ABSTRACT
Environmental cognition is a relatively new area of knowledge. It is of considerable importance therefore, that some attention be paid to organizing existing theoretical studies, and modifying or developing such theory as a guide for future work. For the most part theories related to cognitive processes have been developed for micro-scale environments. Interest in the cognition of macro-spatial environments is of a relatively recent origin. The importance of a relatively close correspondence between objective and cognized distance for efficient navigation in the urban environment is suggested. The data were first analysed at the aggregate level. That is, the median estimates to each of the thirty cities were obtained, and then plotted against real distance. The actual forms of the information presented in the study, path structure and topographical features, are specific components of the natural environment which are presumably helpful in orientation.
