Introduction:What Landmarks Are, and Why They Are Important - Landmarks: GIScience for Intelligent Services - page 9

Fig. 1.5 The Matterhorn, a
landmark in the Swiss Alps,
on a historic photograph
However, the chosen definition is not unproblematic. For a scientist the definition
remains questionable just because what happens in human minds is not directly
observable or accessible. So if we agree that there are mental representations of
what is in the world outside of our bodies, then indirect methods must be accepted
to reconstruct the elements and functioning of these representations. These indirect
methods are the toolboxes of cognitive science, with a strand in the neurosciences,
studying the structure and work of the senses and the brain, and another strand in
cognitive psychology, studying responses or behaviours of people, such as learning,
memorizing, language, or spatial behavior. This cognitive perspective on landmarks
could easily fill a book by itself. Therefore, we will keep the discussion of the
cognitive aspects concise, and instead focus on how the understanding of the role
and working of landmarks in spatial cognition and communication can inform
the design of smarter systems interacting with people.
It must also be said that this definition is in conflict with other common
understandings of landmarks. For example, Couclelis et al. have called anchor
points what we have called landmarks [ 4 ] :
“Much of the work in spatial cognition has focused on the concept of imageability. In brief,
this assumes that there will be elements in any given environment (natural or built) which
by virtue of their distinctive objects (for example, form, color, size, visual uniqueness),
or by virtue of some symbolic meaning attached to them (places of historic importance,
of religious or socio-cultural significance, etc.), stand out from among the other things in
the environment. Because such elements are outstanding, literally, they are likely to be
perceived, remembered, and used as reference points by a large number of people in that
environment. This is the notion of landmark as popularized by Lynch's seminal work on
the 'Image of the City'. Anchor-points (anchors for short) are closely related to landmarks,
both concepts being defined as cognitively salient cues in the environment. However, as
represented in the literature, landmarks tend to be collectively as well as individually
experienced as such, whereas anchors refer to individual cognitive maps. Although one
would expect to find several local landmarks among the anchors in a person's cognitive map,
many anchors (such as the location of home and work) would be too personal to have any
significance for other, unrelated individuals. Further, landmarks are primarily treated as part
of a person's factual knowledge of space, whereas anchor-points are supposed to perform in
addition active cognitive functions, such as helping organize spatial knowledge, facilitating