Environmental Communication, Urban Legibility, Experienced Spatial Perception and Design Potential: The Case of Kálvin Square in Budapest

Abstract

Researches exploring urban legibility indicate that, regardless of a space’s actual boundaries, lay spatial experts associate functions belonging to the same thematic category – based on a thematic organizing principle – with the space, due to their proximity and the similarity of their meanings.

Affordance studies have highlighted the transformation of meaning; lay spatial experts examined those cues that suggest uses differing from an object’s intended function. If such alternative uses become established, they can alter the intended, originally planned use of the space. Deviant spatial use can be identified by examining the secondary messages and legibility of a space and by monitoring its use. This allows for the identification of sites requiring intervention, thereby making urban legibility a pillar of sustainability.