Symbolic Landscapes and Their Spatial Components : Understanding the Environmental Design Vocabulary of Place Identity

One of the most concrete problems created by the forces of globalization is identity loss, which is becoming increasingly widespread. In this context, urban governments often expect environmental designers and planners to create open spaces characteristic of the city and define their own identity values. This situation increases the importance of questions such as how landscape architects relate spatial components and identity features in a design, what kind of design vocabulary is adopted in open space design in terms of place identity. In this research, conducted with 165 senior landscape architecture students in different years, participants were asked to define the spatial components if they were to design a symbolic space in an urban park in Trabzon city. Categorization of the spatial components revealed that monumental components were depicted and most frequently used to make connections with an identity feature. Students used a variety of features such as form, color, material and patterns connected to city’s cultural, social, natural and historical attributes. However, some students’ design suggestions revealed the need to enhance their level of information and experiences in terms of aesthetic/perceptual dimension with extra practices because their suggestions had elements of kitsch. Current World Environment Journal Website: www.cwejournal.org ISSN: 0973-4929, Vol. 12, No. (3) 2017, Pg. 600-606 CONTACT Sema Mumcu semamumcu@ktu.edu.tr Dep. of Landscape Architecture, Karadeniz Technical University, , Trabzon,


Introduction
Identity is seen as a fundamental need that encompasses all aspects of human life 1 in an age of increased loss of identity, as our lives and places lose their distinctiveness.In contemporary times, the need for stability is crucial for humans, who require development of emotional bonds with places.Therefore, people's relations with places have been explored using a wide array of psychological constructs such as place identity 2 , place attachment 3,4 , and sense of place 5,6 .This study focuses on place identity in terms of landscape architecture and tries to gain insight into how it is understood and reflected by students of landscape design.This is done through analyzing components of a symbolic landscape.

Place Identity; Different Dimensions and Components
The widely accepted definition of place identity in environmental psychology explains it as "ideas, feelings, attitudes, values, preferences, meanings, and conceptions of behavior and experience which relate to the variety and complexity of physical settings that define the day-to-day existence of every human being" 2 .From this point of view, place identity is a result of the interaction of the self and components of the environment, and the actions and interactions that take place there, a psychological structure that arises from the individuals' attempts to regulate their environments 7 .In other words, it refers to the personal meanings, symbols, and significance that places have for their residents, visitors, and users 1 .Relph 8 defines place identity as: "The identity of something refers to a persistent sameness and unity which allows that thing to be differentiated from others.[...] the identity of place simply as that which provides its individuality or distinction from other places and serves as the basis for its recognition as a separable entity."Similarly Lewicka 9 refers to sameness (continuity) and distinctiveness (uniqueness) dimensions of place identity.According to Relph 8 , the static physical setting, the activities, and the meanings are the three fundamental components of the identity of places.They are irreducible to the other, yet are inseparably interwoven in our experiences of places.
In the rapidly changing world, the landscapes with which people interact (either at a concrete or at a cultural/abstract level) are undergoing constant change.These changes can strongly affect people's identity10.Golicnik Marušic and Nikšic 11 state that when identity by design is in question, everyday practice shows that approaches are partial and do not address multi-layered aspects.Therefore, this study aims to understand the relationship between landscape design and place identity and the role that landscape architects play in the landscape design process.

Place Identity in Environmental Design
In place making, designers and planners draw on their knowledge of a place to make changes so that the experience of place is strengthened and positively supported.Adam 12 emphasizes the responsibility of environmental designers to transform and create the built symbols that contribute to the identity of people and communities.Place identity can be affected by the physical or spatial features of a setting (e.g., structure, spatial characteristics, built form, landscape, and furniture).But activities carried out in a particular place (circulation flow, behavior patterns), and its meaning (legibility, cultural associations, and semiotics) affect its identity.In consequence, how place identity is perceived and understood is strongly influenced by the interaction between people and these fundamental elements of the environment.Material things such as monuments, streets, neighborhoods, buildings, churches, and parks are all components of this interaction that also evoke specific kinds of meanings and serve as spatial coordinates of identity 13 .In other words, people produce places, and yet they derive identities from them 14 .
It was stated that some environmental physical factors can act as facilitators of the subject's identification with the space, and of an external perception of such a space as fostering a strong identity 15 .Depending on the design's function in support of the identity of groups, Lang 16 highlights the responsibilities of designers as they recognize the group's symbols of identity and how they may be used or transformed to continue to provide that support.Padua 17 criticizes the post-traditional landscapes of many contemporary cities as being characterized by symbolic references that create a discontinuity with the local history.Creating place identity has emerged as a solution to the effects of modern societies.Consequently, this field has largely influenced designers and seeks to connect people with their environment and to increase their sense of attachment and belonging in architectural spaces 18 .For modernist environmental design, two techniques for identity that relate a place to its locality are defined: the spirit of place or site-specific design; and symbolic identity or the designer's personal discovery of local symbolism.Choosing a symbolic identity is defined by Adam 12 as the choice of a symbolic aspect of either a design that seems to be in some way relevant to the location or of local elements that can be interpreted into a new spatial component.Lang 16 defines one of the prime functions of the built environment as being symbolic.According to him, symbols serve many functions but two are primary: providing a sense of identity, and they enhancing self-esteem and affiliation 16 .Therefore, designing the symbolism of the environment is generally associated with meeting people's needs; failure to establish symbols that reflect identity will make people uneasy 16 .In short, symbolism is an important means for creating place identity and, by this way, closely relates to human needs that contribute to well-being.
The design of public space, according to Padua 17 , is one of the places where symbols of collective identity can be seen in their most clear and compelling form.The symbolic references that provide a design vocabulary for these open spaces speak volumes about the shared values of the group and have often been developed to reinforce peoples' identification 14,17 .Such places include landscapes, monuments, and sites where commemorations are performed, collective memory is reinforced, and national identity is constructed, both formally and informally.Similarly, Bender 19 defines landscape as a part of the way in which identities are created and disputed.In her study, Padua 17 showed the role and responsibilities of landscape architects in shaping and reflecting the cultural values of a community and revealed the importance of supporting place identity through the design process.
In this study, spatial components (physical space) of a symbolic landscape and how they are related to place identity were examined.The spatial components such as monuments, seating, and pavement and how they are defined related to traditional/local values constitute the design vocabulary.Learning this vocabulary can offer deep insight into how designers understand place identity and enhance design decisions before implementation of projects.The aims of this study were to determine which spatial components are seen as to have symbolic value and are most frequently used and to observe how student designers use these components to make connections between identity and the construction of a symbolic landscape.

Methodology
The research was conducted at Karadeniz Technical University's Landscape Architecture Department with 165 senior students in different years of schooling.Previous to the research, students were informed about symbolic space, and how it relates to place identity and enhances basic human needs like affiliation and self-esteem 16 .Different examples of landscape designs with symbolic spaces were shown and how they used symbolism to refer to an identity or a social value is discussed with students in the Spatial Behavior course.At the end of the term students were asked to define their design concepts, the type of space, activity patterns that will take place and the spatial components of the space if they were to design a symbolic space in an urban park in Trabzon city.The question was asked as part of final exam of Spatial Behavior course which is obligatory and 25 (over 100) points were appointed to this question.Answers were coded and then categorized by 3 landscape architects who work as a researcher with Ph.D. degree in the field of landscape design and environmental psychology.The frequencies of spatial components, how they are being categorized and related with identity symbols were analyzed and the relationships between them were investigated.

Respondents
Table 1 shows the frequencies of students according to their gender, locality and the year of the research.Of the answers from 165 students, 138 were analyzed; 27 students did not answer the question or mentioned another city, not Trabzon.In other words, the answers revealed that some spatial components are seen as more related to local identity ( χ 2 =858,356; 98 df, p<0,01).
In the second phase of analyzing spatial components, the components were categorized according to type of component or the equipment they refer to.In all, 12 groups of spatial components were determined.The most frequently emphasized components were monumental types such as monuments, statues, murals or wall paintings.The second group of components were seating, followed by moveable equipment (χ 2 =491,914; 11 df, p<0,01) (Table 2).

Components Related To Identity and Their Features
In order to understand what components the student designers defined and how they related these components to identity, the components were classified into two groups: one with an identity and one without.Any component mentioned in answers that used an adjective or name related to a city or student's own design concept was categorized as "with an identity"; if the component was mentioned in answers solely, it was categorized as "without an identity".For example, while the answer "monument" was categorized as without an identity, the answer "monument depicting horon (folk dance) dancers" was categorized as with an identity.In this way, by focusing on the relationship the designers made with colors, materials, shapes or patterns, it was possible to define the design vocabulary used for creating identity in landscape design.In this context, the conducted analysis revealed that 59.8% of the suggested components were "with an identity" and 40.2% of them were "without an identity" (χ 2 =12,564; 1 df, p<0,01) (Table 3).This result indicates that when design of a symbolic space was at stake, students tried to connect spatial components of a suggested space to the values of the city and society where the space was located.Figures of anchovy, kamancha (kemençe), horon dancers and figures of important people in the history of the city and nation were emphasized; materials that belong to local architecture and traditional crafts such as wood, copper and Trabzon stone, colors such as colors of city's football team Trabzonspor-red and blue--or warm colors that symbolically reflect the friendly character of local people (suggested by students as a design concept in answers) were emphasized frequently.

Discussion
In this study, how place identity relates to spatial components is considered through symbolic landscape design.In the context of Trabzon city the design vocabulary of students was determined.Symbolic landscape was chosen as a device for analyzing identity markers since, as with all identity, place identity relies on shared symbolic markers.Any attempt to deny or remove these symbols will be a challenge to the identity of those who use them as identity markers 12 .Therefore, designers' awareness of their responsibilities in terms of place identity and responsiveness of their designs in this context are crucial for the quality of open space, and thus the life quality of users.
Analyses have revealed that the most frequently spoken spatial components are monumental features such as a monument, statue or mural.Since monuments focus attention on specific places and events, Osborne 14 defines monuments as spatial and temporal landmarks loaded with memory and as central to the endeavor of constructing symbolic landscapes.A variety of features that are typical of Trabzon were incorporated into the monuments.Through the use of monuments or statues, students transformed local (natural, cultural, historical, and social) features into symbolic landmarks and tried to nurture a sense of identity through the locality in the users, by making the values of the city visibly dominant.The locality is expressed in the monumental components by form and scale.
In seating and moveable equipment, locality is expressed mainly by local materials (wood, Trabzon stone, copper) and colors (colors of Trabzonspor football team), also formal similarities were used again (e.g., seating in the shape of a kamancha, or hazelnut).While the students' endeavors for creating identity mainly were based on monumental and pavement components, in the seating and moveable components groups the number of components without an identity feature was more common than components with an identity feature.The result shows that students aim and regard bigger components in terms of scale or area while trying to create an identity.
Finally, the plants were also accepted as an important component of identity.Frequently mentioned as a spatial components were hazelnuts, which provide a major means of living in the region, and plant types specific to Trabzon such as cherry laurel and rhododendrons.Apart from these, important components of Turkish historical gardens such as plane and cypress trees and tulips were also suggested for planting design.
While making suggestions, students sometimes tended to neglect aesthetic dimension and lack awareness about aesthetics.Some of the suggestions (such as hazelnut, kamancha, anchovy shaped seating or shelter) were found to be aesthetically inappropriate for urban open spaces and considered to create a kitsch effect.

Conclusion
The results reveal the importance given to traditional identity or social values and how they are seen as related to symbolism by students.The design vocabulary of students draws on a set of symbols linked to the city's most known features.In other words, the features that students tend to cite in their suggestions are references and symbols used to represent elements rooted in local history and in the daily life and experience of the local population.However, students' tendency to avoid abstraction while designing for identity and the lack of aesthetic concerns in their suggestions would produce kitsch effects.Therefore, there is a need to enhance their awareness.Students' level of awareness can be enhanced with appropriate courses and content in studio courses centered around spatial behavior, open space equipment design or special design practices.Including subjects and practices towards this aim in the curriculum will result in more accurate decisions.