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Legibility, intelligibility, mental images and cognitive and syntactical mapping are significant issues that help expose the spatial knowledge necessary for effective urban design. They also help us understand how a city’s new image is forming. This paper aims to present a new holistic approach to define urban design strategies that improve a city’s imageability through cognitive and syntactic concepts.

The study establishes a coherent framework by including residents’ mental images and space syntax theory’s descriptors to understand how residents perceive their physical environment. Using a mixed-methods research design, the authors studied the Iskenderun city center’s image and spatial design. First, the authors used descriptive analysis techniques (questionnaires, verbal interviews and cognitive mapping) and consulted 110 Iskenderun residents. Second, the authors used analytical analysis techniques to investigate the structural relations among city elements with the help of space syntax descriptors.

The results demonstrated the importance of applying combined descriptive and analytic techniques to provide an understanding of the city’s image. The authors also offered a proposal including the appropriate urban design strategies to promote Iskenderun city center’s imageability.

Applying this new coherent framework can support design decision-making for redesigning cities at the micro level and for planning new cityscapes at the macro level.

This study examines the time, place and theme constructs from the viewpoints of their theoretical configurations and potential applications in heritage conservation. The examination taps on the relationship of time to chronology, place to geography and theme to the human agency. Time, place and theme pose challenges in delineating workable definitions and in corroborating the resolvability of the terms into real-world applications. The challenges stem from the metaphysical nature of the constructs and the conjectural interpretability of the associated connotations.

The humanistic setting of the study supports qualitative research and information assessment methods. Information to support the theoretical objective (configurations) comes from the seminal literature on the very nature of time, place and theme and on their relationship with chronology, geography and human agency, respectively. The information to support the applied objective (applications) comes mainly from the works of the US National Park Service heritage programs, particularly the historic context strategy where the members of the triad are applied.

The theoretical knowledge about time, place and theme geared towards framing the constructs' configurations and applications in heritage conservation is lacking. Mediating time into chronology, place into geography and theme into argument provides a useful framework for understanding the constructs' configurations and applications.

The study adds knowledge on time, place and theme that helps delineate the configurations and applications of these constructs to the benefit of heritage conservation planning.

Smart Heritage is a recently established discourse that entwines smartness and the heritage discipline. Studies have shown that place identity is at the core of value-based frameworks of built heritage. This study aims to unveil the role of identity in existing Smart Heritage frameworks, which is currently a gap in existing research.

To better understand place identity in the Smart Heritage context and facilitate future framework establishments, this study uses a cross-case analysis method to scrutinise common trends in the identity development of seven current best practices.

The results show that current best practices involve smart technologies in sustaining or rebuilding heritage identities, mostly mapped on the local scale. Catered solutions are essential in this context due to historic cities’ variegated pursuits of identity. Most current Smart Heritage projects are at the transitioning stage from digital to smart, as the autonomous ability of smart innovations is yet to be fully realised on the city or the global scale. Researchers are encouraged to draw essence from existing heritage frameworks considering the built heritage’s place identity, which is at the core of culturally sustainable Smart Heritage transitions.

This study concludes with five recommendations for addressing heritage identity in Smart Heritage frameworks, targeting future research avenues. Also, this study furthers the discussion on the linkage of Smart Heritage, place identity and marketing strategy, contributing to the city branding and tourism management field. Future research should extend the case-study selection beyond Europe, which is a recognised limitation of this study.

This paper introduces the YouWalk-UOS mobile application, a tool that revolutionises the assessment of urban open spaces (UOS). The paper demonstrates how integrating real-time, on-ground observations with users’ reactions into a digital platform can transform the evaluation of urban open spaces. It seeks to address the existing shortcomings of traditional UOS assessment methods and underscore the need for innovative, adaptable and inclusive approaches.

Emphasizing the necessity of UOS for mental and physical health, community interaction and social and environmental resilience in cities, the methodology involves a comprehensive analysis of a number of theoretical frameworks that have historically influenced urban open space conceptualisation, design and assessment. The approach includes a critical review of traditional UOS assessment methods, contrasting them with the capabilities of the proposed YouWalk-UOS application. Building on the reviewed theoretical frameworks, the methodology articulates the application’s design, which encompasses 36 factors across three assessment domains: functional, social and perceptual and provides insights into how technology can be leveraged to offer a more holistic and participatory approach to urban space assessment.

YouWalk-UOS application represents an important advancement in urban space assessment, moving beyond the constraints of traditional methods. The application facilitates a co-assessment approach, enabling community members to actively participate in the evaluation and development of their urban environments. Findings highlight the essential role of technology in making urban space assessment more user-centred, aligning more closely with community needs and aspirations.

The originality lies in the focus on the co-assessment approach and integration of mobile technology into urban open space assessment, a relatively unexplored area in urban design literature. The application stands out as an innovative solution, offering a new perspective on engaging communities in co-assessing their environments. This research contributes to the discourse on urban design and planning by providing a fresh look at the intersection of technology, user engagement and urban space assessment.

The tendency of urban environments to produce anxiety is well documented in a range of theoretical and historical literature, but there is little current work that considers how public spaces might be designed to alleviate anxiety among their users. This paper presents a series of case studies taken from a lighting design project on the Kentish Town Road in north London to show how urban design can create a more psychologically inclusive public realm — one that offers greater psychological comfort — by enhancing the engagement between users of urban spaces and their environment. The argument is presented in the context of broader issues of social inclusion and other current movements in urban design.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the notion of “Third Place” in an arts context by exploring the consumption of two arts venues, Tate Modern and the Southbank Centre (SBC) on the regenerated South Bank in London, UK.

An interpretative phenomenological approach was taken drawing on 45 qualitative interviews that were conducted in and around Tate Modern and the SBC during Autumn 2009.

Four audience groups were identified segmented by their motivations, experiences and feelings about the two buildings. The first group “Place to see” visit Tate Modern and the SBC to attend exhibitions and performances. The second meet friends and spend time in the cafes and bars using them as a “Place to hang‐out and meet”. The third group use the buildings as a “Place to drop‐in” on their way to somewhere else. The fourth group use the SBC as a “Third Place”, to study, for meetings, to read, escape and rejuvenate.

This was an exploratory paper. Further research is required to test the findings in other art museums, arts venues, libraries, parks and other public and private spaces within communities.

The paper fills a gap by drawing on the “Third Place” literature to explore the consumption of art museums and venues. It provides us with a better understanding of the meanings these public buildings have to individuals, the way they are used by the public and how arts managers might attract new audiences from their communities. It also provides insights for planners and town centre managers as to the types of places individuals are seeking during their daily lives.

The increased flexibility in urban planning practice under neoliberal policies had impacts on urban aesthetics, such as causing cities to lose their unique character and identity, especially in developing countries. However, importance of the control and management of aesthetics has not been adequately addressed in the current planning legislations in the literature. Conventional legislation devices (such as zoning ordinances, building codes, etc.) provide little effect on aesthetic control for the flexible planning era. The aim of the study is to examine how a supplementary legal tool (a checklist) can be developed to provide urban aesthetics control and management for a city under neo-liberal influences by taking into consideration the relationship between urban environmental aesthetics and related legal regulations.

The research focusses on the Istanbul case. In this study, the aesthetic parameters with factor analysis using urban design parameters that affecting urban aesthetics are determined, how inclusion into the planning laws and regulations of these aesthetic parameters are examined and a checklist for aesthetics control and management are proposed.

The findings reveal that although there are different and fragmented legal sources that directly or indirectly deal with the aesthetic control and management for urban design and there is a lack of a supplementary legal tool as control management.

Checklists in the aesthetic control area can be a practical legal tool, which can establish a routine by giving proper attention to aesthetic quality and its related parameters of planning for all developing countries under the influence of neoliberal policies.

Safety, one of the basic human needs for existence, is a very important factor in achieving a successful urban space. A lack of its presence could make it challenging for residents of a place to live and function effectively. Therefore, this study aims to identify the urban design attributes that would potentially enhance the perceived sense of safety, mainly focusing on two case studies in El-Sherouk neighborhood in Cairo. The two selected case studies are considered car-oriented due to their reduced levels of safety.

This study was conducted through a set of data collection phases from field surveys and survey questionnaires that infer the influence of the surrounding urban environment on a specific target group. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical analysis tool was used to analyze data collected from survey questionnaires.

Finally, by the end of this research, a set of urban design qualities vital for achieving the desired levels of safety were introduced. The findings of this study revealed key urban design qualities that can potentially contribute to enhancing the perceived sense of safety as they showed a strong positive correlation: (1) imageability, (2) transparency, (3) complexity and (4) human scale and enclosure. Moreover, multiple linear regression indicates that urban design qualities are strong predictors of perceived safety.

This study presents a holistic approach to studying the relationship between urban design and perceived safety by examining two case studies located in El-Sherouk City in Cairo, Egypt. While previous research has focused on one theory of safety design such as crime prevention, defensible space theory, eyes on the street or safer city centers, this article tries to fill in the gap in the literature by analyzing all aspects of urban design and its correlation to an enhanced perceived safety. In addition, most of the previous studies have tackled the safety aspects of old urban settlements. However, this study tackles a new urban settlement.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an initial, exploratory and tentative theoretical construct related to the current consumption of landscape as a key symbolic and physical element in territorial representation and evocation, and for the deployment of place branding strategy. It constructs a line of argument to support what shall be referred to as “landscape branding”, that is, the paradigmatic role of landscape in place branding. It is, therefore, of interest to define the value of landscape as a social and cultural construction, which is why the paper awards importance to the specific analysis of their capacity for visual and/or aesthetic evocation within the context of a general branding strategy for geographical spaces.

To develop a sufficient proposal for sustaining “a theory of landscape branding”, the paper deploys a meta-analysis, that is, an extensive review and interpretation of the literature related to visual landscape and place branding, to propose a tentative initial approach to landscape-infused place branding theory.

The relationship existing between landscape images and texts and their possible situating and subsequent interpreting within the context of the political, cultural and economic logics of contemporary society give rise to a renewed analytical framework for cultural geographies (Wylie, 2007). At this point, place branding becomes a recurring argument for the consumption of carefully staged places, representing, to use Scott’s terms (2014), the arrival of a cognitive-cultural capitalism characteristic of post-Fordism.

From a practical perspective, the landscape branding approach provides several benefits. First of all, regardless of the fact that many commentators have argued that logos, slogans and advertising campaigns are relatively ineffective in place branding, practitioners still seem to be focussed on these visual design and advertising tools. The landscape branding approach facilitates an identity-focussed perspective that reconfirms the importance of linking reality with perception and hence reinforces the need to link place branding to policy-making, infrastructure and events.

Landscapes’ imageability facilitates visual storytelling and the creation of attractive symbolic actions (e.g. outdoor events/arts in attractive landscape and augmented reality or landscaping itself). This is the type of imaginative content that people easily share in social media. And, of course, landscape branding reiterated the importance of experience. If policymakers and publics alike understand this considerable symbolic value of landscape, it might convince them to preserve it and, hence, contribute to sustainability and quality of life.

The novelty lies not in the familiar use of visual landscape resources to promote places, but in the carefully orchestrated construction of gazes, angles, representations, narratives and interpretations characteristic of geographic space, which somehow hijack the spontaneous gaze to take it to a certain place. Everything is perfectly premeditated. According to this, the visual landscape represents a critical point as a way of seeing the essence of places through a place branding strategy. In this sense, that place branding which finds in visual landscape a definitive argument for the projection of aspirational places imposes a new “way of seeing” places and landscape based on a highly visual story with which to make a particular place desirable, not only for tourism promotion purposes but also with the intention of capturing talent, infrastructures and investment, among other objectives.

Konya developed as a city with a single centre in historical period, the mound (höyük) known as Alaeddin’s Hill. This is still the central feature of the urban settlement of Konya. The tomb of the great humanist, poet and philosopher, Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumii, is also here. The most prestigious section of Konya during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods was the Konya Türbeönü, the space in front of his tomb. The historical city centre maintains its liveliness in the area between Alaeddin’s Hill and the tomb of Mevlana. This historical city centre is the most accessible area in the city and functions fully as such while bearing its historical identity.

The transformation of Konya from single-centred city to multi-centred city resulted in considerable changes in the city’s silhouette. The Konya Türbeönü Square was redesigned and presented for use. While defining the effect of outdoor spaces on human life, they are evaluated as places that meet basic physical, social and psychological requirements. Since the planning process of the Konya Türbeönü Square was not participative, it has remained a focal point of intense discussions and debates about its meeting users’ needs have arisen.

This article studies user satisfaction with the design of the Konya Türbeönü Square and investigates the effects of changes on users. The study survey, asked for demographical information about the users, the sensorial effects of the outdoor space, the effects of its landscape and general satisfaction. The questionnaire was administered to 300 people, including 100 architects who are educated in designing, shopkeepers who are interaction with this area everyday and laypersons. Evaluating the questionnaire data revealed the physical landscape quality and the behavioural and functional qualities of the users along with the visual qualities of the historical urban square’s former/older condition. This study aims to show how participative planning can improve future projects.