Slum Dwellers' and Squatters' Images of the City

The images of the city held by slum dwellers and squatters in an Indian city are reported. The study revealed certain spatial regularities in mental images of the city's slum dwellers. The size with which places were perceived and represented on maps declined with increasing distance from the city center; the detail with which different parts of the city were perceived and represented I also declined with distance from the city center. Exactness of mental images, areal range, and locations shown on mental maps varied directly with the ed.ucational level of slum dwellers and squatters and their travel behavior within the city.