Young People’ Perception of the Determining Factors of Environmental Quality, Case Study of Surabaya- Indonesia

摘要

Experiencing urban space and identifying urban element are important for individual needs of human orientation and to define an urban/environmental quality of a city. The quality of the environment is determined by perceptions of the observer through representation and imageability of the environment. Lynch’s theory of the ‘Image of the City’ in 1960, states that there is a strong correlation between the representability of urban elements through mental maps and the quality of an urban area. In psychology view, the legibility of place is part of place attachment and identity, while others are social life and process. The purpose of this research is to examine the urban meaning for and perception of young people, which are determining environmental quality for particular social group. This research has been conducted in Surabaya- Indonesia, with young people from a mid to high economic family background that a have high dependency on private cars. Young people in the group are very much exposed to urban traffic and mobility. They also largely experience very specific building typologies such as malls, related to their lifestyle. Furthermore, they have different patterns in imagining the city in contrast to any official city identity and conventional landmarks and city structure.