social representations of urban environment: new issues for environmental psychology macaire koutaba...
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Social Representations Social Representations
of Urban Environment: of Urban Environment: New Issues for Environmental PsychologyNew Issues for Environmental Psychology
Macaire KOUTABA & Elena SAUTKINAMacaire KOUTABA & Elena SAUTKINA
Laboratory of Environmental Psychology
University René Descartes – Paris V, France
18th IAPS conference EVALUATION IN PROGRESS
July 7 - 10, 2004 Vienna, Austria
Theoretical frameworkTheoretical framework
• The application of SRT to the Environmental Psychology is a new and fruitful scientific phenomenon
• Start: the study by S.Milgram and D.Jodelet (1976) on social representations of Paris
• Abric, Morin (1990): individual plays an active role in the relationship to his / her environment. This role could not be summarized in simple terms of perceptions. People’s spatial behaviour depends on their social representations about this space
• The city could be seen as a structured system of images, references, attitudes that gives to an individual opportunities to reflex, to estimate and be behave in the urban environment. The representations of the city are influenced by people’s experience of space and by the framework of life that surrounds them.
Two examples:Two examples:
(1)integration of urban populations
(2)urban delinquency
Study 1. Objective:
To examine the ways in which social representations of the city vary according to residential status and the characteristics of the urban living environment
SubjectsSubjects
• 95 male subjects between 25 to 30 years old (average = 28,3) living in the city of Ouagadougou, Bourkina Faso
• The subjects were distributed according to the investigation plan that crosses residential status (indigenous against migrant) with the type of urbanization (planned against spontaneous)
MethodsMethods
• The Evocation question (Vergès, 1992): "In three to five words, when one says “city”, what do you think about? “
• Data treatment :
- Prototypicality analysis (Vergès, 1992; 1994; 2000) crosses
the frequency and the average rank of the appearance of
terms;
- Bayesian analysis of the contingency tables (Bernard, 2000):
amongst elements retained by the prototypicality analysis, it
was determined whether each element was over or under-
significantly (p<.05) represented in the subpopulations of
investigation
The central elements of the The central elements of the
representation of the city:representation of the city:
• Infrastructures,
• Density of the population,
• Electricity,
• Modernity,
• Place with problems,
• Aesthetics,
• Administration,
• Agglomeration
Comparison of the central elements of the representation Comparison of the central elements of the representation
by bayesian analysis:by bayesian analysis: residential statusresidential status
• An over-representation of the elements electricity, modernity
and agglomeration among migrants compared to an under-
representation of these same elements amongst autochthons.
• The element electricity previously evoked by all is over-
represented amongst migrants
Comparison of the central elements by bayesian analysis: Comparison of the central elements by bayesian analysis:
type of urbanization of the inhabited districtstype of urbanization of the inhabited districts
• The element ‘administration’ is characteristic of the planned
districts while in the districts with spontaneous urbanization it
is the element ‘place with problems’ which is prevalent.
• “Electricity” and “place with problems” are over-represented in
the spontaneous urbanization and under-represented in the
planned urbanization.
DiscussionDiscussion
• The participants had a representation of the city based on the
image of the ideal city mainly made up of modern
infrastructures and of particular architectural aesthetics.
• Next come elements of the social framework related to the
population and the social problems.
• This image of the city is one that is found in the literature. It
makes one think of a representation of the city located in the
architecture of the social thought at an ideological level.
• However, in Ouagadougou this ideological representation of
the city is modulated by the context, and in particular by
residential status and the type of urbanization of the living
environment.
DiscussionDiscussion
• For residential status, it is the aesthetic attributes, the
global vision of the city (agglomeration), the access to progress
(modernity) and comfort (electricity), and the density of
population that differentiate the migrants from autochthons.
• As for the type of urbanization, emphasis is on access to
the public services (administration) and the lived social
dimension (place with problems) as differentiating elements in
the representation of the city.
DiscussionDiscussion
• Social and environmental variables affect the ways
in which subjects conceive of the city
• These elements must be taken into account in
urban development
• This study has defined prospects for research
regarding the importance of environmental
variables (physical) on the transformation of social
representations
Study 2: Social representations of Social representations of
pick-pocketing commitment placespick-pocketing commitment places
• Actuality:
Environmental psychology lacks research on SR of crime commitment places
• Theoretical perspectives:
- for study of environmental cognition and behaviour - for study of fear of crime - for study of victimization
Pick-pocketing: definitionsPick-pocketing: definitions
• Non-violent theft of objects from pockets
or person of an individual
• Environmentally determined crime
• Represented as a minor crime
• Frequent in cities and difficult to repress
Social representations of pick-pocketing Social representations of pick-pocketing
places in Paris and in Moscowplaces in Paris and in Moscow
Methods:
• Evocation question (Vergès, 1992): “Which are words
or expressions coming up to your mind with the words
‘pick-pocketing places’ ? ”
• Data treatment: Prototypicality analysis
(Vergès, 1992; 1994; 2000)
• Data processing: EVOC2000 software (Verges,
Scano, Junique, 2003).
Social representations of pick-pocketing Social representations of pick-pocketing places in Paris and in Moscowplaces in Paris and in Moscow
Subjects Paris sample
Moscow sample
Non-victims 269 200
Victims 49 30
Periphery: protective function
Zone of potential changes: receiving and passing elements
Central core: consolidating,
organizing function
Social Representation structureSocial Representation structure
(Abric, 1994; Flament, 1994)(Abric, 1994; Flament, 1994)
Social representations of pick-pocketing places Social representations of pick-pocketing places = =
“Crowded places” stereotype“Crowded places” stereotype
Place in SR
structure
Paris
Non-victims Victims
Moscow
Non-victims Victims
Central core
Underground
Crowded Crowded placesplaces
Underground
Crowded Crowded placesplaces
MarketPublic
transports
Crowded Crowded placesplaces
Underground
Zone of potential changes
Railway station
Paris
Public places Railway station
Underpass
Market
Railway station
Periphery Public transports
Commerces
Commerces Street
Downtown
Underpass
Social representations of pick-pocketing places: Social representations of pick-pocketing places:
Images of placesImages of places
Place in SR
structure
Paris
Non-victims Victims
Moscow
Non-victims Victims
Central core
Underground Underground Market
Zone of potential changes
Barbès
Suburbs
Trolleybus Market
Periphery Market Tramway
Methodological implements of Methodological implements of prototypical analysisprototypical analysis
• Gives an opportunity to estimate which elements are more shared by people and more important in a SR
• Interesting to use when comparing contrasted populations
Social representations of pick-pocketing places: Social representations of pick-pocketing places:
Significance of elements - experience context Significance of elements - experience context
Place in SR structure
Paris
Non-victims Victims
Moscow
Non-victims Victims
Central core Tourist places
Market
Public transports
Bus
Zone of potential changes
Suburbs Bus BusUnderpassCommerce
Market
Public transports
Periphery Bus
Tourist places
Suburbs Underpass
Commerce
Social representations of pick-pocketing places: Social representations of pick-pocketing places:
Significance of elements – cultural context Significance of elements – cultural context
Place in SR
structure
Non-victims
Paris Moscow
Victims
Paris Moscow
Central core
Market
Zone of potential changes
Street Bus Commerce Public transports
Periphery Bus
Market
Street Public transports
Commerce
ConclusionConclusion
• The application of the Social Representations
Theory and it’s methodology to the study of such
problems of the urban environment as delinquency
and populations’ spatial segregation seems to be
interesting.
• Taking into consideration the results of these two
studies could contribute to the elaboration of
programs on urban delinquency risk management
and on socio-economic integration of urban
populations.
