Inter-subjective Qualitative Landscape Interpretation: A Contributing Research Methodology in the Exploration of the “Edge City”

Abstract

This paper examines an inter-subjective qualitative landscape interpretation of an “edge city” site, in conjunction with the more traditional objective analysis, in order to identify the qualities which cause the “edge city” to be a place of limited human interaction. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, the author helps students in an advanced Landscape Architecture studio to free their minds in an intuitive process and offer insights into the emotional and non-physical qualities of urban places. These unseen qualities may either benefit or detract from human well-being in a given place. By gaining inter-subjective interpretation patterns amongst students, qualities inherent to the “edge city” can be explored and understood. These new understandings could inform the re-design of such places.