Empirical study of the mental representation of the image of the city (on the example of Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify the formed image of the territory in the perception of its inhabitants, using empirical research data for this. The main results of the study are that a comprehensive analysis of the mental representation of the urban space was carried out, on the basis of which the key elements of the image of the territory, the boundaries of the vernacular districts of the city, their urbanonymy were identified, as well as the significant role of urban open public spaces in the formation of the image of the territory. The authors come to the conclusion about the peculiarities of building images of cities, centered on symbolically significant elements and spaces that act as anchors for forming the image of a city in the perception of residents, attaching the population to the territory and constructing local identity.