Abstract:
Landmarks are any natural or man-made structures that are recognized by the public of a
particular place that makes the place memorable for them. These are important in many ways
especially in an urban context; hence landmarks should be given high priority in the planning of a
city. Human memory keeps adapting to new places and regularly generates mental images to
make decisions on spatial aspects. Landmarks contribute to creating such a mental representation
of a particular place.
Urban environment consists of both hard & soft landscape elements. It is important to realize how
some of these landscape elements become landmarks. In this study, four fundamental rules
(Similarity, Proximity, Simplicity, Continuity) of Gestalt theory of visual perception have been used
to clarify the easiness of recognizing landscape elements; an object or feature as a landmark in
commuter’s mind.
A combined methodology of locational / photographic analysis and a route-based traveler analysis
was used to assess how people recognize the locations with reference to the landmarks by
considering hard and soft landscape elements.
The results revealed the distinct visual characteristics of hard landscape elements and the distinct
spatial character generated by soft landscape elements are important in creating memorable
landmarks. Therefore, the sensitive use of landscape elements according to the above two factors
can go a long way in creating a striking landmark. Spatial aspects of soft landscape landmarks can
lead to more pleasant urban spaces. This study will help future approaches in planning and
designing urban landmarks and streetscapes effectively.
