ABSTRACT
Architecture and urban planning have recently begun to include the cultural mapping of built spaces as a key component of those surveying practices contributing to a more informed decision-making process in urban design. In general, cultural mapping is included in an early analytical phase of the planning process, a phase in which collecting specific information allows for consideration of the cultural assets surveyed in subsequent planning processes. For design studio undergraduate purposes, cultural mapping has specific role in architectural design education because it facilitates a projective approach to understanding the urban context. The maps produced by the students serve as records of the student's observations, making those observations available for subsequent analysis and discussion. After the line path map is completed and corresponding critique session is held, the mapping of urban blocks as city units begins: Here the mapping is situated within overall historical reading of the site, thus encouraging both physical and historical comprehension.
