Perception of Urban Forms

The image of the city is a complex concept that has been studied by a number of disciplines throughout decades. The present study contributes to the discussion by analyzing the overall city image of inhabitants as influenced by their perceptions of place attractiveness. To do so, an online survey has been conducted with the inhabitants of the city of Rotterdam, by using place photography as an attractiveness evaluation tool. With the aim of replicating the multifaceted characteristic of the city, the pictures represented various urban elements; namely, buildings, waterfronts, avenues, and squares, which enabled to compare the role of different location categories in the process of an overall city image formation. The research analysis took the form of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in order to accurately assess the structural relationships between variables and constructs. The findings emphasized the significant direct effect of three out of four location categories on the overall city image. The study results also illustrated the mediation effect of place attachment on the relationship between place attractiveness and the overall image.