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The Nature of Landmarks for Real and Electronic Spaces

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Spatial Information Theory. Cognitive and Computational Foundations of Geographic Information Science (COSIT 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 1661))

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Abstract

Landmarks are significant in one’s formation of a cognitive map of both physical environments and electronic information spaces. Landmarks are defined in physical space as having key characteristics that make them recognizable and memorable in the environment. The challenge of defining measurable features of landmarks that can be used in designing and recognizing landmarks in information spaces is explored. By drawing on diverse areas such as urban planning, architecture, cognitive science and hypertext, a coherent definition of a landmark is proposed, which is relevant to both physical and electronic spaces. It is argued that landmarks can be classified in terms of visual, cognitive and structural dimensions, which has implications for how environments can be designed or built in such a way that landmarks will emerge appropriately for unique situations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 135 N. Bellefield Ave., SIS 737, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Molly E. Sorrows & Stephen C. Hirtle

Authors
  1. Molly E. Sorrows
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  2. Stephen C. Hirtle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Hamburg, Fachbereich Informatik, Vogt-Kölln-Straße 30, D-22527, Hamburg, Germany

    Christian Freksa

  2. Department of Geography, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 14261, USA

    David M. Mark

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sorrows, M.E., Hirtle, S.C. (1999). The Nature of Landmarks for Real and Electronic Spaces. In: Freksa, C., Mark, D.M. (eds) Spatial Information Theory. Cognitive and Computational Foundations of Geographic Information Science. COSIT 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1661. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48384-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-48384-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66365-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48384-7

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