operational based on “behavioural procedures aimed at measuring working or data-based memory of spatial locations” (Kesner et al., 1993). In this regard, the hippocampus and spatial memory are very much interlinked, even in the form of non-spatial memory functions (Squire et al., 1993). Hence, the place-experience nexus is inevitable in forming the urban memory. Urban experiences are considered diverse and dynamic (Gieseking et al., 2014), constantly changing through the multiplicity of times, spaces, and places—as well as through the space-time frame of places. Classic studies in urbanism suggest how the urban experience is part of our mental life (Simmel, 2012) or what is formed in mind through a network of places and experiences (Benjamin, 1939; Jacobs, 1961; De Certeau, 1984). In all cases, the position of the space-time frame is visible. Sometimes, this could be experienced negatively, or could form to represent a negative memory of a place in mind. In this regard, as Fontefrancesco (2018) suggests, space is not an aseptic dimension. Therefore, it is likely to be defined through a range of experiences that shape our individual and collective perceptions and the understanding of the environments. Thus, the experience of place is the basis of our cognition that develops as memory in a relational process. The examples of various urban experiences (Baptista, 2013) represent a range of places’ emotional and subjective experiences (Jantzen & Vetner, 2008; Boffi & Rainisio, 2017). Some examples could be specific urban projects that enable us to rethink urban experiences (Salet & Gualini, 2006; Salet, 2008), in the form of city festivals (Johansson & Kociatkiewicz, 2011), cultural practices (Cheshmehzangi, 2011; Páramo, 2017), or even through urban soundscapes (Raimbault & Dubois, 2005) and the urban imaginaries (Westwood & Williams, 1997). Some are simply related to what we see, observe, and record through the spatio-temporality dimension of urbanism, based on the cognitive mapping of places, environments, cities, and experiences in mind.

3.1.3 A Brief Introduction to Cognitive Mapping in Mind In their study of ‘The cognition of geographical space’, Kitchin and Blades (2002, p. 1) start with an introduction on cognitive mapping, expressing that: Our lives comprise a myriad of spatial behaviours; movements across and within spaces. From crawling across a playroom, to traveling to school, to driving to work, to flying great distances for business meetings or a holiday, our daily lives involved hundreds of complex spatial choices and spatial decisions that have to be successfully negotiated…Cognitive map is a term which refers to an individual’s knowledge of spatial and environmental relations, and the cognitive processes associated with the encoding and retrieval of the information from which it is composed.

In this excellent introduction, we see the complexity of space-time factors, experiences, relationships, cognitions, and environmental knowledge. The term ‘cognitive map’ was first used by Tolman (1948) in the study of rats and humans, which soon

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became part of the broader understanding of abstract maps (Hernandez, 1991), environmental images (Lynch, 1960), cognitive images (Lloyd, 1982), cognitive configurations (Golledge, 1977, 1978), mental maps (Gould & White, 1974), cognitive representations (Downs & Stea, 1973), mental representations, (Gale, 1982), place schemata (Axia et al., 1991), and many other examples that Kitchin and Blades (2002, pp. 1–2) highlight as the collection of cognitive maps. These are the essence of how we perceive places, how we map them in mind through the cognitive dimension, and how we then record them as the memory of places. Cognitive mapping is a field that is studied widely by many scholars and in many disciplines (such as Eden, 1988; Wallace, 1989; Hirschfeld & Gelman, 1994; Swan, 1997; Carter, 1998; Mark et al., 1999; Kitchin & Freundschuh, 2000; Senior et al., 2007; Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Dixon & Lammi, 2014; Downs & Stea, 2017). The nexus between cognition and space, in particular, is studied from multiple perspectives of spatial cognition (Golledge, 1993), human activities in spatial cognition (Kuhn, 2001), phenomenological philosophy of space (Tække, 2002), geographical information sciences (Hirtle, 2011), geographical space (Wood, 2004; Sadeghi et al., 2016) and socio-aesthetic construct in geographical space (Kühne, 2018). Consequently, we can reflect on Gärling and Golledge (1989) study, which highlights the development of spatial cognition in completing the environmental perception process. They argue that “the existence of motives, goals, and attitudes toward action alternatives are usually taken for granted, and the psychological responses or processes mediating between the environment and actions are made a primary focus” (ibid., p. 203). In this regard, the role of cognitive mapping in mind is the network of “the mutual relations between socio-physical environment at all scales and human behaviour at all levels” (ibid.). This is widely recognised as the basis of the represented information in mind, a sort of dynamical origin (Wickens & Flach, 1988; Schwartz & Caramoni, 1989; Tsuda, 1991; Perlovsky, 2002; Chemero, 2018), through which our experience of place enriches the memory that is recorded in the space-time frame of place. In the realms of dynamic information processing, as Tsuda (1991) points out, we continuously develop the cognitive basis of memory (of places) that are spatially and non-spatially experienced. Therefore, what is important to us is the ‘significance of place’, and how we record the experiences that are dynamically defined and exhibited as images and imaginations in our minds.

3.2 Recording in Mind: Urban Experience and Spatial Processes Urban experiences cannot be simply classified. Hence, they could differ in the way they appear through our relations, mode of engagement, and level of interactions. They could also vary from time to time. Hence, the socio-temporality and sociospatiality of place are both very important in how we may choose to record ‘a place’, ‘an experience’, or ‘an experience of a place’ in mind. Regarded as the neural basis

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of the cognitive map (McNaughton et al., 2006; Yang et al., 2015), what we record in our brain is a complex combination of many attributes that are represented in different forms. According to cognitive science, the relationship between image and mind is constantly developing and is frequently processed in complex and contested notions of various sorts (Currie, 1995). In a way, we choose the values to places and things as we give and define their values. We also choose the significance as we perceive the significance. Similarly, we choose to neglect, reject, and be passive; and this is done through options, no options, and through our selection of choices. This is somewhat correlated with Jan Gel’s study of different activities in urbanism, which suggests three categories of outdoor activities, (1) necessary activities, (2) optional activities, and (3) social activities (Gehl, 1996). The only difference is the recording aspect of urban experiences that Walmsley (1988) describes as a system that stimulates a mode of neural responses, neural links, and sense of place (Also see Cheshmehzangi, 2020, p. 138). This sort of recording is a type of information processing (Contin et al., 2013), which goes beyond just the physicality of a place. In this section, we explore 10 examples of urban experiences (3.2.1–3.2.10) and how they are recorded through various types of cultural experiences, heritage, historical significance, festivity, social activities, engagement, interactions, and public capacity realms. The selected city examples are not ubiquitous but are the representatives of certain characteristics, values, and experiences that we may record in places and cities elsewhere. In the following three chapters, we delve into more details of specific case study examples by looking at how urban memory is perceived, recorded, and remembered in city transitions. In the following 10 sub-sections, we aim to add more to the broader understanding of spatial processes, cognitive mapping, and comprehending memory through urban places. Altogether, the below examples highlight the discourse on the significance of place in mind.

3.2.1 Toronto, Canada: A Diverse City of Multiple Layers and Mixed Cultures As one of the most diverse cities in North America, the City of Toronto is a unique example of mixed cultures, filled with rich architectural interventions and historical memory. The sense of British colonialism and imperialism is perceived in many pockets of the city (Freeman, 2010), which is argued as “all memory bridges difference” in a city that has a performative sense of cultural memory (Knowles, 2009). Altogether, there is a sense of diaspora, memory, and identity, as Agnew (2005) argues in terms of collective and individual memory of place. There are heritage and historical memory that complete the variety of experiences offered in Toronto. Hence, the city has a strong sense of differentiation (Sakamoto & Love, 2006), which stimulates a strong bond to sensing and remembering the place. Moreover, the growing ethnic identity and social mobility in Toronto is something that has been growing for decades (Makabe, 1979), which has shaped how the city’s diversity is shaped today.

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This is similar to other examples of diverse and livelihood cities (Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020) that utilize the potential of spaces to make a sort of cultural material (Harney, 2002). The case of Italian ethno-regional community centers (ibid., also see historical records in Zucchi, 1988) is an example of conceptualizing social identity based on the influence of place, place-making, as well as the ‘construction and negotiation of identity’ (Edge et al., 2017). The ‘expressive cultural practices’ of Toronto, as discussed by Erol (2012), are unique examples of community development (Cheshmehzangi & Munday, 2021). In this regard, Toronto’s power of local identity (Horak, 1998) can be seen in its historical places, transnational locations, and wherever the city meets its people through the socio-spatial form of urban life (Figs. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, and 3.7).

Fig. 3.1 The multiple layers of old and new in the central Toronto add to charm and characteristics of the city. The harmony between the two is not representative of continuity or discontinuity in the architectural language of the core, but simply the combination of the two

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Fig. 3.2 (left). The fun way the city is experienced by ‘attacking dinosaurs’, displayed in the city council building in Toronto

Fig. 3.3 (right). An example of a graffiti in the central part of the city, where a short-lived image or memory of place could shape in a pictographic form

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Fig. 3.4 A spatio-temporal dimension of public realm in a good summer evening, where people are interacting with activities and the displayed large screen

Fig. 3.5 How the new sits in the context to create a landmark (a), how the street bends with a building following Jan Jacob’s theory (b), and how a historical building is framed with the new (c)

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Fig. 3.6 Building the new over the old, with careful juxtaposition and structural innovation. The preservation of historical buildings influences the struggle with in-fill development in Toronto

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Fig. 3.7 Preserving the old through memory in mind, or through the notion of naming

3.2.2 Ipoh, Malaysia: A Hidden Dragon That Is Not Yet Awakened Despite its remarkable image representation and royal tourism (Selamat & Othman, 2016), Ipoh is relatively quiet. It remains as part of the endless Malaysian sociopolitical debates juxtaposing the cultural and political supremacy (Tay, 2015). Through its attempts of revitalization after the Malaysian independence, the local identity of Ipoh has not matured to form into a unique attraction place. Despite its cultural geography and heritage contents, the city is still behind its rival cities, such as Penang. Blessed with local cafés, snacks, and pastries, Ipoh offers an experience of decaying heritage and cultural image that has the potential to be a lively mid-sized city in Malaysia. Though the city has kept much of its postcolonial architecture, there is a lack of connectivity and continuity between its cultural and heritage quarters. Although there are more recent examples of augmenting authenticity in an adaptive reuse of heritage buildings in Ipoh (Hasan et al., 2019), the attempts are not yet to the level of applications elsewhere in Malaysia (Harun, 2011; Tan et al., 2016). Nevertheless, the city is appealing in some ways, and the locals have a good sense of attachment to the city’s old quarters. For the locals, it is a simple sit-down, long chitchat, and echoes of laughter that are usually absorbed in the buzziness of a packed local coffee shop. The atmosphere in Ipoh’s old town is the scent of the local life, the everyday meeting, the everyday chores, and the goings and comings to places that still belong to those who are proud of their mini livelihood and conventional excitement. The experience is mostly oriented around the local life, something that is authentic enough to be valued for the future. The palimpsests that are yet to be awakened are in multiple pockets of the city, where it has to go far beyond its postcolonial identity (Figs. 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, and 3.12).

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Fig. 3.8 The street edges that live, decay, or thrive in the heritage quarter of Ipoh, Malaysia

Fig. 3.9 Postcolonial architecture in central Ipoh is the main part of the cityscape of Ipoh’s heritage and cultural quarters. Some of these buildings have been preserved and reused over the years, some are yet to be refurbished, and some are left empty waiting for their turn to be refurbished at some point. The locals worry that, in recent years, many of the old buildings are purchased by the non-locals. The fear is the seemingly inevitable over-commercialization of the heritage quarter

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Fig. 3.10 The lane that runs through the heritage quarter is called the “Memory Lane”. There are examples of new buildings that may have changed the memory of the place through the multiple phases of city transition

Fig. 3.11 The original colour of existing heritage buildings (a) as well as the ones imitating the past colours through the reproduction of the palimpsests (b). The memory of coloured buildings represents a strong image of the past in the central parts of Ipoh

Fig. 3.12 The dis-connectivity and dis-continuity in the architectural language, streetscape, street life, and heritage preservation attempts in central Ipoh

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3.2.3 Bath, UK: A Manifestation of Urban Preservation In recording episodic memory in mind (Moscovitch & Winocur, 2002), the value of place through its histories and past is very important. The City of Bath offers an excellent range of aesthetic quality buildings (Borsay, 2006), which has enriched the dialogues between the city’s social history and its heritage. The city’s collective memory is very much based on the street life’s visual qualities, rich layers of historical buildings, and urban social life. Through sensing the urban landscapes and picturesque atmosphere of the compact parts of the city, the urban livelihood is entangled with the historical core’s rehabilitation and refurbishment of buildings (Petrosyan & Bunatyan, 2020) and marketing the rich local identity of the city (Erickson & Roberts, 1997). The city is a remarkable example of an English city that one could imagine to walk around and experience the manifestation of visual memory through multiple layers of history, archaeology, and heritage. The city somehow appears as a large open-air museum of its own, developed with a strong narrative visible in its daily life and buildings. The city’s concoction of historical layers, from its Roman period baths, hot springs, cultural quarters, and the agglomeration of Georgian buildings and modern buildings (Little, 1961), is more than anything any English city could offer on such scale. More to what the city offers is the laid-back atmosphere with a blend of playfulness and charisma, unique through experiencing, sensing, and remembering the places connected together in a continued context of traditional, cultural, and heritage sites. As part of the city’s rich cityscape, a robust cultural landscape suggests the importance of urban conversation (Gharib, 2014) in creating social experiences and articulated memory of place (Figs. 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 3.16, 3.17, 3.18, and 3.19).

Fig. 3.13 The heritage heart of the cultural city of Bath is an example of combined historical memory, heritage memory, and visual memory

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Fig. 3.14 Places that are preserved and decorated to sit and not to sit in places where local life is attractive, and visitors are engaged with experiences of the past, history, and culture

Fig. 3.15 An example of a place that cannot be found on the map, but is part of the social life experience of the city

Fig. 3.16 The renowned ‘circus’ is a not-to-be-missed part of the city. With its unique architectural language and continuity of façades, the image of Bath is represented through an example of rich architecture, history, and visual memory

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Fig. 3.17 The urban furniture and spaces that are used for interaction and non-interaction activities, through which the city preserves the layers of the past

Fig. 3.18 Images and memories that develop through the non-built entities, such as the famous red car for the locals, or a short-lived memory of a music act in the public realm

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Fig. 3.19 The heart of the heritage sites in the City of Bath is indeed the city’s Roman baths and hot springs that are not far away. The well-preserved sites in this part of the city highlight the importance of the past in experiencing the present. The representation of the historical buildings and nodes are places of meaning and memory, and those that belong to the city’s pride and residents

3.2.4 Shanghai, China: A Mixture of Traditions, Colonial Past, and Modern City of the Future In the study of ‘western performances for futures past’, Lagerkvist (2013) highlights the globality and medialisation of memories in a city like Shanghai. The city’s historical memory and contemporary place-making (Pan, 2005) indicate how Shanghai is a city of multiple memories, i.e., local, new, cultural, historical, modern, European, and Chinese. Shanghai’s rapid growth of the early 2000s led to the development of selective memory of gentrification in many of the city’s Shikumen communities (González Martínez, 2020), which has put the communal memory of the city into transition (Tianshu, 2011). The city has kept regeneration and reforming in a swift transitional pace from its waterfront areas to its historic core and the no-longer-new PuDong financial district zone. As Chen (2009) highlights, Shanghai is a unique example of state power and local transformation city, which is, of course, mixed with a range of historical memory and cultural nostalgia (Xiao-Jia, 2018). Shanghai’s long history of development offers many urban quarters of different experiences, compact and liveable living environments, regenerated quarters, and a mixed historical-modern city (Figs. 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, and 3.27).

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Fig. 3.20 The many high-rise landmarks of the PuDong financial district, facing the waterfront edges, the bund areas, and the city of new and old, modern and traditions, and new memories and past memories

Fig. 3.21 The multiple fabrics of residential and financial landscapes of PuDong

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Fig. 3.22 The traces of the remembrance with the friendship iconic building (a) and Shanghai’s dragon pillar on Yan’an Gaojia (b). Both have their own unique stories. The now Shanghai Exhibition Center (Shanghai Zhanlan Zhongxin) or the Shanghai Exhibition Hall (a) has a long history of the location, its gardens, its past during WWII, and becoming a symbol of friendship between the Chinese and the Soviet Union. Also, Shanghai’s famous pillar (b) has the narrative of using ‘fengshui’ to strengthen the difficult task of constructing the pillar’s foundation, with many other stories as part of the local myths

Fig. 3.23 The city of Shanghai is now filled with a mixed urban pattern of old and new residential quarters

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Fig. 3.24 The recently-extended paved streets of Nanjing Road play a part in augmenting the celebrated sense of the cultural and heritage buildings that resemble the history of the area in various years

Fig. 3.25 The narrow boulevards and avenues of the French Concession mixed with old quarters of the city have a specific sense of place, with their leafy trees most of the year or the stretch of similar landscaping that encloses the street cozy living environments that still have traces of the past

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Fig. 3.26 One of Shanghai’s new additions is the Disney Land enclave, built with more emphasis on photo shooting and memory-making than its playfulness as the main attraction. Located in the new PuDong areas, this alienated development (like many of its sister developments elsewhere) is a place of new memory

Fig. 3.27 The busy life of Nanjing Road within a two minutes’ walk to the city’s older fabric of cramped residential units, storage spaces, and traditional trade. Each offers different experiences within small proximity, offering a range of activities, spatial qualities, and memory of places

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3.2.5 Cape Town, South Africa: The Regenerated Sites That Belong to a Longer History of Port Culture and Identity As a sort of functional imaging of a place, Cape Town’s Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront regeneration development project is represented as a sort of performative planning (Morezzi, 2010; Yu, 2020). While waterfront regeneration has already become a global phenomenon (Brownill, 2013), the case of Cape Town’s regeneration is a unique experience of city-building (Smith & Ferrari, 2012). Through the regeneration of urban waterfronts, the project has enhanced creative tourism and revitalised the region alongside the water edges (Kostopoulou, 2013). For the visitors, the regenerated area offers more activities, experiences, and social life than the (old) downtown. For the locals, the site is comprised of multiple functionalities, augmented with leisure, entertainment, markets, cafés, pubs, and restaurants, which were once just clustered building and spaces of port activities (Burggraaf, 1992; Cape Town City Council, 1995; Birkby, 1998; Morezzi, 2010). The remaining postcolonial architecture and the shipyards and industrial units play a significant part in enhancing the site’s quality of perceptible palimpsests. The essence of change and continuity, as highlighted by Watson (2002), is a remarkable example of contested heritage (Worden, 1992, 1996; Morezzi, 2010), reflecting specifically on how public places of the V&A waterfront development became the dynamic part of changing the urban experience of Cape Town. Similar to many waterfront areas (Beaven et al., 2016), especially for post-industrial cases (Marshall, 2001), this regeneration project is a tangible example of urban cultures, heritage, and histories of the waterfront (Figs. 3.28, 3.29, 3.30, 3.31, 3.32, 3.33, and 3.34).

Fig. 3.28 Framing what is important in Cape Town, i.e., the inevitable image of the Table Mountain that overshadows the city’s dynamic identity. The continuity of such natural physicality creates a strong bond between the locals and their city

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Fig. 3.29 The crowded entertainment and leisure activities of the V&A waterfront regeneration development include traces of the past through the building shape, form, and characteristics. The recreated places of the area are the memorable nodes of playfulness in the city

Fig. 3.30 The traces of culture, tradition, and local values are represented in the urban furniture. Here, remembering the “Strong Women” is part of the societal value, which is added artistically to the seating spaces of the markets in the V&A waterfront area

Fig. 3.31 The short-lived events and regular music festivals, informal and/or formal, are the representation of the social life experience, social interaction, and social engagement in the area

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Fig. 3.32 The area puts the city central to many other major global hubs, enabling the give the user/visitor a chance to navigate through the perception of place and its position in a much larger scale

Fig. 3.33 The traces of past industry enabling the repair of boats and ships to remain as the tangible part of port culture and activities (a). The Market’s entrance on the Wharf highlights the wording “Experience the Goodness”, indicating the experience is simply a good one here

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Fig. 3.34 The nearby linear park of the Sea Point, close to V&A Waterfront, is filled with local and international art installations. The example of remembering the national (and regional) ecologies is something that catches the eye. Not all art installations are remembered in the same way, but the ones liked with the past or significance of the country (and the city) have a different impact on mind

3.2.6 Santiago, Chile: The Prime Image of the Nation with Cultural, Historical, and Musical Memories The concentration and appreciation of art, urban space, and social agency is part of the cultural memory of Santiago de Chile (Anheier & Isar, 2011). Consequently, Piper-Shafir et al. (2018, p. 455) study the way people of Santiago experience the city through its past by “following the premise that memory emerges as a product of

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semiotic and material assembling materialized in the interaction between sites and visitors”. Through the relations with the historical memory of the city and historical accounts, there is a sense of collective memory that is believed to be reconfigured within Santiago’s continuity of spaces (ibid.). Place identity through new placemaking strategies has become a major approach by revitalizing the palimpsest that is more than just the city’s history. In the study of narrativizing cities, Espinosa (2016) reflects on the importance of localizing urban memories through the (re)construction of places and the nexus between space and culture. This created imaginary of Santiago as a modern city is understood to be connected with the urban landscapes and old memories of the past, such as musical performances, historical events, and cultural activities (ibid., also Crow, 2009). Similar to what Romero (2001) highlights, Santiago is enriched with identity, cultural authenticity, and social memory, which are within the city’s music culture, dancing in every corner, open-air markets, street life, and the recreation of social values that exists within the communities (Figs. 3.35, 3.36, 3.37, 3.38, 3.39, 3.40, and 3.41).

Fig. 3.35 The Plaza de Armas’ vibrant life is comprised of music, dance, places of exchange, security, advertisement, street preaching, legal and illegal trade, drugs, religion, prostitution, magic shows, and street events

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Fig. 3.36 At the sides of the Plaza de Armas are the agglomeration of cultural buildings, heritage sites, monumental structures, brutalist architecture, modern buildings, and traditional sites

Fig. 3.37 The remembrance of the broken past, discontinued in history, attempts to revitalize the national pride and identity in Chile and many other Latin American countries

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Fig. 3.38 Some of the monumental elements of the city that are not places of memory, but places of memorial and remembrance

Fig. 3.39 The preserved past and histories of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s main city campus are enriched with the historical memory of the city’s past, memorials, and street life

Fig. 3.40 The remembrance of social movement in the floorscape of the central parts of the city suggests the importance of such societal acceptance as well as the traces of the societal values that represent the neoliberal society of Santiago

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Fig. 3.41 The new furniture of the reclaimed streets reflects on the city’s campaign on sustainability and sustainable development. The city’s financial quarter is a collection of classical and monumental architectural languages that represent the importance of economic growth and finance

3.2.7 Barcelona, Spain: The City That Offers Many Things Through Restless Experiences As the heart of the Catalan region, Barcelona is a city of mixed architecture, industrial past, innovation, culture, history, and tourism (Jones & Svejenova, 2017). Barcelona’s collective memory is the result of integrating and augmenting the complex combination of its histories, heritages, social life, and what is experiences through industrial heritage, cultural monuments, and various landscapes (Del Pozo & Gonzalez, 2012).

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With the attempts to project the Catalan identity (Vargas, 2015) through narrating memory and place in particular (Culleton, 2016), the locals are proud of their Catalan historical memory and culture. This is also visible in the city’s street life and within the neighbourhoods and communities all over the city, with their displays of collective memory, social life, and interactions. By studying the city’s monuments, commemorations, and myths, McDonogh (2011) investigates the nexus between Barcelona’s memory and its identity, which Meyer (1999) assessed in the study of cultural venture in public spaces of the city. In sum, what Barcelona offers is the representation of a complete city. A city that is built with new and old, its industrial past and its cultural changes, and as well as its entertainment and social experiences that are the basis of the city’s memories of leisure, walking, sports, etc. Barcelona is a playful city, which is more than just a contested place of conflict and memory (Breen, 2018), and certainly beyond the boundaries of its long history and unique culture (Figs. 3.42, 3.43, 3.44, 3.45, 3.46, 3.47, and 3.48).

Fig. 3.42 Barcelona’s unfinished La Sagrada Familia (Designed by Antoni Gaudi) is a major contemporary Basilica planned to be completed by 2026. The 170 m high building sits in the vista of the city’s view of the old quarters in conjunction with Barcelona’s gridded city and the many contemporary interventions that add to the images of the city

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Fig. 3.43 The local life and pride of the Catalan culture and identity are represented and experienced in the city’s residential areas. Here, people display their fun and pride, through the interims and capacities of street life and balconies

Fig. 3.44 Nowadays, Arenas the Barcelona is used very differently and perhaps overcommercialised due to its commercial location in the city. As a major hub, the physicality of the building, its shape, and characteristics are preserved. This new multi-functional building also has new additions on the top and inside its indoor spaces

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Fig. 3.45 Barcelona’s Santa Caterina Market is a fresh food market, featuring a unique wave roof and colourful mosaics as its newest addition. The preserved area is a major local hub and a place of memory

Fig. 3.46 The city’s blend of play and tourism is seen and experienced in all its main pockets. From its heritage quarter to its man-made beach areas, Barcelona’s port city has kept its multiple histories of port culture, religion, major sports events, etc. It is a unique model for both a traditional and a modern city

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Fig. 3.47 The fountains of the Plaça de les Cascades are named after what they offer, a mixture of water, light, and music shows (named ‘Font Magica de Montijuic’). The area is a memorable experience of the city, with the picturesque vista of the city highlights its symmetrical configuration, and socio-spatial importance in Barcelona

Fig. 3.48 The famous La Rambla and the Plaça de Catalunya’s formal and informal life are central places in the city that are continuously transformed during the day and night. The experiences offered in these lively pockets of the city are diverse and filled with joy, social life, and contiguity with their vicinities

3.2.8 Kyoto, Japan: A Cultural Capital with Many Symbolic Representations With its many presentations and representations in urban places, Kyoto is a unique example of Japanese cultural cities. As Fiévé and Waley (2013) argue, the historical perspective of the city is demonstrated through its place, power, and memory of places. The act of remembering in local communities, such as in cemeteries (Fig. 3.49), traditional values (Fig. 3.50), and past rituals (Figs. 3.51 and 3.52),

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are the celebrated part of the city’s traditional and new quarters. The new is represented in the old form (Figs. 3.53 and 3.54), while the old is preserved to respect the past (Figs. 3.55, 3.56, and 3.57). While much of the city is flourished with traces of the past, it also offers new landmarks, new financial district, and modern life of contemporary Japan (Fig. 3.58). The mix, through its many symbolic representations, declares the cultural essence of the city.

Fig. 3.49 The vista of a local community next to preserved historical areas includes many everyday life environments, a community cemetery (on the far left), and many pockets of urban threshold and public realm

Fig. 3.50 The traditions are not only valued and presented by the locals but also by tourists. They often wear local Kimonos on different occasions or as part of touring the city’s historical quarters. The act becomes part of the experience, which is then the essence of memory of the experience in mind

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Fig. 3.51 Many symbolic representations are presented in the traditional Japanese city, which is also seen in contemporary urban environments

Fig. 3.52 The rituals of the past are part of the ceremonial presentations and performances in the urban environments. They are preserved and actively utilised as parts of experiencing places of significance. As shown here, the performances become traditions, which then resemble the values of the past and the present

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Fig. 3.53 The new follows the form and spatial configuration of the past

Fig. 3.54 The old is preserved, and the new mimics the form, characteristics, colour, and layout of the past. The two create a new dialogue that one cannot distinguish their discontinuity of time through their architectural language continuity

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Fig. 3.55 Preserving the old urban landscapes is a major visible part of remembering the past Fig. 3.56 The combination of presentations and representations indicate the societal values that are remained as the local everyday life. Here, the articulated materiality, symbols, and signs of an entrance to a local house indicate more than just a threshold between the public and private parts of the city/community

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Fig. 3.57 The use of gates in many Asian cities, like in Japan, celebrate the arrival/entry point to a community or a place of significance

Fig. 3.58 The new is symbolic and nourished with representations and presentations of the city’s past and present

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3.2.9 Los Angeles, the USA: Where Places Belong to Movies and Movies Belong to Places As Klein (1997) puts it well, Los Angeles (L.A.) is “a city which has long thrived on the continual re-creation of own myth”, which is perceptible in its historical and contemporary urban areas. There is this ‘crystallization of a self-conscious memory discourse’ that Klein (2000) sees as the essence of the city’s collective memory. The experiences are visual, perceptual, and often related to the images represented in our memory through a non-physical form. Los Angeles’ memory of places is robustly attached to its thriving movie industry. This is visible in places that appear in movies or locations where celebrities live, party, and socialise, as well as in places attached to the city’s main industries, past, and historical importance (Figs. 3.59, 3.60, 3.61, 3.62, 3.63, 3.64, 3.65, 3.66, 3.67, and 3.68).

Fig. 3.59 Venice Beach, located in the Western part of the L.A., is more than just the activities or experiences that it offers. It is the significance of place in mind that represents the values of this important location

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Fig. 3.60 The well-known neighbourhood of Beverly Hills is more than just its name, but is more of an icon of luxury, wealth, and fame

Fig. 3.61 The floorscape of remembrance, which is part of experiencing the traces of the past and the Hollywood members/celebrities who are remembered through the physicality of the place

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Fig. 3.62 The Chinese Theatre, presented in the physical form, and represented on the floorscape

Fig. 3.63 The older areas of L.A. Broadway, including many shows, musicals, plays, concerts, and places that appear in many movies

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Fig. 3.64 The mixture of a contemporary place with many representational characteristics and landmarks does not belong to the city or the place

Fig. 3.65 Framing what is important: from how it is celebrated (a) and the view of significance (b) that is celebrated (b)

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Fig. 3.66 The city’s local markets are part of the experience one can get outside the movie industry experience of L.A Fig. 3.67 The locals remember a local church as a landmark. But for visitors, the same is narrated as part of its attachment to celebrities or movies

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Fig. 3.68 Walt Disney Concert Hall went through a prolonged period of conception and construction to become one of the landmarks or places of visit in L.A. There is a sense of anonymity and aesthetic emotions (Narayana & Bangalore, 2018), which is represented in the building’s creative architecture

3.2.10 Chongqing, China: A Polycentric Hilly City with a Mixture of Heritage, History, and Modernity As mentioned by Wang and Wang (2010), the idea of creating a liveable/livable city is the primary objective of urban construction in China. The memory of cities like Chongqing is based on the multiplicity of factors, characteristics, and experiences offered in the city’s polycentric structure. From geographical and environmental factors (Yang, 2013) to memory of performances (Yang et al., 2008) and food industries, Chongqing is a city of production and reproduction of heritage, history, and modernity. The city’s old quarters sit next to new urban landscapes (Fig. 3.69), and the old is often presented in the physicality of the city’s new or recent developments (Fig. 3.70). The city offers many street performances, preserved quarters, or representations of its history (Figs. 3.71, 3.72, and 3.73). The old piers are used and remembered by the locals, while the commercial and residential areas have their unique characters/features, spatial configurations, and places of significance (Figs. 3.74, 3.75, 3.76, 3.77, and 3.78).

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Fig. 3.69 An old quarter of Chongqing is part of the cityscape and sits next to the city’s new areas

Fig. 3.70 The old architectural features are added to the recent row housing, in the form of façade intervention and roof features

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Fig. 3.71 The performances of local industries in the old quarter’s streetscape and street life

Fig. 3.72 The historical image is preserved in older quarters (a) and is replicated in the new (b)

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Fig. 3.73 The representation of the historical past and geographical characteristics of the city through a public art installation

Fig. 3.74 The old piers are places of local use, remembering the traces of the past, the new activities, and places that live with the locals. The locals still swim in the river even in the coldest climate, and the remaining furniture highlights the nostalgic memory of the place

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Fig. 3.75 The urban social life on the ground during the night-time (a), and from the above when the night economies are not operational during the day (b)

Fig. 3.76 Chongqing’s unique geographical characteristics are part of the everyday local life, from its picturesque features to its complication for mobility with the residential quarters

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Fig. 3.77 The locals use and enjoy the waterfront sites for local activities, such as drinking tea and sitting while facing the city’s metropolitan views

Fig. 3.78 An important node where two rivers of Yangtze and Jialing meet (with two different water colours). The place is now filled with many viewing platforms and places where people could experience and witness both rivers’ merge

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3.3 From Mental Maps to Urban Memories As expressed through the city examples in this chapter, the memory of the city is mainly derived from the city’s experiences and perceptual knowledge of its places. In contesting what is remembered and what is not, we continuously engage with cities and urban environments that are significant (and even insignificant to some extent) or valuable to us. This is usually done by quantifying our memories and mapping our perception (He et al., 2018; Yoshimura et al., 2020), and naturally generated mental maps of our minds. Urban landscape perceptions are energetically connected to our collective memories (Gohari et al., 2016) and are also based on our individual and personalised experiences of places. As demonstrated in this chapter, mental maps are the expressive essence of creating memories and meanings (Dance, 2011), which could belong to a group of people, outsiders or insiders, citizens or visitors, all people, or just the individual. As we unfold urban memories, and how they are comprehended through urban places or the public realm, we cannot neglect the importance of cognition and experiences that are attached to our daily connections and recordings of spaces, urban landscapes, narratives of places, diverse urban life, etc. (Beyers, 2007). The city examples that are explored in this chapter are remarkable models of creations and recreations through different urban interventions. By creations, we mean memories. And by recreations, we mean places. To expand further on place-making thinking or strategies, as well as the demonstration of other examples of cities and places, the next chapter will highlight some other case study examples. This is done through the evaluation and expression of memory-experience-palimpsests nexus. We believe the many examples of memorial events and nodes, celebrations, and social experiences ought to be demonstrated through the examples of places, signs, symbols, as well as city imageries, identities, heritage, and histories. To conclude, as we have correlated mental maps with urban memories, cities are valued as places of experience. Subsequently, such experiences’ ultimate triumph is the quality memories that remain part of our continuity and discontinuity in urban life.

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Chapter 4

Urban Memory, Experiences, and Palimpsests: The Continuity and Discontinuity of Places

By far, the greatest and most admirable form of wisdom is that needed to plan and beautify cities and human communities. —Socrates

4.1 Places of Significance: Examples As an extension to what has been done in ‘Identity of Cities and City of Identities’ (Cheshmehzangi, 2020), this chapter serves as the case study demonstration chapter of this book. The following three chapters will then delve into specific examples of urban memory in city transitions. Before we do so, we aim to offer a closer look at memory-experiences-palimpsests nexus, which is presented through several case study cities and places. As well as presenting cases of cities or places in transition, the focus is also on highlighting processes of change and recognising ‘places of significance’. The order of case study examples is alphabetical.

4.1.1 Amsterdam, the Netherlands Divided into north and south, Amsterdam offers different experiences and memories of places between its two poles. The example of De Ceuvel as an experimental case for innovation is meant to recreate a space from its negative palimpsest of drug production, drug use, and derelict land. With the focus on sustainable agenda, the project is a remarkable example of urban renewal and reuse towards self-sufficient production and low consumption. The life may seem static there, but the place’s

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playfulness has traces of its past (Fig. 4.1). The other example is the identifiable Nemo Building, located between the Oosterdokseiland and the Kattenburg. This museum represents the past of its urban landscape or site and the city and the nation (Fig. 4.2).

Fig. 4.1 The central part of De Ceuvel in North Amsterdam comprises many old furniture, boats, items, and derelict pieces that are put together to create this fascinating place of experience. The project has gone through a tremendous transitional phase of development

Fig. 4.2 The Nemo Building, or Nemo Science museum, as it sits on waters in the southern part of Amsterdam

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4.1.2 Andorra La Vella, Andorra The capital city of Andorra, located in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, has a unique geographical setting. With picturesque views across its many little urban parks and compact city centre, the city is an exciting mixture of baroque architecture, modern living, and historical qualities. The collective memory of its old town, known as the Barri Antic, is based on the sloping small lanes and streets and buildings that are dated back to the thirteenth Century. With limited growth capacity due to its geographical location, the city has preserved and reused many of its historical buildings of different eras. As the country’s cultural centre, the city offers old and new social life experiences in urban parks and narrow streets, shopping, and leisure (Fig. 4.3).

Fig. 4.3 As a hidden gem in between the mountains, the capital of Andorra offers places of visual memory, public life, and cultural presence in a small proximity

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4.1.3 Athens, Greece Dominated by its fifth Century B.C. landmarks, the City of Athens (Athinai in Modern Greek) has multiple layers of history and heritage, from its Ancient times to the more recent past. In recent years, the city’s transition has not been for the better, as the city (and the country) continues to deal with economic pressures and decline. The preservation of many non-furbished buildings and structures are yet to show the charms of the city’s historical past. However, the city offers many pockets of leisure, social life, and cultural events that are identified as loud noise of the city’s memory. The many replications of the local/national architectural languages indicate some sort of continuity in the historical quarters. Simultaneously, the new areas still struggle to keep up with the vernacular characteristics (Figs. 4.4, 4.5, and 4.6).

Fig. 4.4 The struggle to preserve the old under the economic pressures (a), and the presence of ‘place of significance’ on streets for the locals and passers (b)

Fig. 4.5 The memory of the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ located in the Syntagma Square in Athens is more than just the place. Much of the perceived memory is related to the standing tall soldiers and feeding the pigeons in the square

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Fig. 4.6 The presence of the ancient Greek architectural language in monumental buildings of the city are representing the reflection on visual memory and heritage of Athens

4.1.4 Baku, Azerbaijan After the decline of the petroleum industry, Baku had to articulate historical and cultural identities that represented the city’s memory of the old town, its walled city, and the mixed Persian-European-Turkish-Arabic-Soviet charm. The city’s large Paleolithic remains, and the buildings that are still used for multiple purposes represent a central heritage site and charms of a medieval town, palaces, baths, trade, mosques, and fortress walls. The inner city (Ichari Shahar) of Baku is a unique architectural agglomeration, which is well preserved, functionally active, and socially attractive. The city hosts major events, such as Formula 1 (Fig. 4.7), that require complicated temporary changes to how the city is normally experienced. Through private and public use of places (Fig. 4.8), the livelihood of local communities shows a remarkable example of a city in transition that has reflected on its past and palimpsests.

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Fig. 4.7 The major event of Formula 1 (F1) and its preparation could change the way we experience and perceive places in multiple parts of the city

Fig. 4.8 Places of interaction are places that are necessarily seen on the urban maps. They belong to people and the activities that are offered within the public realms of the city

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4.1.5 Bangkok, Thailand The City of Bangkok, known for its shrines, temples, and vibrant street life, is an influential example of a Southeast Asian city in the ASEAN region. As an important city for the national economy, many industries do not sleep so easily. Even though Bangkok has lost many of its historical communities through its rapid transitions, it is still decorated with many symbolic characteristics, cultural features, and tropical scent of gardens and public realms. After almost six centuries of development, the city has traces of many palimpsests that are represented as the foundation of the national imagery. The examples of old traditions and cultural quarters are seen in new forms of development, some through replication of the past, some through preservation, and some through the integration of the new with old (Fig. 4.9).

Fig. 4.9 Symbolism in multiple places of the City of Bangkok is visible in many parts of the city. From bringing the palimpsests of the external spaces to the (new) indoor environments of the Iconsiam shopping mall (a), to examples of specific signs and symbolism in front of a Japanese restaurant (b), and the significance of tuk-tuk (or auto rickshaw) in experiencing a vibrant city like Bangkok (c)

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4.1.6 Biharamulo, District of Kagera Region, Tanzania As one of the eight districts of the Kagera Region, Biharamulo is an example of mixed transit-oriented development (TOD) with local trade, local industries, and cultural memories. As a region that has gone through a major transitional phase, Biharamulo has preserved much of its vernacular architecture and the German colonial past. Traces of recent developments are still seen in the local ecologies, regional industries, and Tanzania’s national economic growth. Located in close proximity to Victoria Lake, the region has faced a recent decline in population. However, the struggles persist in making the past visible and creating the future from the region’s foundations (Fig. 4.10).

Fig. 4.10 Experiencing the smaller scale cities and towns in Tanzania are often alongside the multiple functionalities of the transit-oriented developments, those that belong to the ‘built’ and ‘non-built’ features. While the locals may passively image the large storks of the city environments, the visitors build a strong sense of memory in association with the wildlife of the city (a). The transitoriented development of smaller cities/town create spaces of trade, eating, drinking, shopping, gathering, etc. (b)

4.1.7 Byblos, Lebanon As one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities globally, the City of Byblos (also locally known as Jubayl or Jbeil) is a unique UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are remains of heritage-based palimpsests on the cityscape and floorscape of the city. As a coastal city with some of its forested hinterland remains, Byblos is still full of archaeologies of ancient buildings, furniture, and many items that are still part of the city’s historical memory. The many representations of the old in a new form (Fig. 4.11), and traces of heritage (Fig. 4.12), and historical market areas (Fig. 4.13) resemble the history of multiple eras. Examples of specific flooring, technologies, pottery, figurines, and tombs are some of the historical remains that have a positive impression of a city with traces of its past and transitions.

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Fig. 4.11 The use of old indoor furniture for urban outdoor furniture is an attention-grabbing example of adding charm to how the old is remembered, preserved, and used differently

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Fig. 4.12 Some of the spatial configurations of the ancient times are not followed in the later histories. Still, they are presented openly and visibly in a way that you could feel walking through memories of the past, from ‘Early Neolithic (early phase)’ to the city’s ‘Late Chalcolithic’ era

Fig. 4.13 Some of the preserved old markets of the city representing the local identity and local sense of place in the city

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4.1.8 Cardiff, Wales The city centre of Cardiff is relatively small for a capital city. Like many cities of its size, there are main commercial areas, cultural quarters, and historical attractions representing a city in transition for an extended period. Yet, as the county town of the historical country of Glamorgan, Cardiff (Caerdydd in modern Welsh) remains to be one of the important cultural cities of the UK. It has traces of early settlers in the area, through which the attractions reflect the historical memory and heritage values of the city. As we experience moving through the commercial areas, the Welsh flags (Fig. 4.14) remind us of the ‘otherness’ compared to the nearby English towns.

Fig. 4.14 National Welsh flags are almost the permeant part of the commercial zones in Cardiff

4.1.9 Changsha, China Hunan Province’s capital is (sometimes) recognised as the West PuDong of the country, something that indicates the vibrancy of the city as a major economic hub. Like many other medium-to-large scale cities in China, the city’s outskirts have experienced a rapid transitional phase of new development and city expansion. A city like Changsha has tried to display its palimpsests through several art installations, expressive architecture, and waterfront regeneration projects (Fig. 4.15a). The outskirts often host temporary events to make places of memory (Fig. 4.15b) or try to add new characteristics that could have a visual image of pseudo-historical areas (Fig. 4.16).

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Fig. 4.15 The expressive architecture of the riverfront areas (a), as well as the temporary opportunities for making the places of memory (b)

Fig. 4.16 An outlet shopping zone tries to mimic an old European Style to represent a visual image of a sort of history that does not belong to its context

4.1.10 Chongqing, China As a large sprawling municipality of many town centers and hilly urban landscapes, the City of Chongqing is one of Western China’s main charms. Also, as a provisional wartime capital of China, Chongqing has become a major socio-political city in the country. Through the many transitions of the past, there are traces of historical importance, social significance, and political status cross the city (Figs. 4.17, 4.18, and 4.19).

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Fig. 4.17 The lights of a preserved heritage site are still up after the recent flooding incident in September 2020 that caused severe damage to this historical complex in the city. The ‘lights’ here represent the image of the place in photos, postcards, videos, as well as in our minds

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Fig. 4.18 The physical form of the central old tower is replicated in the form of the tower in the left (as well as in some other buildings in the area), representing a physical palimpsest through the visual image of the past

Fig. 4.19 Places that may be significant on the historical maps, but are not significant in mind

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4.1.11 Colombo, Sri Lanka The city of Colombo is the commercial heart of Sri Lanka. Over the years of many disruptions and distress, the city has gone through transitional phases of new development, preservation, and renewal. The traces of the pre-colonial kingdom and the colonial structures and buildings of Portuguese, Dutch, and British eras, are visible across the city’s old quarter. The slow pace of preservation has created an opportunity for the city to develop its historical memory, such as the examples of Dutch and Portuguese features seen in Fig. 4.20.

Fig. 4.20 The preservation of post-colonial architecture of multiple eras is a major city-wide task that seems to become a never-ending process

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4.1.12 Derby, the UK Derby’s struggle to preserve its past and build upon its future has been persistent since it gained city status in the late 1970s. The lack of long-term planning and contextspecific strategies had deviated the city from connecting with its industrial heritage (Fig. 4.21). This divergence has led to many recent mistakes in revitalising the urban core and preserving the city’s industrial and cultural buildings (Cheshmehzangi, 2011). Places that are significant are now facing decline, and places of insignificant (e.g., shopping malls) are having a thriving time.

Fig. 4.21 Signs of remembrance on floorscape (a), forgotten industrial past (b), and struggles of preservation (c), in the City of Derby and its surroundings

4.1.13 Dubai, the UAE As a port city on the Persian Gulf shores, the City of Dubai has outgrown to become a global city with an international image and identity. In urbanism, Dubai is often perceived with criticism with a broader understanding that it has developed without considering context-specific factors. In more recent years, the city has started to renarrate its cultural image, histories, and its collective memory of places it offers. The often alienated modernist urban development of Dubai has left little traces of the past but more of the traces of the current. The city’s high-rise skyline and its enclaved urban development (Fig. 4.22) are leaving behind the palimpsests and memories of

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Fig. 4.22 High-rise skyline of the new town areas in the City of Dubai

their own. In a way, the city has built the foundation of the future while it preserved whatever was possible.

4.1.14 Foshan, China Under the shadow of the Guangzhou megacity, Foshan is often forgotten to be a city of its own. The collective memory of Foshan is associated with the regional industrial hubs and their associated industries. In the early 2010s, the city’s attempt to revitalise its historical quarter led to a better appreciation of the past, historic built environment, and heritage. The preservation strategies that are now scaled up in the city have highlighted recognition and appreciation of communal identity and memory of the city’s origins (Fig. 4.23). The preservation of both tangible and intangible heritage is identified as the city’s dual approach to preserve its past against the growing new.

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Fig. 4.23 The preservation of tangible and intangible heritage of the city are both very important for the city’s approach towards enhancing its identity, local culture, and collective memory

4.1.15 Frankfurt, Germany Despite the fact Frankfurt is a major European financial center, it has still preserved and sustained a large portion of its historic quarters. The approach to preserve such areas in a mode of car-free preservation (Fig. 4.24) is a remarkable example of retaining the spatial qualities and memories of the past. The picturesque atmosphere of orderly buildings of five to six floors resembles most of the city’s heritage and the historical memory of its living environments. The city also offers many social examples through a network of events, optional activities, and social experiences (Fig. 4.25).

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Fig. 4.24 A view of Frankfurt’s old town with visitors interacting with its historical urban furniture and the newly installed public artwork

Fig. 4.25 An example of public interaction in a moment of socio-spatial relation

4.1.16 Fuzhou, China The City of Fuzhou’s main old town has developed based on heritage-based regeneration strategies that have become popular in many Chinese cities. From the morphological perspective, the approach has successfully preserved the physicality of the place through the specific use of materials and preserving the old quarters’ materiality

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Fig. 4.26 An old beam in one of the historical buildings is used as an urban furniture for seating. As for many cities in China, Fuzhou’s preservation of its historical quarter has become a destination for the locals and the visitors

(Fig. 4.26). However, the approach is omnipresent through over-commercialisation methods that seem inevitable in such areas from the functional perspective.

4.1.17 Glasgow, Scotland As a major Scottish city, Glasgow is known for its rich architecture and collective memory of its historical and financial identities. In the last two decades or so, Glasgow has initiated its people-oriented approach to preserve and revitalise other parts of the city. The example of the West End revitalisation is based on the city’s culture-based urban regeneration policy, aiming to enhance aspects of diversity, liveability, and equality (Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020). The new spatial qualities of Glasgow’s West End are the successful representation of conservation through the use of public realms and spatial preservation (Figs. 4.27 and 4.28).

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Fig. 4.27 An orderly example of preserving the historical built features, creating the opportunity to sustain the historical memory of places through quality urban spaces

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Fig. 4.28 The examples of local landmarks (a), memorable old quarters (b), remembering the local nature/ecology in urban areas (c), and Glasgow’s famous George Square (d)

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4.1.18 Hong Kong, China The city of Hong Kong is often perceived based on its vibrant harbour, which is sometimes disrupted because of the expansion of the city’s development and infrastructure (Fig. 4.29). However, the experience of the city’s main quarters is very different between different types of users. For the visitors, the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong is a place of interaction, leisure, and inquisitiveness. The place is a meeting point for the residents for social activities or a jogging path alongside the water edge (Fig. 4.30). In other older areas, such as Kowloon, preserving the past and making the new are two poles of experiences and memory of the city (Fig. 4.31).

Fig. 4.29 The main views of the port and harbour areas represent how the city is imaged and seen in different locations, and they are also disrupted positively and negatively

Fig. 4.30 The harbour areas, as well as the older quarters of the city, are experienced and perceived differently by different groups of users. The modes of interaction and social engagement define who you are in the place of multiple activities and events

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Fig. 4.31 Kowloon has grown to include its images of the past and its new images that are contemporary and iconic. In both ways, Kowloon remains to be the most vibrant part of the city. The mode of experiences changes from location to location

4.1.19 Istanbul, Turkey Charmed by its historical, picturesque views and spatial qualities, the City of Istanbul is a unique example of multiple cultures and identities. The city’s attempt to preserve as much of its past as possible is appraisable through experiencing how it is reflected on its spatial arrangements. The city’s attempt to display the global monuments in its miniature park (Fig. 4.32) is a good example how the city likes to display multiple cultures and memories of the past (both of own and elsewhere). The spatial qualities that are offered in the waterfront edges and other busy hubs like the Istiklal Caddesi (Istiklal Street) are memorable experiences that could be observed from a local coffee house or on the ground with direct interactions to the city (Fig. 4.33). While preservation has been successful in places of significance, the struggle to preserve is still visible in outer areas of the city, where the old seems to be decaying much faster (Fig. 4.34).

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Fig. 4.32 The view of the Miniatürk Miniature Park in Istanbul, which is an attraction point that displays the monuments of Turkey and other countries

Fig. 4.33 The views of two busy areas at two sides of the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul. One includes the dynamic waterfront edges with commercial activities, social events, and cultural opportunities (a), and the other includes the vibrant of the city’s metropolitan experience (b). As a visitor, the attempt to jump on the red tram’s back on Istiklal street is an impish temptation that cannot be easily controlled

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Fig. 4.34 Preserving the outer areas’ old fabric remains to be a challenge for the city. The decisionmaking on preserving the significance often represent what is the priority in such case of conservation and regeneration

4.1.20 Kampala, Uganda The preservation attempts of Kampala’s historical and central parts have gone through several transitional phases of land-use change. The city’s core has remains of its colonial times, with an architectural continuity of two to three floors, western façades, and specific spatial qualities with spillovers to balconies, front gardens, podiums, and verandas. The commercialisation of the old areas has shifted the city’s vibrancy to a complex unplanned living environment. The city’s past remains visible, while the new is added in fast development (Fig. 4.35).

Fig. 4.35 The old and new next to each other in the heart of Kampala (a), while the new significance is built based on the common characteristics of the past (b)

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4.1.21 Kathmandu, Nepal Preservation is often done through selection and prioritisation. Unfortunately, in many cases the economic return or revenue from tourism becomes more important than making the local lives more comfortable and pleasant. In the central Kathmandu, the busy life of cramped urban environments is part of everyday life (Fig. 4.36a). The preserved areas that have substantial financial benefits through their leisure and services often appear glossy and attractive in multiple pockets of the city (Fig. 4.36b). However, the city’s collective memory is embedded in places of nostalgia, traditional practices, and places of significance (Fig. 4.37).

Fig. 4.36 The busy urban core where preservation is not easy and remains a challenge (a), while the outer areas of leisure and services could be preserved more easily, much faster, and better financial support (b)

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Fig. 4.37 The sentimental sensation of local traditions and cultural values is the charm of places and their memories that remain in mind. The process of washing dead bodies, praying, ceremonial events, and cremation are part of the everyday life of outdoor areas of the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu

4.1.22 Kiev, Ukraine Kiev (or Kyiv) is an assemblage of many palimpsests of religious-monumental buildings, open spaces, and cultural events. The city’s cultural image is comprised of industrial heritage, extensive infrastructure, religious buildings, and historical landmarks. The Soviet era traces are visible throughout the city, representing how the city has developed and has grown over the years. The city has evolved to become one of the European cultural capitals, representing an interesting combination of the Soviet era and older history (Fig. 4.38).

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Fig. 4.38 Places that remain in heart (a), and places that are part of our minds (b). Kiev is a unique example of historical East European mix

4.1.23 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The unplanned planning of central Kuala Lumpur is a complex juxtaposition to colonial past, postcolonial identity, Islamic architecture, modern buildings, and postmodern development. The perseveration in the city is often based on what is visible and significant. The postcolonial past resembles historical parts of the city, and the isolated areas are planned to get integrated with the main urban fabric (Fig. 4.39). The experience of Kuala Lumpur is full of multiple images, social events, and cultural connections.

Fig. 4.39 Places that are preserved (a), and not preserved in two historical parts of the city (b)

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4.1.24 Leeds, the UK As a major post-industrial city, once a leading centre of industry in Victorian England, Leeds offers a rich metropolitan experience of vibrant urban life. The traces of the industrial past, cultural buildings, and commercial zones create a lively atmosphere that is continuous and invigorating. Leeds has a unique visual memory through its historical fabric and urban landscapes. The city’s magnificent arcades (Fig. 4.40) are a tangible part of connecting the old with the new. The city’s phases of transition have changed many places of the past and have augmented the industrial memory of places across the city (Fig. 4.41). The city’s forward-thinking approach reflects on the societal values that are continuously displayed in its public realms. The examples of reclaiming the streets (Fig. 4.42) and equality social movements (Fig. 4.43) are identified as authentic values of the society in Leeds.

Fig. 4.40 A remarkable manifestation of place-architecture-memory in one of the city’s famous arcades appears as a public gallery of urban quality

Fig. 4.41 Places that get replaced through transitions (a), and places that become augmented in the same process (b)

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Fig. 4.42 Reclaiming the street without cars, on the way to the Millennium Square in central Leeds Fig. 4.43 The representation of societal values where it is possible. Here, we have an example of displaying the significance of social movement in the city on floorscape of a crossing in central Leeds

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4.1.25 London, the UK London is a city that has gone through many phases of transitions and for a long time. Apart from the city’s cultural and historical memories, London offers many social experiences that are merely playful and memorable. Places of significance are not necessarily the same as the significance of places we aim to address in this book. London is filled with both, i.e., ‘places of significance’ and ‘significance of places’. From its ethnographic accounts to globalised inner areas, the city’s past is represented through a range of sub-cultures, socio-political spaces, metropolitan communities, and people’s places (Figs. 4.44 and 4.45).

Fig. 4.44 Somewhere on the street front, between the city and Heathrow Airport, is a large Chinese supermarket that has created a place that you would remember in mind. An unadorned façade intervention, with a blend of Chinese visual features, change a bland façade of an industrial building into something that could be recorded in mind

Fig. 4.45 The event-place-moment relation reflect on the space-time frame of place. This is the view of the same place at two different times of the year, with two different moment. One that is focused on a guy singing at one corner (a), and the other is just a moment of meeting and relaxing during and the night life of the Covent Garden in Central London (b)

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4.1.26 Manama, Bahrain As a modern city that continuously forgets its past, Manama keeps replacing its old with the new through replacing the historical narratives, new architectural interventions, and socio-political transitions. Located on the Persian Gulf shores, the city has modern and traditional quarters, one that is experienced by car, and the other has to be walked through to be fully sensed. Here, heritage is not recognised as a process but as a visual memory of landmarks and complexities of the materiality of places and buildings. The unfortunate Dubaization effect on the city makes it even more challenging to preserve the realities of the past (Fig. 4.46).

Fig. 4.46 Places of culture (a), and no culture (b), where urban life is essential to be lived and not to be just seen from behind the car windows

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4.1.27 Manchester, the UK Manchester’s history and memory are often seen through the city’s performances, events, and rich architecture. After healing wounds of war and bombing events, the city has learned to remember its past through enriching its collective memory, local identity, and international communities. As a city filled with many industries, Manchester has continuously been one of the generative engines of the country. The city now celebrates events that are important to its society and communities. The city’s sense of place is strengthened through such celebrations and remembrance of incidents, events, and cultural significances (Fig. 4.47). Fig. 4.47 The red light is lit on some of Manchester’s older buildings in order to celebrate the commencement of the Chinese New Year. In a way, this is a type of displaying an event on building

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4.1.28 Montevideo, Uruguay As a city that has suffered from violence, decay, and rapid development, Montevideo is somehow stuck in between marginalization and decentralization of memory and through its peripheral palimpsests (Levey, 2014). Montevideo is truly a city with intersections of social life, history, political identity, and memory. The perseveration of its many traditional sites and buildings cannot offset its outgrowing decay and decline. The city is yet to overcome its socio-political challenges to be able to showcase the visual memories of history and heritage (Fig. 4.48).

Fig. 4.48 The struggle to preserve the old fabric is represented through large-scale decay of the city’s main traditional and cultural quarters

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4.1.29 Montreal, Canada With many social, political, and economic transitions, Montreal remains rich in presenting its cultural memory, the collective memory of its public realms, and the commercial zones’ social interfaces. By understanding both the city’s modernity and history, the city’s quest for social change has become more perceptible in places around the city. The city’s socio-spatial attributes play a significant part in creating a sense of public memory (Fig. 4.49).

Fig. 4.49 Montreal’s success in finding the balance between the old and new (a), social life and dynamism of the city (b), and moments of pause and movement (c)

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4.1.30 Moscow, Russia Moscow is experienced as a city of collective memory through its distinguishable landmarks, accumulation of historical buildings, classical architecture, and memorial places. The city’s sense of communism from Soviet times is mixed with the city’s post-socialist image, which suggests how the city’s collective memory is also transitioned through the many phases of transitions. The city is an articulated collection of the past, the new, heritage, and monuments (Fig. 4.50).

Fig. 4.50 The blend of old and new, socialist and traditional, classical and heritage in Moscow

4.1.31 Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Muscat is probably the only Middle Eastern capital city that is not yet developed rapidly with high-rise buildings and compact urban environments. The significance of religion, community, and colonial legacies are still part of the city’s identity. A collective memory, against Dubaization effects of other cities in the region, has formed to represent Muscat as a laid back city of traditions and culture; something that seems to become unique in comparison to other large cities of nearby countries, such as in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The sense of trade and every market life remains valuable to local communities. However, as the city develops, the same mistakes of other Middle Eastern cities are replicated—i.e., developing the city and its communities for cars rather than people (Fig. 4.51).

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Fig. 4.51 The many community streets and commercial areas are mainly for driving experiences (a). In contrast, communities still appraise their local markets (b), and can see the impacts of caroriented development across the city (c). The harsh climatic conditions have led to making easy solutions for urban design and planning interventions, which could be reversed through time

4.1.32 Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada As a small town in Southern Ontario and bordering the US, Niagara-on-the-lake has become a symbolic experience for visitors to keep the local idyll alive (Mitchell et al., 2001). This is argued as a sort of ‘creative destruction’, which affected many functional changes and the creation of new landscapes (ibid.). It is believed the old is no longer perceived as part of the growth but is replaced through the functional and economic quests. These have not necessarily erased the historical memory of the colonial pasts but have reduced the locals’ connectivity and their everyday lives. Yet, there are remains of the past in the form of visual memory (Fig. 4.52).

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Fig. 4.52 The core of Niagara-on-the-lake has a focal node of historical-visual memory, with a tower and memorial sense of place

4.1.33 Ningbo, China Over decades of rapid development, the City of Ningbo went through phases of demolition and urban replacement through the many renewal projects that were somewhat brutal to the city’s history. Not many cities have such long history traces as Ningbo does, but little could be seen or experiences to represent a city of historical values and heritage importance. The more recent attempt on remembering and revitalizing Ningbo has focused on the city’s marine importance of silk road, which could potentially augment the narrative of Ningbo’s urban memory (Figs. 4.53, 4.54, and 4.55).

Fig. 4.53 Brining an outdoor event to indoors (a) and taking the indoor activities to outdoors (b). The boundary of spaces are broken in the threshold of events and experiences

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Fig. 4.54 The representation of traditional Chinese Garden on the premises of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) to showcase the local values and traditions of the place

Fig. 4.55 The astonishing remains of the demolished buildings on the façade of the newer buildings. The physicality of such palimpsest represents the emptiness of the memory of the old

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4.1.34 Nottingham, the UK The City of Nottingham’s general narrative is based on its historical facts and myths, stories of Robin Hood as a legend, and the city’s industrial past. The city’s multiple images of its historical core, the regenerated inner cities, and its castle’s scenery frame the city’s status as the “Queen of the Midlands”. While the city suffered from deindustrialization, it lost much of what used to shape the city’s industrial memory, such as its renowned lace manufacturing. The city had to reinterpret its urban core and economic development. It had to go through transitional phases of replacing the industrial past with a services-based epoch. The structural changes that occurred through deindustrialization shaped the city’s future, which is partly based on its palimpsests of the industrial age, market life, and integrated strategies towards urban change and regeneration (Cheshmehzangi, 2015a, 2015b). The other pockets of the city include notorious locations but have their specific values (Fig. 4.56).

Fig. 4.56 Wollaton Hall is mainly famous for its appearance in the Batman movie (refer to Batman Begins), while it is home to many exhibitions, galleries, and social events

4.1.35 Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan The City of Nur-Sultan is a spectacular model of a modern city, which has gone through a rapid pace of transition to become a monumental chef-d’oeuvre. It truly reflects on the national imaginary of Kazakhstan. As a young city, Nur-Sultan has experienced consecutive phases of progressive development. It is now comprised of large corridors of open spaces, extraordinary landmarks (Fig. 4.57), and the monumental imagery of a modern-socialist mix (Fig. 4.58).

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Fig. 4.57 A vista through the city’s large corridors of open spaces and multiple landmarks

Fig. 4.58 The well-planned open spaces and an agglomeration of classical, national, modern, and socialist architecture in the heart of Nur-Sultan

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4.1.36 Osaka, Japan Osaka’s historical core changes at different times of the day. It offers a vibrant urban life at night, and during the day, it is the vein of the city’s social experience. Many remarkable details of the Japanese urban design is visible in every corner of the city, such as how frames are used, how lighting creates an atmosphere, how signs are positioned, and how entrances welcome the visitors. The city’s preserved core is compact, but so is the city’s other quarters (Figs. 4.59 and 4.60).

Fig. 4.59 Osaka’s traditional and commercial urban cores at night and how signs, lighting, and entrances are designed to form a sense of attachment

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Fig. 4.60 The gate is more than just an entrance in an unwalled boundary, as shown here. It is symbolic, has a historical sense of being, frames the significance, is welcoming, and is a recognisable threshold between the two spaces

4.1.37 Oxford, the UK The charm of the City of Oxford’s historical memory does not need any introduction. The collective memory of the city is based on its rich heritage and remarkable architectural exquisiteness. However, the significant of places in mind are represented through simple and yet innovative use of the ‘otherness’ in place. The examples of using a car for MOT Services or a bike for a local café (Fig. 4.61) are just some of the memorable examples of otherness in places that are rich in historical memory and imagery.

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Fig. 4.61 The use of otherness in the urban space to create a sense of remembrance and a memory that could belong to the functionality of space or building

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4.1.38 Phnom Penh, Cambodia The capital of Cambodia is rich with cultural and literary history (Osborne, 2008). Despite the many preservation projects of colonial buildings, the city is mostly remembered through its vibrant life and a more historical past. Nevertheless, there are traces of French planning, architecture, and spatial form in parts of the city. What remains the most in mind are the golden roofs and columns of temples as places of memorial, celebration, gathering, and social life (Fig. 4.62).

Fig. 4.62 The preservation of the significance in places where people are determined to remember the most. The temples are more than just worship places. These are places where collective memory of the city is formed

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4.1.39 Pisa, Italy The Italian cities usually do not disappoint us with their preservation methods. A city like Pisa has preserved much of its historical quarters, which is carefully done to respect the city’s specific palimpsests, such as the continuity of architectural languages, building characteristics, colour ing, and the socio-morphological quality of public realms and alleyways. The city has strongly retained its historical memory of its leaning tower, the cathedral, and many other valuable heritage buildings. However, it also preserved much of the old fabric, keeping the collective memory of the city as an overarching memory that belongs to Pisa’s identity (Fig. 4.63).

Fig. 4.63 Places of community exhibitions, memorials, and galleries (a), as well as the in-between places that represent the fragrance of local life (b)

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4.1.40 Seoul, South Korea Seoul is enriched with the reinvention of places and memory (King, 2018) that are part of the city’s old fabric, as well as its palimpsest of ecology/environment, history, and people. The socio-cultural importance of living areas, commercial zones, and historical quarters of the city defines how memories are retained, augmented, or even revitalised. The city’s reconfiguration of spaces by refining the past’s palimpsest is a good example of enhancing the city’s cultural memory. Seoul’s epistemological palimpsests are distinct in different parts, through different experiences, and different urban quarters’ functionality. The city has done a lot to preserve its heritage (Fig. 4.64) and reflect on the notion of remembering (Fig. 4.65).

Fig. 4.64 Preserving the remains of heritage sites under the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The place has become a major cultural hub in the historical fashion district of the city

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Fig. 4.65 The sense of remembering and palimpsests of the past. The many memorials of the city are meant to keep the idea of ‘remembering’ and respecting the incidents and people of the past generations

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4.1.41 Shanghai, China Shanghai is a combination of traditional memory and urban modernity. We could somehow argue that the city has preserved its historical past as much as it has developed the new. As an example of re-envisioning the Chinese cityscape (Li, 2013), Shanghai is grown to become a city of nostalgic experiences, diverse values, elements, and modern urban spaces (Lyu, 2013). The example of extending the Old Shanghai Street (Fig. 4.66) imitates the past’s urban configuration through the reproduction of façades, spaces, and memories. The modern image of the city (Fig. 4.67a) does not follow the qualities achieved in the spatial forms and patterns of the combined

Fig. 4.66 The extension of the Old Shanghai Street is to replicate the visual memories and local histories of the city

Fig. 4.67 The spatial configurations and qualities of the new (a) are not always as successful as the combined new and old (b)

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Fig. 4.68 The picturesque visa of PuDong financial district and the city’s trade of port activities

old with new (Fig. 4.67b). The city also does not forget its port culture, memories of trade, businesses, and its new urbanity (Fig. 4.68).

4.1.42 Shantou, China In recent years, Shantou’s historical urban areas are under renovation, intending to revitalise the local heritage and keep local architecture’s cultural style. The city has adopted many preservation strategies, such as keeping the morphological qualities, preserving the façades, keeping the cultural memories, and retaining the local characteristics (Figs. 4.69 and 4.70).

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Fig. 4.69 The next step for Shantou is to preserve its old residential and commercial quarters

Fig. 4.70 By preserving the building’s skeleton and façades, the approach to preservation has aimed to retain the local architectural style and characteristics

4.1.43 Shenzhen, China As a young city, Shenzhen has kept some of its village-in-city (ViC) communities (Fig. 4.71). The visual memory of the city is much stronger than preserving its young history. The city’s metropolitan experience of commercial and financial zones (Fig. 4.72) is a ubiquitous example of large cities in China. The city’s conglomeration of local memories, multiple layers of culture, cuisine, leisure, experimentation (Fig. 4.73), and knowledge-based strategies to placemaking (Tan et al., 2019) has helped to speed up the process of localisation and recreation of historical memories and cultural values.

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Fig. 4.71 The view of Shanghai’s HuBei Village-in-City area

Fig. 4.72 The ubiquitous image of commercial and financial zones of Shenzhen are remarkable examples of the city’s modern image

Fig. 4.73 The city’s attempt to experimentation is appraised for its boldness and progressiveness. The example of Pingdi Town in Shenzhen is an attempt to scale up a low carbon experimental zone

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4.1.44 Shiraz, Iran The City of Shiraz has its own charms with many examples of unique destinations and spatial qualities, localised morphologies, and social experiences. The city’s historical memory is still embedded in its preserved areas. The city has attempted to reinvent places of culture and history by contextualizing collective memory’s palimpsest (Farahani et al., 2015), embracing the urban landscapes, and visualizing multiple layers of its rich history. In recent decades, the city has expanded with many new developments; some that have succeeded to contextualise the image of the city, and some that have struggled to do so (Figs. 4.74 and 4.75).

Fig. 4.74 The residential twin towers of AmirAli, built almost three decades ago (a) are recorded in mind more effectively that than the residential areas of the city’s new satellite cities, such as Sadra City (b)

Fig. 4.75 By synthetizing the old walls and retaining the old image of the narrow lanes of Ghasr-e Dasht gardens, the image of the gardens is partially revitalised for public use and social experience

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4.1.45 Singapore, the City-Country of Singapore Through our collective memory, Singapore is still a global financial city; but now, this vivid image is combined with the city’s enriching leisure experiences, tropical gardens, green spaces, colonial architecture, and port culture. By contesting memory of places vs. places of memory, we verify that Singapore has done more than just expanding on its leisure but also retain its historical image and cultural memories (Figs. 4.76 and 4.77).

Fig. 4.76 Singapore’s new memory of places through places of significance

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Fig. 4.77 Singapore’s combination of tropical image, colonial architecture, and financial heart

4.1.46 Sydney, Australia The regeneration of places in Sydney is often through the reinvention of the past in a new form or new functionality. The development of Barangaroo’s reserve in a united landscape architecture project (Fig. 4.78), which aims to include its ecological past and retain the qualities of the ancient site (Hawken & Mackenzie, 2016). The city’s attempts to reimagine nostalgic places and make the new simply represent place-making strategies’ creativity. The city’s attempts to remember and honour the past, through permanent and temporary places (Fig. 4.79), show the importance of historical memories in the city’s place-making processes. Some of these could turn into local fun places (Fig. 4.80), which could represent more inclusively the excitements of places.

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Fig. 4.78 The view of Sydney Harbor Bridge from Barangaroo Reserve, a place where landscape architecture is the reproduction of ancient times and local ecologies

Fig. 4.79 A permanent war memorial in Hyde Park vs. a temporary war memorial on the street

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Fig. 4.80 The fun side of remembering, near the Walsh Bay, is showcased in a form of public art and positioned in the centre of a small roundabout

4.1.47 Taipei, Taiwan The City of Tapei is a unique example of exhibiting places of significance and nostalgic experiences of the past. Through the vibrant social life of the city’s historical parts, we could experiences places of palimpsest, which are embedded as part of the city’s cultural memory. The use of signs, in particular, indicates the traces of the colonial past, something which has formed to be part of the contemporary place, too (Figs. 4.81 and 4.82).

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Fig. 4.81 The positioning and display of signs of the traditional narrow alleyways in Taipei

Fig. 4.82 Here, the use of signs without barriers is like the gate without the walls. The representation of bike-friendly environments is visible in every detail of the sign

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4.1.48 Tokyo, Japan As a vibrant sizeable metropolitan area, the City of Tokyo is filled with an assortment of cultural memories, spaces of performances and culture, and public life displays. Klens (1993) nicely highlights the city’s theatrical palimpsest as they are vividly visible in the city’s built environment, spaces, temples, theatres, people, and art. Tokyo’s socio-cultural imagery is appraised as part of the visible traces of its past, appearing as a sort of metabolism layering through its intricate network of urban landscapes and systems (Fig. 4.83).

Fig. 4.83 Preserving the old ad connecting them with the new is a constant experience of Tokyo. The city’s vibrant life is full of using the cultural events and values as part of the ongoing busy life of the present

4.1.49 Valletta, Malta The historical-political status of the City of Valletta is the essence of its collective memory. The perception of the city is the basis of the nostalgic construction of community, mainly through the many rituals and public sphere (Mitchell, 2002) that are renovated and rehabilitated over the years. The cognitive functioning of the city is related to its wide spectrum of cultural values (e.g., aesthetic, ecological, economic, historical, scientific, memory, social, spiritual, etc.) embedded in the heritage and historical areas (Veldpaus & Roders, 2014), through both tangible and intangible legacies of the past (Fig. 4.84).

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Fig. 4.84 The historical structure and aesthetic qualities of Valletta are essential to its collective memory of historical and heritage-based image

4.1.50 Vientiane, Laos Vientiane’s many temples have managed to escape modernity conflicts, and social memory manifested through the city’s cultural heritage. The more recent heritage creation through preserving the impermanence (Karlstrom, 2009) is an attempt beyond just the traditional descriptive approach to keeping the heritage alive. Thus, the city has redefined itself to become a heritage centre in the region, some that helped to preserve the historical significance(s) of the Nation’s heritage and cultural image (Fig. 4.85).

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Fig. 4.85 Preservation is by choice in defining and recognising places of significance

4.1.51 Xiamen, China The city of Xiamen is often seen through its distinctive experience of Gulangyu Island, which is contended to be part of the city’s collective memory. It is a separate part of the city, which a discrete architectural image. Through the complex network of historical sites and community spaces, the Gulangyu Island is somehow attached to people’s perception of colonial cityscape and a place of tourism. In recent years,

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Fig. 4.86 The view of Gulangyu from the main island of Xiamen

Fig. 4.87 The perseveration projects of colonial buildings, residential communities, and commercial areas of the island have led to mass tourism development, which has somehow diverged from the City’s collective and historical memory

as the conservation has flourished in the island, the city’s historical core has also gone under a long process of refurbishment (Figs. 4.86 and 4.87).

4.1.52 Yangon, Myanmar Yangon’s image is very much linked to its religious significance and the rituals of performances and events. Unlike its rival city, Mandalay, the city has not retained all of its picturesque views of the historical memory and monuments. The city is, however, blessed with a good range of grassroots’ interventions, which have enhanced

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Fig. 4.88 A replicated row of housing is defined through colours. The social memory of communities are often aesthetic, playful, or even controversial

Fig. 4.89 Two images of the significance of place and place of significance, through an example of social memory of communities (a) and collective memory of the city (b)

the social memory of places, the identity of communities, and social experiences of keeping the local cultural values (Figs. 4.88 and 4.89).

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4.1.53 Yerevan, Armenia Developed through years of transformation and transition, Yerevan has grown to become a manifestation of mixed built environments of modern, historical, and Soviet eras. The City of Yerevan has a unique geographical landscape that faces Mount Ararat that sits across the border (Fig. 4.90). It also offers a strong sense of political memory and has re-imagined its identity in the post-Soviet era. This is mainly done by augmenting the city’s landscapes, narratives, and symbolism (Ter-Ghazaryan, 2010), which are more significant in mind (Fig. 4.91).

Fig. 4.90 The view of Yerevan and Mount Ararat from the top of the Cascade Complex in the north of the re-planned urban core

Fig. 4.91 The city offers many places of social memory through its playful environments (a) and urban parks and greenery (b). In the latter, the Painter’s Vernissage is an open-air market of painting and art, which mainly caters to tourists and social activities of the local life

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4.2 When Places Meet People and When Experiences Create Memories The case study examples of this chapter explore the essence of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2020), as well as the human dimensions of various urban landscapes (Soini, 2001). In urban practices, memories and imagination (Otrishchenko & Sklokina, 2019) are essential parts of remembering and having a good record of experiences and social events in mind. We then continuously interpret memories (Gómez & Jaime, 2013) in shaping our sense of places, sense of attachment, sense of belonging, and perception or knowledge of places. The experiences we acquire are crucial to what we perceive in a cognitive process, connecting our mind with the brain and processing what is then remembered, valued, and even contested. From recalling cultural memories (Hussein et al., 2020) to examples of geographical and historical perspectives of places (Götz & Holmén, 2018), we continuously develop our cognitive knowledge through a set of socio-spatial interrelations (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a, 2012b; Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012) and imageries that shape the spatial mental models in mind (Tversky, 1993). In reality, the social dilemmas and collective memories of place, as partly discussed by Rothstein (2000), are essential aspects of how ‘places meet people’, and ‘experiences create memories’. By exploring many case study examples, we highlighted some of the unique and common continuity and discontinuity of places. We see how the memory-experiencepalimpsest nexus is represented through the space-time frame of places. We express the importance of various memories of cities and places, such as aesthetic memory, historical memory, heritage memory, cultural memory, modern memory, memorial memory, performance memory, social memory, symbolic memory, visual memory, etc. We explored examples of nostalgia and places that matter in mind through the temporality of place. Some could be based on the socio-temporality of place, some through morphological, functional, and even perceptual attributes of the place. We also highlighted examples of places and experiences that could be different from time to time, and some based on the traces of their past or their present interventions. We showed many examples of differences between ‘memory of place’ and ‘place of memory’. Moreover, we argued the two poles of ‘place of significance’ and ‘significance of place’. In the following three chapters, we follow these viewpoints in further detail and delve into three case study examples of city transitions. The first example is a case study of spatial and community change through physical city transition. The second example is a case of socio-spatial transition through temporariness of place. And the third example is a case of socio-political transition and its impacts on the act of remembering the urban places through their names. Respectively, we do these through capturing the realities of experience, reproducing the perception of place, and remembering the palimpsests.

References

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References Cheshmehzangi, A. (2011, July 11–13). The memorable image and city centre: Rise of urban enclaves and decline of cultural quarters. In Proceedings of IPCIE 2011 (Vol. 2, pp. 709–716). ISBN: 978-988-17311-7-3, conference held in Hong Kong, China. Cheshmehzangi, A. (2012a). Reviving urban identities through temporary use of public realms. Ph.D. thesis, The University of Nottingham, UK. Cheshmehzangi, A. (2012b). Identity and public realm. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 50, 307–317. Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015a). Regenerating the urban: Evaluation of policy actions for Strategic urban changes in the UK cities of Derby and Nottingham. Journal of Urban Regeneration & Renewal, 8(4), 367–388. Cheshmehzangi, A. (2015b). The reinvention of liveability in public places: Interaction mapping analysis of central Nottingham’s improved walkability. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 25(5), 426–440. Cheshmehzangi, A. (2020). Identity of cities and city of identities. Singapore and Germany: Springer. Cheshmehzangi, A., & Heath, T. (2012). Urban identities: Influences on socio-environmental values and spatial inter-relations. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 36, 253–264. Cheshmehzangi, A., & Li, H. M. A. (2020). Innovation through urban diversity and achieving comprehensive sustainable urbanism from a community-oriented approach. Current Urban Studies, 8(2), 222–240. Farahani, L. M., Setayesh, M., & Shokrollahi, L. (2015). Contextualizing palimpsest of collective memory in an urban heritage site: Case Study of Chahar Bagh, Shiraz-Iran. Archnet-Ijar, 9(1), 218. Gómez, M., & Jaime, E. (2013). Translating memories: Reshaping spatial patterns on ephemeral urban dwelling. Open House International, 38(2), 47–56. Götz, N., & Holmén, J. (2018). Introduction to the theme issue: “Mental maps: Geographical and historical perspectives”. Journal of Cultural Geography, 35(2), 157–161. Hawken, S., & Mackenzie, B. (2016). Barangoo Reserve. Landscape Architecture Australia, 149, 40–51. Hussein, F., Stephens, J., & Tiwari, R. (2020). Memory for social sustainability: Recalling cultural memories in Zanqit Alsitat Historical Street Market, Alexandria, Egypt. Sustainability, 12(19), 8141. Karlstrom, A. (2009). Preserving impermanence: The creation of heritage in Vientianem Laos (Doctoral Dissertation), Instututionen for arkeology och antic historia, 239 pp., Studies in Global Archaeology. King, R. (2018). Seoul: Memory, reinvention, and the Korean wave. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press. Klens, D. S. (1993). Theatrical Palimpsest: Tokyo 1992. TDR, 37(3), 166–170. Levey, C. (2014). Between marginalization and decentralization of memory: Peripheral palimpsests in post-dictatorship Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Journal of Romance Studies, 14(3), 67–86. Li, J. (2013). Re-envisioning the Chinese cityscape: Tabula Rasa and Palimpsests. Cross-Currents: East Asian History and Culture Review, 2(1), 202–210. Lyu, P. (2013). Revisiting the politics of Shanghai nostalgia: Memory, modernity and urban space. Culture Studies, 3, 14p. Mitchell, C. J., Atkinson, R. G., & Clark, A. (2001). The creative destruction of Niagara-on-theLake. Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien, 45(2), 285–299. Mitchell, J. P. (2002). Ambivalent Europeans: Ritual, memory, and the public sphere in Malta. London and New York: Psychology Press. Osborne, M. E. (2008). Phnom Penh: A cultural and literary history. Oxford: Signal Books. Otrishchenko, N., & Sklokina, I. (2019). Slavutych: Urban Practices, Memories and Imagination Research Report of the Studio at the Summer School “The Idea of the City: Reality Check”. Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung, 68(3), 477–499.

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Rothstein, B. (2000). Trust, social dilemmas and collective memories. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 12(4), 477–501. Soini, K. (2001). Exploring human dimensions of multifunctional landscapes through mapping and map-making. Landscape and Urban Planning, 57(3–4), 225–239. Tan, X., Altrock, U., Schoon, S., & Zhao, J. (2019). Localized place-making and the knowledgebased regeneration strategies—The case of Xiasha Village in Shenzhen. Habitat International, 83, 73–84. Ter-Ghazaryan, D. K. (2010). Re-imaging Yerevan in the post-Soviet era: Urban symbolism ad narratives of the nation in the landscape of Armenia’s capital. Florida International University (FIU), electronic theses and Dissertations, 261. Available from https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/ etd/261/. Tversky, B. (1993, September). Cognitive maps, cognitive collages, and spatial mental models. In European conference on spatial information theory (pp. 14–24). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. Veldpaus, L., & Roders, A. P. (2014). Learning from a legacy: Venice to Valletta. Change Over Time, 4(2), 244–263.

Chapter 5

Capturing the Realities of Experience: Case Study Example of the City of Changsha, China

People make cities, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans. —Jane Jacobs

5.1 The Narrative: Experience of the Past and Its Traces in Present The rituals of the present are often generated from the palimpsests of the past. This is evident in how collective habits become a constellation of customs and develop in the form of presumed cultures. This is also evident in how contextual matters become local and vernacular beings of various types. Experiencing the past is one aspect of tracing a sense of place and the ultimate spirits of the environments. We come to encounter these continuously and discontinuously. In doing so, we do not experience the new only, but the new is usually mixed with the old sentiments. The spirit of a place is dynamic as also for our experiences and memories of places. We continuously refresh an old memory that belongs to the nostalgic memory of the past or in the form of nostalgia memory. This could be a simple sentimental feeling or meaning that we may have of/from a place. Alternatively, it could just be a memory or sets of memories that help us reconnect with past times. In this regard, we can capture the memory of communities and places through various means, such as oral history and sharing stories of the past (Klaebe & Foth, 2006), conceptualising and recalling the images of places (Kreimer, 2010; Cheshmehzangi, 2011; Adi et al., 2015), etc. In doing so, we can capture a variety of socio-spatial values (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a; Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012a, 2012b), such as commemorations (Birdsall & Drozdzewski, 2018), the collective memory of places (De Liddo & Buckingham Shum, 2007), sensory experiencing perceptual memory (Degen & Rose, 2012), place information (Arnett, 2019), cultural heritage (Maietti et al., 2017), and much more.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_5

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Capturing realities, as a broader topic, is studied from various perspectives; from management studies (Schad, 2018) to the study of spatial archetypes (Braun, 2004), and towards creative cities (Landry, 2012), creative economies (Florida, 2010), local livelihoods (Simone, 2004), digital preservation of the past (Cheshmehzangi et al., 2015), revitalization methods (Stone et al., 2015), urban imaginary (Cheshmehzangi, 2015; Stafford et al., 2020), and defining the city (Frey & Zimmer, 2001; De Boeck & Plissart, 2014; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). The example of augmenting the locality of the urban environments through the city’s multiple networks (Cheshmehzangi & Ornsby, 2017) is an emerging approach to enhance the narrative of places. In doing so, we can represent complex places (Uprichard & Byrne, 2006) and find methods of promoting the narrative of cities through the capacity of their history, people, and places (Thornbury, 1880; Walford, 1890). Without a doubt, these should be attached to the history and progression of every city of any type and size. The narrative of place through experiences helps us to distinguish better the network of performances, the objectivity of the environments, and co-productions of constructing urban places (Turnbull, 2002). This also leads to other directions, such as the commodification of places (Fløysand & Jakobsen, 2007), urban experimentation (Huang, 2008; Ning, 2013), city branding (Russell et al., 2009; Sevcik, 2011; Oguztimur & Akturan, 2016; Gold & Gold, 2020), and various methods of urban revitalisation (Stone et al., 2015; Draus & Roddy, 2016). In the example of symbolizing places, studied by Parisi and Holcornb (1994), we see the role of narration in defining and expressing the urban environments, and in particular, the stories of the urban center. Similarly, we see how the spirit of the place is defined as part of city narratives, which are commonly seen as part of place marketing and the entrepreneurial city (Jessop, 1998) or various urban entrepreneurialism methods (Xie et al., 2020). Other examples indicate that the spatial narrative of places could depend on local traditions and areas (He et al., 2016) or cultural values (Xingfu & Ziteng, 2012), as well as places of significance (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a, 2012b). This approach often comes with the aim to create the city image (Tsakiri, 2015) and/or the formation and enhancement of place/urban identity (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). As part of place-making thinking, such differentiation emerges from the sense of places that are experienced (Relph, 2007) and are sometimes beyond our mundane experiences of places (Day, 2002). The many examples of this book highlight the importance of urban narratives, place differentiation, and experiences that belong to specific locales, times, time cycles, and localities. Hence, our relationships with places of familiar and new places are sensual but in different ways. This sensuality of place is what we essentially perceive (Cheshmehzangi, 2014), as part of knowing, capturing, and remembering. Thus, through various palimpsests, the past continues to be alive as our memories hold the sentiments, senses, and relations of what remains in our minds.

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5.2 The Impacts of Physical City Transitions on Community Memory Here, we provide an overview of spatial and physical changes and their implication on the memory of places. The impact of physical transitions, and often in the form of urban transformations, on community/urban memory is often neglected in scholarly work. Much of the focus in existing research studies is on collective memory of places (Boyer, 1996), and only a few address the nexus between memory and transition (Wilde, 1999; Resina, 2000; Putter, 2012; Light & Young, 2015; Brown et al., 2016). These transitions, however, are not necessarily examples of physical and community transitions, which are studied in this chapter. We focus here on the impact of physical change through a transitional process of urban redevelopment and renewal. This is studied through a typical scenario of the rapid pace of urban redevelopment that often appears in the form of renewal or urban transformation. This scenario in many global examples leads to other issues of displacement, gentrification, and societal changes. Some happen positively to improve the existing community for its residents, and some occur negatively in the form of changing the community for the new residents. While in such a transition process, the urban or community memory could gradually diminish or get replaced with new memories, there remain traces of the past through our previous experiences, past memories, and nostalgic bonding with the environments. Those experiences and memories are redundant or discarded by no means but are part of what could remain as our nostalgic memory (or set of memories) of the past. In such cases, our memories could differ between the case of living in the transition and the case of revisiting the place after the physical change. If we live through the change, we are more likely to be part of the change, develop new experiences, and possibly new memories, too. If we do not live through the change, we may just have a fading memory of the past, and any visit to the place could remind us what we have captured through the past experiences. In this situation, our encountering with the new creates a moment of pause, often with an immediate upsetting sense of how the change has disrupted or altered the image of the place in mind. Our physical continuity in any environment, regardless of how fast the changes or transitions may occur, play a significant part in how we may come to an easier sense of acceptance of the new and the gradual development of our memories through time. Nevertheless, our discontinuous presence through the transition could transform our memories of the past into nostalgic and even the only memory of the redeveloped place. As our place attachment and expectations may become disrupted, we may first develop a sense of sadness, then a sense of curiosity, and last of all, a sentimental sense of reconnecting to the past and its absence in the present. Unquestionably, the more we visit the new form or get to experience the new spatial configuration of a place, the more we develop a sense of familiarity (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). This occurs through the notion of regularity as well as the gradual development of new relations and experiences. In this regard, our memory could also transform with only keeping traces of the past as the sensual memories of our previous experiences.

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Table 5.1 Bian Zhou Wei area in 2002 and 2005

Previously, Bian Zhou Wei (BZW) area was an industrial outer-city area in Changsha, mainly for a ship-making manufacturing company, its workers, and their family members. From the early 2000s, there were signs of gradual change in the area. The area has a strategic location for local trade and businesses

New road infrastructure and various housing projects appeared as the first phase of redeveloping the BZW area after it became a post-industrial (and post-agricultural) site for refunctioning purposes Source Captured and adapted from Google Earth maps

5.2 The Impacts of Physical City Transitions on Community Memory Table 5.2 Bian Zhou Wei area in 2008 and 2012

The new form started to replace the organic form of the site, and the waterfront areas were cleared of the previous industrial buildings/sites

The disappearance of the existing man-made landscapes and natural environments become evident. The old housing areas are replaced with many large-scale housing and commercial projects Source Captured and adapted from Google Earth maps

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Table 5.3 Bian Zhou Wei area in 2013 and 2015

The formalisation of the informal form starts to become more evident from 2012 onwards. New urban landscapes are developed, new roads are added, and new uses are introduced

The formalisation of urban landscapes continues to reshape the communities of the BZW area. The industrial past has no presence in the new redevelopment Source Captured and adapted from Google Earth maps

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Table 5.4 Bian Zhou Wei area in 2017 and 2020

BZW becomes more compact, more large-scale projects are added, including shopping complexes, schools, and leisure facilities. The waterfront entertainment zone was opened in 2016

With no room within the BZW, the area is now formalised into a high-end living environment with many new leisure and entertainment opportunities. The area is fully transformed in less than 20 years of redevelopment Source Captured and adapted from Google Earth maps

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In Tables 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4, we demonstrate an example of physical and community change. This is the case of ‘Bian Zhou Wei’ area, in the City of Changsha, China. In the last two decades or so, this area has gone through extensive redevelopment stages, also suggesting significant disruptions on memories of the past and the disappearance of palimpsests from the area’s physicality and spatiality. Through our community engagement with those who left and who remained throughout the whole period, we capture some of the realities of the area’s past and new experiences. This case also represents many other cases of rapid urban redevelopment elsewhere.

5.3 Case Study Research 5.3.1 Case Study Introduction From a major industrial and manufacturing area with an organic pattern of living environments, agricultural land, and medium-sized industrial units, Bian Zhou Wei transformed into a mixed-use area of high-end living, leisure, entertainment, and shopping experiences. The area is located in Changsha, China. The many older sites of the area, as shown in Table 5.5, are transformed into new living and entertaining environments. As demonstrated in transitional phases of a selected part of the BZW area in Table 5.5, we see a sort of formalisation of the area throughout two decades of physical and community change. The gradual changes of urban form (i.e. from organic to grid pattern), land uses (i.e. from industrial to new residential, leisure, and entertainment), spatial configuration, and road networks play a major part in how experiences are changes and the old memory of the area is fading away. In fact, what we are exploring here is just the recent history of the area. If we delve into a longer history of the area, before it became an industrial zone, then we may find out more about the narrative of the area as an agricultural and trade zone. As shown in aerial maps of up to the year 2008 (in Table 5.5), we see traces of agricultural land and aquaculture industries in the periphery of the BZW area. Their sudden disappearance between the years 2008 and 2012 indicates the most transformative phase of redeveloping BZW. The new additions of villa housing, high-rise housing, and new leisure and entertainment zones, were the starting point of reshaping the area’s past into a new future. Some residents decided to stay, some decided to go to outer areas of the city, and some were temporarily reallocated before they could reside back in their new homes in the BZA area. Only a group of five older residential blocks is now remained on the site, showing the magnitude of physical and community change in a short time. The traces of the past were disappeared one by one, as we witnessed the disappearance of the old industrial and residential buildings, giving way for the new high-rise housing complexes. In 2006, the new shopping complex started its construction, replacing some old industrial areas (Fig. 5.1). At some point in 2010, we witnessed the gradual deconstruction of old residential units, some that

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Table 5.5 2002–2020 redevelopment phases

(i) BZW as an industrial/manufacturing site, year 2002

(ii) BZW becomes a post-industrial site, year 2005

(iii) BZW starts clearing the industrial past, year 2008

(iv) BZW is almost a vacant area, year 2012

(v) BZW with new waterfront projects, year 2013

(vi) BZW with new large-scale projects, year 2015

(vii) BZW becomes more compact, year 2017

(viii) BZW as a new mixed-use area, year 2020

Source Captured and adapted from Google Earth maps

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Fig. 5.1 The new commercial and retail complex that replaced the old industrial sites

were simply taken down by pulling the ropes at four corners of the buildings. The surreal clearance of the site was the starting point to deform the older urban fabric and formalise the urban layout of the new. As the progress on deconstruction and reconstruction started taking place, the main memory (of the area) remained on experiences and activities of the past. In between 2008 and 2010, the physical image was fading away fast, and the urban imagery of the place was distorted. The newly built environments could only bring a more appealing image of the so-called modern urban life, as the old kept disappearing in front of the community’s eyes (Fig. 5.2). With the new upgrades, the BZW area was no longer just an outer industrial area of the city but moving towards becoming a major leisure and entertainment node in the City of Changsha. In this transition, the physicality of the post-industrial time was short-term and disappeared from the collective image of the area. The formalisation of the informal old regions and urban layouts led to major transformative influences on how the older routes and paths could no longer be imaged. The gradual transitions included no traces of the past but only sensual experiences and memories of the industrial past, waterfront activities, and the compact amalgamation of living-working environments.

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Fig. 5.2 The disappearance of the industrial past, making room for new leisure, entertainment, and residential complexes

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5.3.2 The Palimpsests of the Past from Nostalgic Memories For local communities of the BZW area, the remains of the past are remembered as discontinued memories of their social life, experiences, and events that used to take place at their doorsteps. However, the new is not representational or representative of the past in this case. The memories of the area are no longer collective as the old residents are dispersed. The industrial past of the area only remains in older maps and as part of the distorted memories. In this regard, the formation of nostalgic memories appears to be inevitable. The major changes of nodes, edges, paths, and landmarks of the area have a major impact on the overall image of the area (similar to Lynch’s description of ‘district’) (Lynch, 1960). The overall depiction of the area has been affected by significant visual discontinuity. Therefore, what sustains as palimpsests of the area are simply the facing traces of nostalgic memories in mind. Although this could partly represent our argument on the significance of place in mind, it also proves to be a significant distortion in the continuity of imaging places, districts, and urban environments. Capturing the realities of past experiences as palimpsests of the new development are often valued as a suitable approach to historical preservation and revitalisation strategies. Here, for the BZW case study, we deal only with the microhistory of a previously industrial area. What has been preserved is primarily visual to some extent, representing the past through the new. As shown in Fig. 5.3, there is a slight visual relationship between what is left of the past and what is displayed in the new urban landscapes of the BZW’s waterfront. Previously, the site had traces of shipmaking, boats, and boathouses, some that still exist in some parts of the waterfront areas. However, the new may visually link the exhibited Venitian boats to the past of the waterfront areas. Such places used to places for ship-making industries, places

Fig. 5.3 The old local boats vs. the new Venetian boats. One reminds us of the past, and one represents the new in the area

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where local kids used to swim, and memorable nodes of play, work, and social life (Fig. 5.4). The remains of the past are dispersed in the new physical form, create a sense of the recent history of the site, traces of social life, and local activities that

Fig. 5.4 This is where kids used to play, swim, while their parents used to work in local ship-making industries. The memories are still alive through the disappearing recent past of the area

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are still visible in the boundary of the informal markets, farmers’ markets, and the remaining boathouses of the BZW waterfront areas (Figs. 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7).

Fig. 5.5 Some boathouses remain in the waterfront areas of BZW even after the completion of the new leisure and entertainment areas. The remains of such old structures, floating in front of the modern urbanity of both sides of the river, highlight the traces of the recent past. The representation of pier-alike scenery represents the recent history of ship-making industries, fishing industries, and their associated trades and businesses

Fig. 5.6 The traces of old local life in between the newly-developed areas of the BZW are fascinating examples of the local life of the recent past. There are traces of older habits, older local activities, and older local life appearing in the form of third places in the BZW area. We see examples of hanging laundry in the streetscape of the area, representing ‘otherness’ in the midst of the new modern life (a). We also see traces of old markets and farmers’ markets in their informal setting, adding a different local scent to what is now seen and experienced in the BZW area (b). These are representative of the past local life, which could capture the realities of the past through mixed experiences

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Fig. 5.7 We see examples of new construction from 2014 to 2016, changing the image of the recent past, and moving towards a mixed living, leisure, and entertainment zone

5.3.3 The (Re-)Creation of the New from the Alienated Old The redevelopment of the area intends to capture and create alternative realities, those that did not exist before but were possibly fantacised through the past generations. The use of visual elements, such as the new classic architectural style and features, helps create new profiling of the area. The newly added waterfront zones are more of a little Italian Town than anything local. The new European (and mostly Italian) features, buildings, and landmarks create a different image of the place, which helps

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to speed up the process of forgetting the recent past. We see a recreated new from the alienated old that is not local (Figs. 5.8, 5.9 and 5.10). The alienated old-looking built environments seem to be more successful than if the old was wholly preserved through its palimpsests of the industrial past. A general

Fig. 5.8 The new leisure and entertainment areas of the waterfront do not represent the past. The new alienated landmarks and features of the site are the new images of the past. The old is replaced with the new in multiple stages of physical and community change. Nevertheless, the memory of new experiences differ from the memory of local residents who still remember their waterfront daily lives of swimming, fishing, eating, working, and a simple game of hide-and-seek

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Fig. 5.9 This is not Rome’s Trevi Fountain, but just the replicated version of Rome’s most beautiful fountain right at the waterfront areas of the BZW area. If locals could not go to Rome, then Rome could be experienced locally. Although missing some of its late Baroque features, the replicated masterpiece is a new node of luxuriness, entertainment, and joy, with an international image

Fig. 5.10 A new European clock tower, a building with domes, and alienated features and spaces are new ‘fun’ experiences of the new BZW waterfront area. The area now attracts many visitors and has become one of the main nodes of Changsha outside its urban core

perception indicates success in upgrading and redevelopment practices, which has led to the creation of new experiences, new activities, and new memories. The main concern is in regards to the way the redevelopment has occurred through the disappearance and only some representations of the past experiences. In the study of romancing the past, Goulding (2001) discusses the connection between existentials of the heritage contexts and the opportunity to exhibit and create a sense of nostalgic reaction. This has been widely recognised from the marketing perspective, as we could evaluate the emerging retail and commercialised environments (Holbrook & Schindler, 2003) as well as the experiences of the past (Baker & Kennedy, 1994), our preferences (Schindler & Holbrook, 2003), and our consumer behaviours (Holbrook & Schindler, 1991). In a way, the nostalgic emotions add to the complexity of experiential values and image of places (Yeh et al., 2012), which also become the basis of what understand as ‘place attachments’.

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As part of what we experience from the alienated old of the redeveloped BZW area, there is this sense of lost places, pasts, and people, as Goulding (2001) argues in his study of the sense of continuity in places. The old residents who are no longer residents of the area become nostalgic tourists (Russell, 2008) who are generally curious about the combination of past memories, narratives of the site, and the new that has replaced what has been in place before.

5.3.4 Capturing the Realities of Experience for New Memories In order to capture the perceived complexity of spaces and their experiences (Wiener et al., 2007), one has to consider the continuity of memory in defining the realities of the urban environments. The way our places are reused and recycled over many generations of redevelopment is the basis of how places could progress and become refined urban environments. The example of the BZW area is a common example of formalizing the informal, as well as upgrading the older pockets of the city into new urban experiences, urbanities, and urban life. In their collection of studies on ‘the anthropology of the city’, Gmelch and Kuppinger (2018) highlight the importance of urban experiences in recognising urban life and social scents of the urban environments. These urban experience details are nicely represented through urban places’ diversity and dynamism (Harvey & Harvey, 1989; Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020; Cheshmehzangi & Munday, 2021), which is certainly more than just the existing happenings, structures, and urban life. In this regard, the narratives of urban life (Finnegan, 1998) are embedded in realities of the experiences that define the sense of place and the place attachment that we may develop over a period (Fischer, 1975). The playful experiences of the past for the BZW area are represented in the form of new local tourism for leisure and entertainment uses, as well as waterfront regeneration opportunities that include new nodes, landmarks, and a different sense of place. As shown in Figs. 5.11, 5.12 and 5.13, the new urban landscapes are the representations of pubic expressions of the built environments (Schuyler, 1986; Knox, 1993; Relph, 1987; Martin, 1990; Hubbard, 1996), which define the new experiences of the BZW area. This case is a suitable example to represent a restless urban landscape (Knox, 1991), which is developed through several rapid transitional phases through physical and community change. As Matsuoka and Kaplan (2008) argue, there are obvious connections between people’s needs and the urban landscapes. Hence, contemporary society’s needs might not be easily fulfilled in the historical past of the urban areas. The many examples of preservation and conservation defined as urban regeneration mechanisms often become commercialised (if not over-commercialised) new urban areas represented through the traces of their histories, cultural values, social life, and heritage. Urban places are where we usually capture the realities of experience, and therefore, are

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Fig. 5.11 The new waterfront entertainment complex during the construction and after completion

Fig. 5.12 The new waterfront life during the construction and after completion stages

Fig. 5.13 The new landmarks of the waterfront zone during day-time and night-time economies of the area, specifically focused on leisure and entertainment activities or uses

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Fig. 5.14 The new urban life is formed based on the city’s direction towards outdoor eating opportunities, food tourism, and commercialisation of the old areas as new destinations of leisure and entertainment. Here, the BZW waterfront offers a lively atmosphere of eating, drinking, music festivals, and social activities of the new local

connected through networks of memories, relationships, and social values of both the past and present. As shown in Fig. 5.14, the new waterfront experiences of the BZW area represent not the historical past of the site but also the city’s local life. Over the years, the City of Changsha offers many new outdoor eating opportunities. The city has turned some of its old areas into new destinations of leisure, entertainment, and local social life. The new local is formed based on capturing the realities of experiences of the city; some that may remain partly correlated with the happenings of the past through the complex representations of the new and the old urban features, landmarks, and places of significance.

5.4 The Significance of Spatial and Community Change in Physical City Transitions While we previously looked at capturing the realities through digital preservation methods (Cheshmehzangi et al., 2015), we now urge to explore capturing the realities of the urban life and experience in place-making strategies. The correlation between

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‘what the city offers’ and ‘what we could grasp from experiences’ is something that ought to be studied further as part of contested memories and complex histories of the urban environments (Hoffmann, 2000). This correlation is also somehow related to narrative structures of the context (Tavakoli-Targhi, 1996) as well as the shifting cognitions (Challand, 2009) that are developed through the course of city transitions. In many cases, the commercialised setting becomes the main image and experience of heritage preservation, and sometimes in the mode of navigation through the histories of the sites (Schlegel & Pfoser, 2020). While this may seem unfortunate in urban design practices, we are left with no other or very limited feasible alternative directions. The general appreciation of the historical urban sites cannot be merely based on their visual experiences but should rather become augmented in how places are experiences, reused, and imaged. In this chapter, we highlighted the significance of spatial and community change in physical city transitions. This is a scenario of many contemporary cities across the globe, especially in developing cities. From changes in spatial distributions and determinants of land development (Wu & Yeh, 1997) to change and continuity in spatial planning (Watson, 2002), we see marketing examples of how spaces are conceptualised based on their types and through their characteristics and transitions (Castilhos & Dolbec, 2018). We also see how places and cities are regenerated through branding and rebranding mechanisms, which may also influence how the new urban environments are built, mediated in the city, and ultimately experienced. The spatial and community changes often experience significant physical changes, which are then understood as part of transitions or even transformative transitions. If the latter, then the traces of the past will be short-lived and become stories or narratives of the site. In a way, they become fading memories that may only last for one or two generations. This all depends on the significance of places and how they are portrayed or visualised in the new form or as part of the new urban landscapes. In such cases, the newly built environments’ spatiality is no longer based on its past but based on the local sense of place and local experiences that may belong to a wider scale of the city. As demonstrated in the case of the BZW area, we see traces of the past through disappearance and replacement. As elucidated before, these traces are merely dispersed as local experiences that are discontinued and are no longer visible in the form of visual memory. The collective memory of such areas is distorted and the new memory is based on nostalgic senses of the past, in the combination with what the new offers to a wider group of people. Within the boundary of the area, the local becomes a meaningless norm as the new form of place becomes the new experience and memory of the site. As they continue to grow, cities develop to become living entities of experimentations, livelihoods, experiences, and memories. All of these are subject to change through continuity and discontinuity of places, districts, and the built environments. Thus, the memory of the experiences we often acquire could be active memory of places or the cognition that is generally short-lived and active only for a certain time.

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Chapter 6

Reproducing the Perception of Place: Case Study Example of the City of Nottingham, UK

We don’t want a plan based on land uses. We want a plan based on experiences. Who visits downtown to see land uses? —Mitchell Silver

6.1 Introduction to Reproducing the Perception of Place The reproduction of the perception of place depends on three critical dimensions of behavioural, social, and perceptual. We use all three as the primary basis of this chapter’s research study. In doing so, we delve into what Chapin (1974) defines as the determinants of activity patterns, namely ‘propensity to engage in the activity’, and ‘opportunity to engage in the activity’. In both sets of activity patterns, we aim to find methods of reproducing the perception of place to create opportunities of socio-spatial interrelations (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a, 2012b, 2020). This then leads to the creation and recreation of memories that are attached to the events or activities of the place. This chapter’s selected case study is a public realm, called the Old Market Square (OMS), located in the City of Nottingham, the UK. This is the study of not the place itself but the activities and events that constantly happen and reoccur as part of maximising the place’s potential uses (Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012a, 2012b). The privatisation of public places has become a common trend in many contemporary public places. This has led to the influence of temporariness and temporary use of public places on the image of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a). The analytical study of the temporary events/uses proves to be a very innovative yet challenging approach in architecture and urbanism. The selected case study events are defined as the actual regular or irregular events, spatial uses, and temporary structures taking place in the OMS boundaries. This public realm (and many of its kind) includes many privatised temporary events that enable us to brand it as a pseudo-public place. We look into this case from the perspective of socio-spatial transition, specifically from the temporary transformative events and activities that constantly reproduce different experiences © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_6

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and perceptions of the place. In doing so, the correlation between social, behavioural, and perceptual aspects is highly relevant to evaluate each socio-spatial transition against another.

6.2 An Overview of Social-Behavioural-Perceptual Correlations In this research chapter, we select behavioural analysis through observational mapping, social analysis through questionnaires and in-depth interviews of multiple stakeholders, and perceptual analysis through mental mapping and the sociopsychological analysis of those generated mental maps.

6.2.1 Behavioural Analysis Through Observational Mapping For behavioural analysis, a qualitative measurement can make a considerable contribution to the understanding of human behaviour (Osgood, 1957; Perin, 1970; Walmsley, 1988) and how we develop the memory of places. The behavioural analysis is expressed as a “behavioural schedule” by Tonn (1984, pp. 201–223) and is an observational method to measure individuals’ behavioural strategy, movements, spatial inter-relations, and constraints. Walmsley (1988, p. 49) adds to this theory by arguing that individuals have a sort of “socio-spatial schemata”, which could develop a sense of ‘navigation’ and could be used as a ‘guide to behaviour’ (Also see Cheshmehzangi, 2014). Therefore, an observational mapping for the behavioural analysis can illustrate the individuals’ actual spatial behaviour in the environment. Similar to space syntax theories, it is vital to undertake sequential observational research and/or analysis. Thus, the procedure of observational mapping measures the static and dynamic activities of the urban environment. It observes the socio-spatial interrelations and measures the levels of interaction and activity pattern. In doing so, we could measure the spatial determinants of activity patterns (Chapin, 1974) as indicators or influential elements of the environment on human behaviour. To conduct such research, we select the ‘unobtrusive observational method’, which tracks human behaviours in space through ‘disguised field analysis’ (Denzin, 1968; Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Brown, 2009). The disguised field analysis help to produce a more accurate observational analysis. It will also ensure that activity patterns are analysed with fewer variables. Here, the repeated behavioural tracking of the same place with different events and activities are analysed based on ‘evaluative observational variables’ to ensure we have valid conclusions based on collected observations and mappings (Babbie, 1992; Brown, 2009). The study would then include a variety of features, such as the temporary physical interventions, socio-environmental values,

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behavioural evaluations, social and environmental characteristics of the place, spatial interrelations, and related identities of the place. It is important to note that behaviour cannot be expressed merely by analysing the objective environment (Walmsley, 1988). Thus, it is essential to identify what influences behaviour and what are the socio-environmental values and indicators determine or inform behaviours. It is believed that the connection between the environment and behaviour is evident so that we can identify the “changing societal behaviour and values” (ibid., pp. 135–154). As Ittelson (1974, p. 208) asserts, the behavioural analysis needs to conduct a holistic approach that can explore the “real-world environment and behaviour as a whole”. This means that we can record and map the behavioural reactions in order to identify and present a series of data as the concerns of everyday environments (Craik, 1968). However, Barker (1968, p. 29) argues that there are significant variables in observational analysis of human behaviours by giving an example that: “…one person may enter a drugstore to buy medicine for a friend; another may enter to buy poison for an enemy”. In this respect, we can conclude that observing behaviours alone cannot represent the perception of place (Tuan, 1989; in Boal & Livingstone, 1989, p. 77). Thus, many variables cannot sustain a complete knowledge because of the behavioural analysis. As empirical research, we utilise behaviour analysis in the case study research of this chapter. Thus, we can argue that the interrelatedness of behaviours and spaces should not only be understood through rules and resources (Dyck, 1990), but should rather become explicit in different dimensions and scales of social sciences. Thus, similar to discussions of Walmsley and Lewis (1993), the research approaches to the study of human and the environment ought to concern individuals as the essence of a social environment and not participants of a structured space.

6.2.2 Social Analysis: Questionnaires and In-Depth Interviews The observational analysis can give a broad knowledge of social processes and how they are actually happening. The mapping data is collected in the field and is often taken place in natural settings. However, the major concern for observing human behaviours in the environment is the actual recording system, which cannot be accurate enough to represent the research findings. The selection process for behavioural analysis cannot be done in a random approach and cannot directly interpret sociospatial understanding of a particular place. The social understanding of behaviours and spatial interrelations of a public realm cannot be merely approached in the light of professional observation, knowledge, and (past) experience. As a result, we can argue that there is a need for an additional methodology that facilitates the researcher to identify the “…meaning that the environment has for an individual” (Walmsley, 1988, p. 51). For this, we have to recognise those city dwellers come across many different variables in everyday life. They are responsive and have specific sentiments

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and relations to their environments, and can both adapt environments and adjust to their environments (ibid., p. 157). In this respect, we can conclude that there is a direct connection between the socio-spatial analysis of a place’s social and environmental aspects. The social analysis explores an anthropocentric view of the social understanding of a place as well as the individuals. Pocock and Hudson (1978) refer to this as the analysis of the image of the urban environment through the eyes of the residents (Also see Pocock, 1982, 1983). They argue individuals have certain feelings for their environments, and they can only be analysed through the “study of appraisive imagery” (ibid., in Walmsley, 1988, p. 44). They also suggest two different kinds of appraisive images. The first kind is the ‘evaluative image’, with which individuals express their views and give a direct understanding of their feelings and sense of a place. The other is the ‘effective image’, with which respondents typically assess the environmental qualities and specify their concerns about how they feel and see a particular environment (ibid.). To apply these in a survey-based analysis, we have to undertake a series of questionnaires to understand the meaning and social concerns of environments through the eyes of individuals (Zarzar & Guney, 2008, p. 42). In this regard, a questionnaire survey helps collect information and data directly from a larger number of respondents. The question types need to be ‘nominal-polytomous’ or/and ‘open-ended’, so that the respondents have more options to express their responses (Mellenbergh, 2008, pp. 211–236). This will ensure that the collected data can have an indirect statistical layout to generalise the findings and responses better. In practice, social analysis alone does not offer accurate and compelling data; therefore, there are limitations to define social values, standards, and behaviours. The significant deficiency is that a social science research cannot be done based on statistical surveys and analysis. Hence, question types need to be crafted directly for the purpose of research with short answers and simplified analysis. It needs to be structured as a feedback analysis than the actual interview so that the respondents follow a sequence of questions to scrutinize a design problem (Jones, 1981). They need to be pre-coded questions that can help involving the respondents in expressing their opinions. In addition, an in-depth interview is a major research strategy that can facilitate the researcher with a recorded data. This could be conducted as a method to interview other stakeholder groups. The interviews can cross-check the observations and questionnaires to better understand and analyse various social scenes (Bryman, 1988; Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020). The interviews need to follow an unstructured approach, in which the researcher provides “minimal guidance and allows considerable latitude for interviewees” (ibid., p. 46). This, again, is a supporting method for this research study, which is undertaken exclusively rather than in a survey approach. This is considered a qualitative research method that can comply with the quantitative analysis of the questionnaires. Moreover, it can also examine certain materials in order to support the “explanation of the subject-choice process” (Woods, 1986, pp. 117–118), which is also a developing method for both the observational and perceptual analysis.

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6.2.3 Perceptual Analysis: Mental Mapping The perceptual analysis sits in between the social and behavioural analyses. The perceptual analysis employing mapping produces impressive results but offers very little information about people and their environments. In general, the human perception is in constant relation and change by “innate mechanisms” (Walmsley, 1988, p. 74). Smith (1974) is probably one of the first researchers who urged social scientists to identify the need for understanding how memory manipulates perception. He discusses how perception develops and how experiencing the environment can become a creative proposition to identify the perceived knowledge (of the place) through the eyes of the respondents. Undoubtedly, perceptual analysis is an important factor in understanding the socio-spatial patterns of the environment. For Smith (1974, pp. 48–55), perception is a sense that not only intrudes motivation and spatial relation but is also related to the interpretation and dynamics of symbols within the environment (Cheshmehzangi, 2011, 2015). He defines four types of symbolism that are relevant to the interpretation process. These four types are: ‘archetypal symbolism’, ‘associational symbolism’, ‘acculturated symbolism’, and ‘symbolism of the familiar’ (Smith, 1974; also see Cooper, 1974; Smith, 1977; Cheshmehzangi, 2020, p. 72). The last type, in particular, helps to identify knowledge that is not necessarily memorable but symbolic. According to Smith’s research work (1974), we can see a structure to the human perception that is subject to growth and development. This can influence the meaning and memory of the environment to the individuals. It can also be a major indicator of human behaviour, spatial inter-relations, and places’ socio-spatial patterns. The perceptual analysis can only be done by evaluating the individual’s perceived knowledge and image of the environment (De Jonge, 1962, 1967). This data collection needs to indicate the visual and socio-spatial configuration in mind. Hence, this needs to be supported by additional mappings of a place’s physical and social activities (Kaplan, 1976, 1987a, 1987b; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1982). This type of mapping technique is often referred to as cognitive mapping or mental mapping. This is a structuralist approach, which signifies human perception through a process of change, adaptation, and familiarisation (Halford, 1972; Moore, 1976; Hart, 1984; Matthews, 1984a, 1984b). Mental mapping is described as an analogical model that stores certain knowledge in the brain. This forms an abstract form of the image of the environment, which Walmsley (1988, p. 24) describes as an object-to-subject formation of environmental knowledge: …perception of an object excites a pattern of neural responses such that and image of the object is recorded in the brain. In order to recall a mental representation of an object, an individual re-excites the appropriate neural links.

Mental mapping is also a systematic framework of relative knowledge to assimilate environmental image, memory, and meaning (Day, 1976). This could be supported by a series of cognitive or mental mapping. These maps are usually expressed as sketch maps. The recording should also include the sequence with which the maps

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are produced. As Lynch (1960, pp. 86–87) argues, this theory indicates that image and spatial understanding of place develop or grow in various dimensions. The relationships between the individuals and the environment are recorded as forms of familiarisation and perceptual development based on what Lynch (ibid.) argues as that the evaluation from the mental mapping that can signify a series of data: • The ‘lines of movement’, which are the familiar routes from the point of the entrance towards the whole journey of the individual in the environment; • The ‘enclosing outline’ or boundaries of the environment; • The ‘repeating pattern’ and additional detailing of the environment that enables the individual to develop image and memory; • The ‘connections’ from the immediate context, whereby the individual express the broader knowledge of the environment; • The ‘familiar element’ or the familiarity with which individuals remember and image the environment. We also add that mental mapping analysis can provide information about the level of interactions as well as the level of perceived information based on the spatial configuration in mind. This structured mapping technique can exemplify a direct perception of individuals from the environment. The “designative images” produced by the respondents are used as a tool for interpreting the environmental knowledge (Downs & Stea, 1973, p. 80). They are often considered as a guide to behaviour and action. The mental maps offer a “frame of reference for organising activity, as a basis for individual intellectual growth and a provider of emotional security” (ibid.). Walmsley and Lewis (1993, p. 65) have also studied Lynch’s methodology for mental mapping and have concluded that the sketch or mental maps are informative images with certain evaluative qualities: (1) (2) (3) (4)

The importance of the “sequence in which elements were incorporated into the map”; The possibility to identify the “gaps in an individual’s knowledge” of the environment; The various “mapping styles”, which highlights the level of interactions and interrelations with the environment; The “scale distortions” that give a broader knowledge about one’s perception of the context and its connections.

In this regard, we can refer to mental mapping as the most relevant method to stimulate or measure one’s perception. To support the mental mapping analysis, the findings from the social analysis could capture a more defined knowledge of the environment. This could partly incorporate synthesis and generalised knowledge of the urban environment, which could also highlight what we remember in mind in the form of memory and meaning.

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6.3 Case Study Research: A Brief Introduction Nottingham is a ‘city and a unitary authority area’, which is ranked the seventh largest in the United Kingdom (Pointer, 2005). Nottingham is the largest city in the East Midlands region, in terms of both population and urban size. The city of Nottingham has a thriving city centre; particularly with a vibrant retailing capacity, social attractions, and historical places. The Old Market Square (OMS) is centrally located in the urban core of Nottingham and has for long been considered as the heart of the city (Figs. 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3). The new landscape design for the OMS was completed in 2007, following many critical views about the previous design lacking permeability, flexibility, and accessibility (Fig. 6.4). The redesigned square is strategically located between four anchor points of Nottingham’s city centre (Cheshmehzangi, 2012b). These major points are the two major retail and transportations nodes in the northern and southern parts of the city centre; and the two historical nodes (i.e., Nottingham’s Castle and the Lace Market), which are located at the western and eastern sides of the city centre. The OMS is central to these four major nodes, benefitting from a constant pedestrian flow as

Fig. 6.1 The location of the Old Market Square (OMS) in the central node of Nottingham’ urban core (Source Adapted from Google Earth Maps, 2019 map of Nottingham’s City Centre)

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Fig. 6.2 The City of Nottingham in diagram (Source Author’s own)

Fig. 6.3 The connectivity of OMS with its proximity and major nodes of the city (Source Author’s own)

well as being a destination of its own. The new design added significant flexibility to this urban space (see Fig. 6.4) and has aimed to recreate the original sense of the square (as a market place). The OMS also creates many possibilities for various temporary activities. There are also fixed elements such as seating areas, raised green landscaping (including small trees), and a set of water features. Many commercial and retail programmes articulate the edges of this public realm. To the east, the Nottingham Council House sits as a major landmark; and to the west, some water

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Fig. 6.4 The transition of OMS from 2004 to 2007 (and 2019) (Source Adapted from Google Earth Maps, 2019 map of Nottingham’s City Centre)

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features are available. This public realm is the original setting for Nottingham Goose Fair (until 1928) and has traces of its past as a market place. The city’s historical wall also goes through the middle of the OMS, which implies the importance and historical value of the site. It is also the city’s largest existing public realm, which is entirely open and pedestrianised. The OMS is commonly regarded as a ‘city square’ or a ‘market square’, which are both generic terms for such public places. The redesigned OMS is like a blank canvas (Cheshmehzangi, 2012b). It accommodates many temporary activities and events, which continuously change the perception of the place. Here, we select some of the prominent socio-spatial examples of the OMS, some that occur regularly, and some that happen once a year. We then evaluate how they influence the reproduction of experiences, perception, and memory of the place.

6.4 Data Analysis and Findings: Place Reproduction and Memory (Re-)Creation Out of the 12 events that were studied in a cycle of 12 months, we select four examples of (1) no events/activities, (2) The once-a-year Christmas Market (or commonly known as the German Market) during the winter period, (3) Regular temporary Fruits and Vegetables Market, and (4) The once-a-year Nottingham Beach (or The Riviera) during the summer period. Each example is unique. For instance, in example 1, the OMS is like a blank canvas, often seen as a threshold between two busy nodes of the city, a place to meet, or a place to sit and talk/eat with friends. In example 2, the OMS becomes a celebratory space of Christmas festival with leisure and retails uses, mainly oriented around shopping, playing, eating, and drinking. In example 3, the regularity of the temporary event is based on the original use of the OMS, i.e., the market use. The market-based uses are interactive and offer a local sense of the place. Finally, in example 4, the OMS becomes a playful place of fun, joy, and entertainment. The city’s transit point becomes a point of pause, including many activities, such as playing games, relaxation, dancing, eating, and drinking. This is a genuine case of a public place with multiple uses, multiple events, multiple images, and multiple experiences. Each experience creates and recreates a new sense of place through its temporary use and temporality of place (Cheshmehzangi, 2012b). And each time, each experience generates a new memory of the place. This happens in a cycle of creation and recreation, and sometimes so effective that the new memory replaces the old ones. In the following sections, we look at each case through three sets of analyses: behavioural, social, and perceptional. For behavioural, observational mapping is done through unobtrusive people tracking methods, with four rounds of behavioural mapping and each round with 25 participants (i.e., 100 in total; collected data is aggregated, and one sample is used for each example). The behaviour tracking is done for a timeframe from the time they enter the main entrance nodes of the OMS until

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they leave the place or they interact/engage with activities of the place. This is also supported with a set of various mappings, including modes of engagement, movement and pedestrian flow, spatial interactions, the density of flow, and the hierarchy of nodes in the OMS. The results for each example is summarised in a table. This is then followed by social analysis, which includes three sets of analysis, including (1) evaluating users and their purpose of visit to the OMS, (2) evaluating users and frequency of their visits to the OMS, and (3) evaluating indicative significance and values of the OMS (to the users). In doing so, the study is also supported by a sampling analysis method of the users’ experiences in terms of their expectation (of place), impression (of place), attachment (to place), accessibility and structure, and social values of the place. The social analysis data is from 25 participants for each example, and is summarised in a comprehensive table. Finally, for the perceptual analysis, we conduct a mental mapping of 10 participates for each example. This includes three sets of materials for (1) the mental mapping exercise, asking participants to draw the place on site in the specific moments, (2) evaluating the first drawn element of the sequence of mapping from their mental maps, and (3) assessing the typology of sketch mental maps for the OMS in its specific time and use (Cheshmehzangi, 2012a, 2012b). The findings are summarised in a separate table, including two data analysis charts and three samples of sketch mental maps drawn by the participants. The following four sub-sections summarise the findings. Each sub-section is dedicated to a case study example, which includes three comprehensive tables for the above analyses.

6.4.1 Example 1: The Old Market Square (OMS) Without Any Temporary Events/Activities Tables 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 are the summaries of behavioural, social, and perceptual analyses of the OMS with no temporary events or activities, which is more than 60% of the year time-cycle.

6.4.2 Example 2: The Old Market Square (OMS) with the Christmas Market in Winter Time Tables 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6 are the summaries of behavioural, social, and perceptual analyses of the OMS with the Christmas/German Market during the winter times. This event typically lasts for around one month during the month of December. The temporary event includes temporary structures, market stalls, a Christmas tree, and other activities for leisure, eating, and drinking opportunities. The temporary event includes many temporary retail stalls normally placed in the main entrance and street/junction at the northeast of the OMS. The Christmas tree is normally

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Table 6.1 Summary of behavioural analysis for example 1 of the OMS case study Behavioural analysis of example 1—The OMS without any temporary events/activities

The plan drawing of OMS during October period with no temporary activities or events

The socio-spatial analysis: arrival and interactive points, and interactive and non-interactive façades

Behavioural tracking analysis based on pedestrian movement in OMS

The analysis of nodes in the OMS, indicating one major node in the northeast side of the site

Behavioural analysis and types of activities in OMS, including gathering/meeting, standing and seating

The overall analysis of movement and pedestrian flow, indicating the main flow in two edges of the OMS area

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Table 6.2 Summary of social analysis for example 1 of the OMS case study Social analysis of example 1

Descriptions More than half of the participants visiting the square (while no activities are taking place) are staying for a short time to relax and eat. The majority of these are either working or studying at a close range to the square. In a much generalised approach, their visits’ purpose and frequency have an indirect but crucial impact on how they perceive knowledge from the square. Under this circumstance of no activities taking place, the OMS appears to be defined as a destination on its own, whereby activities are usually anticipated In a very general approach, the sense of expectation is not much different from different participants. However, the sense of impression and attachment vary significantly, depending on the range of uses and the level of interactions. The openness of the OMS and the history of the place are the most perceptible matters to most participants. On the other hand, the importance of social values and accessibility and structuring of the square becomes more vital for people who visit the square the least Although both impression and attachment values are very different for the older participants, many consider OMS dependent on the Council House and the water features/fountains. The availability of seating seems to add a significant value to the overall use of the square. Nevertheless, this matter is considered both an impression of the OMS and its social values. For the majority, the OMS remains a relaxing point with great views of the Council House dominating the place’s whole attraction values. As a result, for this case study event, the most significant value or element of the OMS is considered the dominance of the Council House

positioned close to the Council House, allowing for some room for social interaction, photo-taking, signing, and gathering.

Sample 1 of the mental map

Sample 2 of the mental map

Evaluating the first drawn element, which is mainly the Council House

Perceptual analysis of example 1

Sample 3 of the mental map

Typology of sketch mental maps vary largely between pictorial drawing, and plan/drawing resembling a map

Table 6.3 Summary of perceptual analysis for example 1 of the OMS case study

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Table 6.4 Summary of behavioural analysis for example 2 of the OMS case study Behavioural analysis of example 2—The OMS with the temporary Christmas Market

The plan drawing of OMS during December period with the Christmas/German Market

The socio-spatial analysis: arrival and interactive points, and interactive and non-interactive façades

Behavioural tracking analysis based on pedestrian movement in OMS

The analysis of nodes in the OMS, indicating one major node close to the Christmas tree

Behavioural analysis and types of activities in OMS, including gathering/meeting, standing and seating

The overall analysis of movement and pedestrian flow, indicating the main flow in two edges of the OMS area, as well as through the new activities

Social analysis of example 2

(continued)

The creation of the ‘Christmas Wonderland’, by using various Christmas ornaments apart from the Christmas tree, seems to be a very appealing add-on to the overall impression of the place. The general expectation is the Christmas atmosphere being the central theme or image of the place. Nevertheless, the use of different and scattered Christmas ornaments helped revive the sense of attachment to the event. Many participants consider the market area and the central part of the OMS to be the most signifying social parts of the whole place

The majority of the participants visit the OMS to visit the Christmas event or meet friends. For many, the central parts promote a new sense of place of mysterious and playful activities. However, after experiencing the place, many found these activities similar to the previous activities of the OMS. Out of all, nine of the interviewees claim to visit the OMS a few times a week. This fact may imply that more people are passing through the place rather than visiting the event as a purpose

Descriptions

Table 6.5 Summary of social analysis for example 2 of the OMS case study

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Social analysis of example 2

Table 6.5 (continued) The Christmas market and Christmas tree appear as the most significant elements of the OMS. It also seems that there is a greater attachment to the Christmas atmosphere and the additional ornaments in the place. The minimised seating availability is not a significant matter but having numerous empty and open spaces is not what people expected of the place. Moreover, the possibilities of having different places to remain longer in the area raise the interest in how people use other parts of the OMS differently

Descriptions

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Sample 1 of the mental map

Sample 2 of the mental map

Evaluating the first drawn element, which is between the Council House and the temporary event

Perceptual analysis of example 2

Sample 3 of the mental map

Typology of sketch mental maps is mainly based on plan/drawing resembling a map

Table 6.6 Summary of perceptual analysis for example 2 of the OMS case study

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6.4.3 Example 3: the Old Market Square (OMS) with the Regular ‘Fruits and Vegetables Market’ Tables 6.7, 6.8 and 6.9 are the summaries of behavioural, social, and perceptual analyses of the OMS with the regular fruits and vegetables market, which happens every month. This very short event lasts for one weekend only. The repetition of the market stalls in the central part of the square is very significant and is almost the same for all the monthly markets taking place in the OMS. During the year, other temporary markets also happen in the OMS. This example is studied during the month of May.

6.4.4 Example 4: the Old Market Square (OMS) with the Nottingham Beach Event During the Summer Period Tables 6.10, 6.11 and 6.12 summarise behavioural, social, and perceptual analyses of the OMS with the Nottingham Beach event during the summer period. This relatively long event lasts for almost two months. It is also a very popular event attracting many people from the local and regional areas. This is considered to be during the highpeak season of the OMS when many people can be attracted to the central parts of the city. During this event, up to 50,000 people usually visit and/or pass through the OMS each day. In general, the Nottingham Beach event is an innovative socialising event.

6.5 The Significance of Socio-Spatiality and Socio-Temporality of Place In reproducing the perception of place, we see the effectiveness of places’ dynamism through the variety of functionality/uses and the experiences offered because of them or by them (Cheshmehzangi, 2012b). Hence, the socio-spatiality and sociotemporality of place are important in defining and redefining the meaning and memory of places (in mind). This then enables us to form a sort of conception of the place, which leads to the image of a place, sense of place, and the critical act of recording memory or memories of places and/or events in places. Here, we explored these matters from the space-time frame of place, specifically emphasising the nexus between behavioural, social, and perceptual aspects of knowing and experiencing places. In the case study example of this chapter, we highlight how places are used playfully and differently. This idea could mean a positive impression we develop of a

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Table 6.7 Summary of behavioural analysis for example 3 of the OMS case study Behavioural analysis of example 3—The OMS with the regular Fruits and Vegetables Market

The plan drawing of OMS during the month of May with a temporary market event

The socio-spatial analysis: arrival and interactive points, and interactive and non-interactive façades

Behavioural tracking analysis based on pedestrian movement in OMS

The analysis of nodes in the OMS, indicating one major node in the (temporary) market place

Behavioural analysis and types of activities in OMS, including gathering/meeting, standing and seating

The overall analysis of movement and pedestrian flow, indicating the main flow in two edges and the central part (through the market) of the OMS area

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Table 6.8 Summary of social analysis for example 3 of the OMS case study Social analysis of example 3

Descriptions The gathered data indicates the majority of the participants’ purpose of visiting the place is to visit the fruit and vegetable market. Out of all, ten of the participants claim to visit the OMS on an occasional or very occasional basis. The rest of the participants are regular visitors to the OMS. This implies that the temporary market event offers both a possibility of a new place and a place for relaxation, meeting, and gathering. There is also a strong sense of attachment that indicates an associated memory of the place The regularity and earlier advertisement of the event have clearly enhanced the collective perception of the place. The general impression reflects on the shopping experience of the place. In addition, the attachment to the place is much stronger through the notion of ‘market’ in the OMS. The sense of belonging and essence of the place is enhanced by experiencing a related activity to the OMS. The regularity of event has a huge impact on how people experience the place For this case study event, the fruit and vegetable market comes into recognition as the most significant element of the OMS. The OMS dependency on the Council House is weakened through the general awareness and the growing consideration of market installations. The maximised availability of seating is considered a significant social value for only a few of the participants. Also, both the water features and the surrounding retail units have more vital values and better uses

place through its uses or activities, or it could simply be a sense of the moment that establishes the basis of our relations to the place. Moreover, it also enables us to continuously create and recreate place memory, which is predominantly correlated to the experience or experiences that we acquire from the socio-spatiality and socio-temporality of place. We also highlight that the way we behave in an urban environment depends on how we choose (or do not choose) our social purpose and experiences of the place. We may decide to socialise in a group or with an activity/event or become passive or become an inactive part of the event or activity. Our selection is a natural processing of our behavioural-social-perceptual nexus. In doing so, our perception of place is formed. We then image places based on sketch mental maps (as shown in samples of the case study examples) or pictures of what we record and remember. These are largely based on our imaginary and imagery of places, which

Sample 1 of the mental map

Sample 2 of the mental map

Evaluating the first drawn element, which is mainly the temporary event

Perceptual analysis of example 3

Sample 3 of the mental map

Typology of sketch mental maps vary largely between pictorial drawing, and pictorial plan/map with landmarks

Table 6.9 Summary of perceptual analysis for example 3 of the OMS case study

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Table 6.10 Summary of behavioural analysis for example 4 of the OMS case study Behavioural analysis of example 4—The OMS with ‘Nottingham Beach’/Nottingham Riviera

The plan drawing of OMS during the summer The socio-spatial analysis: arrival and season with the temporary Nottingham Beach interactive points, and interactive and non-interactive façades

Behavioural tracking analysis based on pedestrian movement in OMS

The analysis of nodes in the OMS, indicating two major nodes in central and western parts

Behavioural analysis and types of activities in The overall analysis of movement and OMS, including gathering/meeting, standing pedestrian flow, indicating the main flow in two and seating edges and two central flows of the OMS area

are formed through experiences as well as direct and indirect interactions to place. In doing so, as places are utilised differently at various times, our perceptual knowledge of the environment is then reproduced based on individual experiences. Thus, a

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Table 6.11 Summary of social analysis for example 4 of the OMS case study Social analysis of example 4

Descriptions The majority of participants’ purpose of visiting the place is to visit the ‘Nottingham Riviera’ or the ‘Nottingham Beach’ event. Out of all, more than half of the participants claim to visit the OMS on an occasional basis. Similar to the Christmas market event, this implies that the beach event also offers a great range of activities and programmes that can bring people in for various uses and socialising experiences. The memory of the place is associated with the acts of visiting and engaging with the event There is a generalised understanding of the place that relates to its new image and meaning of a place. The expectation is mainly to see and to experience the Nottingham beach event. This also reflects people’s impression and attachment to the place appearing to be a playground and joyful event. The majority of the participants have the same opinion towards considering the temporary beach as the most significant node and social value of the place. Also, there is a coherent experience throughout the OMS For this case study event, the beach event and the water fountain area emerge as the most significant parts/elements of the OMS. The overall dependency of the memory of the OMS on the Council House is weakened due to greater attention towards the central and the western parts of the OMS. All participants welcome the provision of additional informal seating, and they mostly consider the inner pedestrian flows as a significant success to the overall socio-spatial use and transformation of the place

particular place could become a place of new activity, new events, new experiences, and ultimately, a place of new memory. The findings from the case study examples indicate a variety of experiences that define a range of perceptions and memories of one particular place. The playfulness of the place through various uses indicates the significance of the place’s socio-spatiality through our experiences. These could form our personalised or collective memory of the place, dependent on a range of socio-temporal factors. These factors include many variables, such as social events, uses or functionality of place, the density of people in place, mode of engagement, level of interactions, spatial configurations, pedestrian flow, and movement in place, recognition of nodes and landmarks, the

Sample 1 of the mental map

Sample 2 of the mental map

Evaluating the first drawn element, which is mainly the temporary event

Perceptual analysis of example 4

Sample 3 of the mental map

Typology of sketch mental maps vary largely between plan/drawing resembling a map and pictorial drawing

Table 6.12 Summary of perceptual analysis for example 4 of the OMS case study

6.5 The Significance of Socio-Spatiality and Socio-Temporality of Place 239

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regularity of uses, weather conditions, our behaviour in relation to other behaviours, etc. As we become more aware of opportunities to reproduce the perception of place, we could also continuously shape our memory of places. In this shaping (and sometimes reshaping) process, we define and develop our specific social values and interrelations to the place. In doing so, the cognitive development process of knowing places helps us to remember places based on the memories that are acquired through the behavioural-social-perceptual relations. This conception is then the essence of our memory and the significance of place in mind.

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Chapter 7

Remembering Through Naming and Palimpsests: Case Study Example of the City of Shiraz, Iran

In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but what we refuse to destroy. —John Sawhill

7.1 Memory of Palimpsests and the Act of Remembering The act of remembering is an integral part of sustaining the memory of places through their palimpsests. The regenerative transformations of cities (Cheshmehzangi and Munday, 2021) may sometimes change the physicality of places. However, our memories could still be attached to the histories of places that we indefinitely remember. Regardless of their historical significance, there is the rhetoric of time, memory, and origins (De Groote, 2014) in the way places are distinguished and remembered (Huyssen, 2003). The act of remembering itself is widely recognised as a phenomenological study of the relationship between memory and place (Donhoe, 2014), through which we recognise the palimpsests of various types (e.g., memory, tradition, and place). This fact is more visible in the cases of urban memorial landscapes and political situations (Pirker et al., 2019), monumental environments (Mitchell, 2003), as well as cases of displacement (Erll, 2011), contextualisation of collective memory (Farahani et al., 2015), etc. Some of these examples refer to the matters of historical importance (Bigsby, 2006) or the significant past, which are the essence of how places of memory are developed and remembered. In the case of street renaming in New York City, Rose-Redwood (2009) reflects on the point that places of memory are both constructed and contested (Nora, 1989; Gross, 1990; Verdery, 1999; Alderman, 2000; Cresswell, 2004; Legg, 2004; Pred, 2004; Crinson, 2005; Till, 2005; and many more). In this regard, street or place naming is also identified to be an effective tool in forming and legitimizing cultural and political identities of the built environments (Colgate, 1871; Azaryahu, 1992; Yeoh, 1992; Alderman, 1996; Berg & Kearns, 1996; Myers, 1996; Faraco & Murphy, 1997; Hagen, 2007; Kearns & Berg, 2002; Light, 2004; Monmonier, 2006; Alderman, © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 A. Cheshmehzangi, Urban Memory in City Transitions, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1003-5_7

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2008; Graham & Howard, 2008; Rose-Redwood, 2009; Cheshmehzangi, 2020). A major output from such process is the production of symbolic memories (Dovey, 1992; Leib, 2002; Jacob & Hellström, 2010; Kim, 2010; Cheshmehzangi & Heath, 2012; Avdikos, 2015; Adewale et al., 2020; Carpio-Pinedo & Gutiérrez, 2020), and those that may or may not be relative to their origins in both physical and cognitive forms. In reality, some memorable moments are short-lived, but the memory of places through their names could be lifelong in our minds. Hence, the act of remembering is often identified as a dialogue between the present and the past through the many representations (of the city) (Samuelson, 2008), the memoir/memoire (Pirker et al., 2019), and the architectonic of place memory (Kissick, 2016). Our act of remembering depends on what is exhibited as the presentation of history, heritage, and culture in the built environments (Cheshmehzangi, 2011, 2012; Güvensoy, 2020). In doing so, we continuously develop our cognition of places through open spaces of urban palimpsests (Wilmink, 2013) as we construct the past through cultural translation politics in the urban environments (Pakier and Stråth, 2012; Sywenky, 2014). Both acts of personal and public remembering (Schofield, 2020) are part of our memory images and places, as well as the way they perform through their political acts, cultural accountability, and historical significance. This is beyond the physical form of the memory in architecture (Krishnamurthy, 2012), the memory of city imaginaries (Demirtürk, 2008), or the memory of urban spaces through their historical past (Herman, 1999; Crinson, 2005; Espiga, 2013; Cheshmehzangi, 2014). In a way, the argument is similar to echoing palimpsests (Khalil, 2019) and those that we exceptionally choose to remember through memoryscapes of the cities (Trostel, 2016); as well as how they are/were remembered over a period or a series of time. Thus, we can argue the act of remembering that leads to the formation of our memory of places is beyond just the physicality of the urban environments. As places experience a range of transitions, their names may or may not be remembered in a single form or title/appellation. Those that we choose to remember are the ones that have been formed from the memory of the historical or collective past. Some could be representational, and some could simply be relative to specific locations and the socio-political status of the node, building, street, and place. Therefore, this chapter aims to cover the study of remembering through naming and palimpsests through a city case study example of socio-political transition. In doing so, we shed light on the importance of naming and renaming places in cities, especially those experiencing socio-political transitions as part of their growth or decay. Whichever is the direction, place naming is a relative factor, which fits well with the central theme of this book, i.e., the significance of urban memory in city transitions.

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7.2 Remembering Through Naming: Our Response to Toponyms Transitions When places are changed through their names, and not through their physical and visual forms, we are likely to remember them through/with their old names. Alderman (2002, p. 99) strongly discusses the role of spatial representation in the form of street naming by arguing how they are remembered in our everyday life: Commemorative street naming is an important vehicle for bringing the past into the present, helping weave history into the geographic fabric of everyday life. Named streets, like any place of memory, can become embroiled in the politics of defining what is historically significant or worthy of public remembrance.

He also adds to this viewpoint that the politics of naming streets/places is a sort of ‘scaling of memory’, which is a socially contested process in how places are remembered (Alderman, 2003). Moreover, from other perspectives, place naming is identified as the interpretation of cultural landscapes (Alderman, 2016) and the re-interpretation of the city in a new political (or socio-political) epoch (Cre¸tan & Matthews, 2016). The way cities generally deal with such impactful transitions is often amazingly occurred through complex transitions of contested memories, toponymic, socio-cultural conflicts, and preferences of the public (Stewart, 2008; Berg & Vuolteenaho, 2009; Lin et al., 2010; Rose-Redwood et al., 2010; Huang, 2011; Shoval, 2013; Cheshmehzangi, 2015; Giraut & Houssay-Holzschuch, 2016; Cardoso & Meijers, 2017; Rose-Redwood et al., 2017; Cheshmehzangi & Li, 2020). The process in which people remember names or choose to forget them is a captivating development of cognition that requires time, acceptance, and considering what to choose between ‘remembering the past’, or ‘recognising the new’. The choice remains with us. Otherwise, it could be reinforced through other means. The examples of selecting and applying context-specific names to respond to particular locational and representational matters (Alderman, 2000; Alderman & Inwood, 2013; Gilmour, 2015; Brasher et al., 2017; Vuolteenaho, 2017) are often what we see in the process of renaming places, such as streets, squares, and nodes of the city. For instance, in many examples of naming and renaming processes in colonial and post-colonial cities (Orlove, 1993; Handley, 2000; Yeoh, 2003; Dora, 2006; Nevins, 2008; Bigon & Njoh, 2015; Moslund, 2015; Wakumelo et al., 2016; Mamvura et al., 2017; Levisen & Sippola, 2020), we see fluid forms of identities of the past (Berg & Vuolteenaho, 2009) and the tangible implications of the past on the present (Kroeker, 2003). We also see differences in responding to toponyms transitions, some that suggest an earlier acceptance and some that highlight the gradual pace of forgetting and/or remembering. In specific socio-spatial contestation cases, we see continuous renaming processes and re-remembering as two conflicting points of creating and sustaining memory of places. We often see it is not a simple change in naming places but the time required to make such changes happen and become the new collective memory of places. As part of the spatial identities that are offered through the boundary of urban places (Massey, 2005), we see the effectiveness of relational identities and place attachments, which are often nurtured through naming, symbolism, and recognition

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of various types. We also see symbolic power of places (Rose-Redwood, 2009) as we remember them through naming practices and the imposition of the legitimate past and present (Bourdieu, 1991). Hence, as we grow to remember places through their names, we continuously strengthen or build on our cognition of places, which are naturally attached to our minds and the act of remembering. Some naming or renaming could be associated with places of symbolic importance (Dwyer, 2000), which could be a historical, heritage-based, critical moment in history, a hero or an important local/national character, specific societal values, a sort of advocating remembrance, etc. The reproduction of places through renaming them is, however, a difficult task. It is not always the new name that would be remembered, but the name that people choose to remember through the course of time. The temporal dimension for such cases is stimulating, as time may only partially matter in the process of transition. Time could be static or dynamic in processing the memory of places through their names. Even through generations, some places are so attached to their old names that the new name itself becomes part of the past. The case of the Old Market Square in the City of Nottingham, UK (see Chap. 6) is a good example of naming based on its palimpsest. However, the locals remember and still refer to the place as the ‘Market Place’ (Cheshmehzangi, 2012). Hence, there is this enduring symbolic attachment of place with its functionality that cannot be replaced through the power of physical change and spatial transition. As we remember things through naming, we continuously connect ‘self’ to ‘identity’ (Ferguson, 2009). For places, this could be the connection between placeness and distinctiveness of the place, or the relationship that becomes meaningful as the structure of memory we develop in our minds. This conception reflects on our earlier discussions on identity and memory of place (see Chap. 1). Also, similar to William’s expression of ‘identity by naming’ (William, 1989), this is something beyond the objectivity and materiality of places (Cheshmehzangi, 2020). Hence, toponymy is an integral part of remembering places as palimpsests, through which we continuously develop our memory of places and record our place-name relations. In this regard, we study the case of renaming places (e.g., streets, boulevards, nodes, bridges, etc.) as a symbolic act (Azaryahu, 1996). In doing so, we delve into the discourse of ‘the power of memory and remembering’ through city transitions of socio-political nature. This is supported by a city case study, which we explore through the study of transitions and renaming in multiple categories.

7.3 Case Study Research 7.3.1 Case Study Introduction The case of research for this chapter is the Historical City of Shiraz, Iran, the capital of Fars/Pars Province. The process of renaming places started soon after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, by replacing some of the old names of streets, boulevards,

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Table 7.1 The aerial view of the City of Shiraz in 1985 and 2015, showing 30 years of expansion, development of new satellite cities, in-fill urban developments, and extended urban networks (extracted and adapted from Google Maps)

The City of Shiraz in 1985, stretched from East to West, with a mountainous landscape

The City of Shiraz in 2015, with 30-years of development, stretching further in Southern regions, with new additions of several satellite cities towards the East and West, and many in-fill urban developments

squares/roundabouts, nodes, and buildings, with the new names that were more relevant to the ongoing socio-political transitions of that time. Four decades after, some of these places are still remembered through their old names. As shown in Table 7.1, the city has expanded largely in recent decades, with many new places, districts, satellite cities, etc. In these years, the city has also gone through significant transitions, some worthy of being studied in detail, and some highlight the importance of remembering through naming and palimpsests.

7.3.2 City Transitions and Their Impacts on Main Nodes of the City Before we study these naming and renaming examples of places in Shiraz, and the categories they belong to, we explore some examples of recent city transitions and their implications on place memory enhancement, continuation, and sustainment. In Tables 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, and 7.8, we show several examples of such rapid transitions in three phases of development in the past two decades. These

(continued)

2009 Map Four main projects in this area happened in the early 2000s: (1) revitalisation of the ruined areas after the flooding incident; (2) adding a new structure to the historical bridge of Ali-ebne-Hamzeh; (3) the gradual expansion of the local shrine; and (4) the completion of new bypasses utilising the inner riversides

2002 Map After the earlier flooding incident, much of the older residential communities of Dehbozorgi Neighbourhood were destroyed (blue oval). As one of the old town sub-areas, this area is mainly dominated by its historical ‘Isfahan Gate’ (orange circle) and historical-religious node of Ali-ebne-Hamzeh in the north of the river (red circle). The north-south connection used to be one of the entry routes to the city (green line)

Table 7.2 City transitions in older quarters of the city between 2002 and 2020 (Google Maps)

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2020 Map Street edges are formalised, cars can no longer use the old bridge, and the north-south main route is disconnected. Moreover, the areas around Ali-ebne-Hamzeh Shrine are pedestrianised as the area is expanded into a new local sightseeing destination

Table 7.2 (continued)

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Table 7.3 City transitions in Hafeziyeh Area of the city between 2002 and 2020 (Google Maps)

2002 Map Hafeziyeh area is a mixed-use complex, home to the tomb of the famous Persian Poet, Hafez (red circle), historical gardens (orange oval), a football stadium, an urban park, and some commercial and government buildings

(continued)

2009 Map The Tomb of Hafez (Hafeziyeh) started its expansion with the demolition of housing units in its vicinity. Also, we see the expansion of the historical gardens as part of a local rebranding of the area for leisure and entertainment

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2020 Map Hafeziyeh is expanded towards its north side, and the historical gardens become new leisure hubs for day-out activities, eating, and social life

Table 7.3 (continued)

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(continued)

2005 Map The redevelopment of the Shahrdari Square (meaning Municipality Square), under the new name of ‘Shohada Square’ (meaning Martyrs Square). The city prepares its formalisation of spaces and pedestrianisation of the historical quarters, which was continued more successfully in 2010s

2002 Map The heart of the old town has the remains of the old prison/castle from the Zand Dynasty, when Shiraz was the Persian capital city (yellow circle). The area was pedestrianised in the 1990s after the completion of an underpass crossing east to west. This also led to the temporary disappearance of Shahrdari Square (red circle), located in front of the municipality buildings

Table 7.4 City transitions in central core of the old town between 2002 and 2019 (Google Maps)

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2019 Map The new square is added with a new name based on its palimpsests of the past. Frontages are articulated and formalised, many routes are pedestrianised, and some in-fill development continues to happen

Table 7.4 (continued)

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Table 7.5 City transitions of Paramount-Setad link, between 2002 and 2020 (Google Maps)

2002 Map The already renamed Setad Square/roundabout (red circle) is one of the primary nodes in the city, connecting to older quarters through Zand Street on one axis, and the old Moshir-Fatemi Street (green line) with the Paramount Intersection (orange circle). The city’s perimeter block pattern is compact and represents its early modern development

(continued)

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2009 Map The old Setad Square (now Imam Hossein Square) disappears due to the city’s new metro line’s development. Its relatively long construction phase distorted the image of the old square/roundabout in this busy junction

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2020 Map The new square is completing where the new metro station is also added. The Paramount intersection remains almost unchanged in the physical form. The name has changed, and most people have forgotten the traces of the Paramount Cinema in this busy node of the city. The Paramount petrol station remains distinguished to many

Table 7.5 (continued)

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(continued)

2007 Map After many transitions, such as renaming and the disappearance of sculptures, the sizeable Vali-e-Asr square gradually disappeared due to the city’s new metro construction projects. The node became busier than ever, and traffic issues led to the eventual development of an iconic highway over the area

2002 Map Vali-e-Asr Square (red circle) used to be one of the first main arrival points to the city after traveling through the long Airport Road (green line). It was located in the intersection between the coach terminal, roads to old town areas, and Vali-e-Asr Park (orange oval). Towards the western sides, we see traces of old courtyard housing next to the city’s main cemetery

Table 7.6 City transitions of Vali-e-Asr Square & Park, between 2002 and 2020 (Google Maps)

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2020 Map The Vali-e-Asr square was eventually disappeared and was replaced with more sweeping boulevards under the new highway structures. Also, Vali-e-Asr park shrank in size as it accommodates much of the new highway’s structures and connections

Table 7.6 (continued)

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(continued)

2011 Map This significant shrine’s expansion finds its routes through the older residential quarters filled with many narrow lanes, courtyard houses, and poorer communities of the city. Also, new connections are formed with the adjacent Friday prayers’ mosque

2003 Map As the most significant religious site in the city, Shah-e-Charagh Shrine is a popular pilgrimage site, comprised of tombs of two brothers of the 8th Imam of Shia Muslims (red circle). The site is located in older quarters of the city, where new expansions started taking place earlier (orange oval). It is also located between the old town and outer city areas (green line)

Table 7.7 City transitions of Shah-e-Cheragh Complex, between 2003 and 2020 (Google Maps)

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2020 Map A new form has emerged with a much larger religious site in the midst of historical quarters of the city. The new complex has unrecognizable spatial configuration, new retail and commercial areas, and new open spaces. The main route connecting to the old town is now disconnected and diverted

Table 7.7 (continued)

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Table 7.8 City transitions of Ab Zangi District, between 2003 and 2020 (Google Maps)

2003 Map The main entrance to the city from the North, includes Ab Zangi/Ab-e Zangi District (Orange circle), the famous Qur’an Gate of the city (Red circle), and the new Iconic Shiraz (Grand) Hotel, and the old Luna Park (Blue circle) next to each other. The old stream (Red line), which does not exist anymore, used to the main landscape of this important node

(continued)

2012 Map The formalisation of urban parks, leisure and entertainment areas, and streetscapes where the city meets its main gate at the north was among the many projects of the late 1990s and 2000s. Ab Zangi, where the name Cheshmehzangi is originated from, represents an entry point to the City of Shiraz. It means Zangi Spring, ‘an example of not going too far’ (Sprachman et al., 2009)

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2020 Map The 2019 flooding that washed through the traces of the old stream led to a devastating incident. The north node of the city remains recognisable through the combination of landmarks, parks, its geographical location (as the arrival point to the city), and name of places like Abe Zangi or Qu’ran Road/Gate

Table 7.8 (continued)

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examples show the magnitude of in-fill development, neighbourhood upgrading, and regeneration across the city. The impacts of such city transitions on several nodes of Shiraz are remarkable in how the past is preserved/protected, augmented, or even disappeared through processes of redevelopment.

7.3.3 Data Analysis and Results: Remembering Through Naming In this sub-section, we look into some examples of place naming and renaming, those that were specifically changed after the 1979 revolution in Iran. In doing so, we realise some interesting transitions and changes that are important to be considered as part of the analysis of ‘remembering’ and ‘memory of places’ through naming. The recent decades of socio-political transitions have led to some valuable analytical views on the study of toponyms and place attachment, something that is not necessarily unique to the context of this case study. We also see the impacts of naming and renaming on a sense of place through specific palimpsests of the past. To achieve some tangible results, the study is primarily conducted through a literature review of recent transitions, renaming samples of the city (places/nodes, neighbourhoods, streets, boulevards, etc.), as well as available online documents of such changes (e.g., Janbozorog, 2017). The selected data is also cross-checked and verified with several local people from Shiraz. However, we are aware a detailed study would require a more detailed analysis and in-depth overview of the cases. In this regard, a more detailed study could (potentially) benefit from the study of historical maps (more than just the recent transitions), further interviews, and engagement with the city’s local communities. In doing so, the study would become more comprehensive, and the results could suggest more variations and critical views on the notion of renaming and remembering. The results in here, however, shed light on the main arguments of remembering through naming and palimpsests, feeding into the discussions of socio-political transitions, place-name memory relations, and significance of place in mind. Based on the results, we summarise seven categories of renaming as shown below and demonstrate some examples in Tables 7.9, 7.10, 7.11, 7.12, 7.13, 7.14, and 7.15. • Newly named intersections and roundabouts/squares, which are still remembered based on their old names (Table 7.9); • Primary and secondary streets/places, which are still remembered based on their old names (Table 7.10); • Newly named boulevards, which are still remembered based on their old names (Table 7.11); • Some areas, streets, and nodes, which are generally remembered through/based on their new and old names (Table 7.12); • Newly named nodes and areas that are still remembered via their old names, but are also partly remembered with their new names (Table 7.13);

Dar-or-Rahmeh Junction

30-metri Cinema Saadi

Setad Roundabout

Gaaz Roundabout Azadi Square

2

3

4

5

The old name and the new name both have numbers in them. The geographical memory of the node based on its distance to a local Cinema is remembered as the primary name of the place.

A three-way junction connecting to the main cemetery of the city is no longer an intersection. It is now turned into a square and renamed to represent afterlife heaven

This intersection was mainly known because of its location for ‘Paramount Cinema’ of the pre-revolution era, and the Paramount petrol station. The international name remains to be attached to this busy node of the city

Observation on type and implications

(continued)

Also, associated with its functional palimpsests, the name is attached to this place. The landmark feature of a ‘white tower with its burning gas at the top’ and the ‘resting lion statue’ brings memories of the past through the functional name of the place

Imam Hossein Square After a period of disappearance due to metro station construction and its recent reappearance, this roundabout/square is still mainly known by its old name, associated with its functional palimpsest

7-Tir Junction

Rezvan Square

15-Khordad Intersection

Paramount Intersection

1

New name and meaning

Old name and meaning

#

Table 7.9 A list of some of the newly named intersections and roundabouts/squares, which are still remembered based on their old names, mostly from the pre-revolution era

7.3 Case Study Research 263

Mosaddegh Roundabout

Khatoon Roundabout

Fakhr-Abad Roundabout

Kolbeh Roundabout

Atlasi Square

Shahrdari Roundabout

6

7

8

9

10

11

Table 7.9 (continued) The popularity of Mosaddegh as a political figure of modern Iran continues to grow. The renamed roundabout/square is still mainly remembered based on its symbolic character of importance rather than its random new name

Shohada Square

Gha’em Square

Saadi Square

Imam Hassan Square

Previously ‘Toopkhaneh Square’. Remembered mainly through its association with the municipality buildings on the adjacent side

The name Atlasi represents more than just a square/roundabout. It is the name of the area, street (also known with a different name), local shops, local restaurants, fast food, kebab shop, etc.

As the statue of Saadi was displaced to a few hundred yards from where it used to be before, the roundabout continues to have little connection to what it should genuinely correlate with—i.e., Saadi as a famous figure in the district. However, the old shanty towns of the area represent long memory of the past in this area

The old name appears to have a much stronger sense of attachment to the nearby street of the same name. Similar to ‘Setad’, it is easier to pronounce the word in the Persian language

Defa-e-Moghadas Square Despite adding a heroic statue in the middle of

this node through its old name

Ghadir Square

264 7 Remembering Through Naming and Palimpsests …

Old name and meaning

Dariush Street

Mushir Fatemi Avenue

Arya Street

Namazi Street

Shishegari Street

Pirnia Street

#

1

2

3

4

5

6

The naming in association with local industries of the area remains much stronger than the new name

The name ‘Namazi’ is more than just a street. It is attached to a roundabout/square, a central bus terminal, a new metro station, and a large hospital in the city. Named after a famous benefactor, it appears that Namazi’s good deeds are not forgotten

A more straightforward Persian name is likely to be remembered much easier than a long Arabic name of an angel

Despite its connection with the Pahlavi dynasty, the old name of the avenue is commonly used. It is likely that most people do not know the political status/significance of the old name

It is unlikely to hear the new name of the vibrant Dariush Street, with its old compact fabric of many retail units, commercial complexes, old façades, and beautiful landscape. The street still offers a wide range of shops

Observation on type and implications

(continued)

Salman Farsi Boulevard Again, an easier Persian name is likely to be remembered much easier than a long Arabic name

Jannat Street

Piroozi Street

Sour-Esrafil Street

Enghelab Avenue

Tohid Street

New name and meaning

Table 7.10 A list of some of the primary and secondary streets/places in Shiraz, which are still remembered based on their old names, mostly from the pre-revolution era

7.3 Case Study Research 265

Bahonar Street

Meysam Boulevard

13 Pashme-Shisheh Street

(continued)

The old name is associated with the local industries of the past, and the partial continuation of trade and businesses in the area

The operations of the Rishmak Production and Exports Co., started in the early 1970s, make the area to be known for its industry and local production. The old name remains in mind as the operations are still ongoing

The old name is associated with its old functionality, while the new is after a name of a person

12 Rishmak Street

Usually, the names with numbers are harder to be remembered. People can remember and name ‘Shapur’ much easier and faster than a date as the street name

Forsat-e Shiraz i Street

22-Bahman Street

Similar to above, the name-functionality factor plays a major part in remembering the street through its palimpsest

11 Sardkhaneh Street

Shapoor/Shapur Street

9

Faghihi Street

Associated with the old functionality of the area/community, the old name remains to be attached to its palimpsests

Janbazan Street The name that is associated with a larger level of

significant through its geographical significance

Sooratgar Street

8

Asad-Abadi Street

10 Podonak Street/Neighbourhood

Poostchi Street

7

Table 7.10 (continued)

266 7 Remembering Through Naming and Palimpsests …

Edalat Street

15 Adel Abad Street or Zendan Street

The old street name is associated with the old ‘International Hotel’, located at the southern junction of the street. Hence, the street is remembered in relation to its old name and symbol of the past

Mehr Street

Shohadaye Dinakan Street

17 International Street

18 Tachara Street

(continued)

The name Tachara has a sense of historical pride and cultural importance. Hence, it appears to be remembered with pride and a sense of attachment

After the 1979 revolution, most streets with female names were renamed. ‘Shahnaz’ indicates an informal perception of the place, while ‘Takhti’ reminds people of the political-heroic past. The latter appears more formal and harder to grasp

16 Shahnaz Street Takhti Street

The old name is associated with the main node of ‘prison’, which is a recognisable location in mind. The attachment of the street name and a large building down the street is an example of places of significance in mind

Shaban Boulevard The old name is linked to the district, and hence,

significance

14 Havabord Street

Table 7.10 (continued)

7.3 Case Study Research 267

The old name remains as an easier name for the cluster of local industries in the area

Farokhian Street

Ostad Dirin Street

20 Teymoori Street

21 Baghe-Safa Street

Named originally in association with the factories of Canada Dry and Bridgestone companies, the area as a whole is still linked with its industrial and production past

23 Canada-Bridgestone Area

Doran Street/Etehad Boulevard

As one of the old trade hubs of the southern gates to Shiraz, the name of the area is still associated with its past ‘Sare Dozak’ than the new name

22 Sare Dozak (Dozdak) or Old Ahmadi Hazrati Street

Despite the significance of calligraphy society in the vicinity, the older name appears to resemble the site in a large geographical space/scale

Named originally after a mythological figure of Persian culture and Tradition, it was then changed to a revolutionary institution. The old name, however, remains to be easier to remember. The old name is also the name of an old Iranian TV channel

19 Jame-Jam Street Jahad-e-Sazandegi Street

Table 7.10 (continued)

268 7 Remembering Through Naming and Palimpsests …

Pasdaran Boulevard

Shariati Boulevard

Rabbani Boulevard

Nasr Boulevard

Modarres Boulevard

3 Zerehi Boulevard