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<p>Lynch’s (1960) Theory of Imageability explores how individuals perceive and navigate urban environments, emphasizing the role of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. This theory highlights the significance of these elements in shaping people’s mental maps and enhancing their understanding and navigation of urban spaces. However, cultural tourism introduces complexities to Lynch’s framework due to its unique motivations, interests, and behaviours. This article investigates the relationship between visitor mobility patterns and urban morphology in the context of two cultural destinations: Bilbao and San Sebastian. The study utilizes Network Analysis of visitors’ GPS data to analyse the dynamics of visitor mobility within these urban environments. This data-driven approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how cultural destinations operate within their physical territories. Results reveal that both San Sebastian and Bilbao exhibit a distinct “D-shaped” mobility pattern, characterized by a clear and uncomplicated flow of movement. This finding aligns with Lynch’s theory (1960), emphasizing the importance of simplicity and legibility in shaping visitors’ cognitive maps and mental representations of the urban space. The concentration of cultural landmarks in the Old Town and the challenges of congestion and overtourism are brought to light through the network analysis of GPS data. The accompanying figures visually illustrate how the ease of navigation in these cities significantly contributes to the formation of visitors’ cognitive maps.</p>
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Lynch’s (1960) Theory of Imageability explores how individuals perceive and navigate urban environments, emphasizing the role of paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. This theory highlights the significance of these elements in shaping people’s mental maps and enhancing their understanding and navigation of urban spaces. However, cultural tourism introduces complexities to Lynch’s framework due to its unique motivations, interests, and behaviours. This article investigates the relationship between visitor mobility patterns and urban morphology in the context of two cultural destinations: Bilbao and San Sebastian. The study utilizes Network Analysis of visitors’ GPS data to analyse the dynamics of visitor mobility within these urban environments. This data-driven approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of how cultural destinations operate within their physical territories. Results reveal that both San Sebastian and Bilbao exhibit a distinct “D-shaped” mobility pattern, characterized by a clear and uncomplicated flow of movement. This finding aligns with Lynch’s theory (1960), emphasizing the importance of simplicity and legibility in shaping visitors’ cognitive maps and mental representations of the urban space. The concentration of cultural landmarks in the Old Town and the challenges of congestion and overtourism are brought to light through the network analysis of GPS data. The accompanying figures visually illustrate how the ease of navigation in these cities significantly contributes to the formation of visitors’ cognitive maps.

Visitor Mobility Patterns in Cultural Destinations: Exploring the Cognitive Maps of San Sebastian and Bilbao, Inspired by Lynch (1960)

GeoScape

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Lynch’s (1960) Theory of Imageability explores how individuals perceive and navigate urban environments, emphasizing the role of paths, edges, districts,...

Visitor Mobility Patterns in Cultural Destinations: Exploring the Cognitive Maps of San Sebastian and Bilbao, Inspired by Lynch (1960)

Published Online: Jun 29, 2024

Page range: 53 - 65

Received: Jul 18, 2023

Accepted: May 07, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2024-0004

Keywords
Cultural destinations, Mobility patterns, Network analysis of GPS data, Lynch, Imageability, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Cognitive Map

© 2024 Ibon Aranburu et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Visitor Mobility Patterns in Cultural Destinations: Exploring the Cognitive Maps of San Sebastian and Bilbao, Inspired by Lynch (1960)

Published Online: Jun 29, 2024

Page range: 53 - 65

Received: Jul 18, 2023

Accepted: May 07, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2024-0004

KeywordsCultural destinations, Mobility patterns, Network analysis of GPS data, Lynch, Imageability, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Cognitive Map

© 2024 Ibon Aranburu et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Cultural destinations, Mobility patterns, Network analysis of GPS data, Lynch, Imageability, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Cognitive Map