Visual dominants of urban cultural space (based on a socio-psychological study of Krasnodar residents)

The aim of the study is to identify the features of the relationship between the external and intrapersonal dimensions of the city’s cultural space. Krasnodar, a dynamically developing metropolis in the south of Russia, with rich cultural and historical potential, was chosen as the object. The work is based on materials from expert interviews and data from a socio-psychological study with the participation of more than 350 respondents permanently residing in Krasnodar. To process the results, the content analysis method was used. The design involved a theoretical and methodological stage, which consisted of analyzing the city as a cultural space, and a stage of practical scientific research, which included: conducting interviews with experts (art historians, cultural experts, specialists in the field of organizing the urban space of Krasnodar) in order to identify the characteristics of urban culture; creating a questionnaire to study the perception of urban space by residents of Krasnodar; studying the ideas of citizens about the main trends in the formation of urban space. It is substantiated that the cultural space of the city is a special topos of human presence in the world, which involves understanding the urban environment, its centers and boundaries. A number of features have been identified that characterize the relationship between the external and intrapersonal dimensions of the space of urban culture: (1) the city is a combination of material objects and the intentions of a subject who is aware of the significance of these objects; (2) in the process of such awareness, mental maps of citizens are formed, which are the basis of the subjective dimension of the city; (3) the essence of the process of their formation is the addition of their images to the personal experience of a city dweller; (4) this addition is hierarchical in nature and develops from the attribution and understanding of the function of artifacts of the urban environment to the understanding of their deep symbolic meaning; (5) the leading role in this process is played by cultural heritage sites and works of art that demonstrate the unique essence of the city; (6) in the course of gradual familiarization with these objects, urban identity is formed among residents. It has been established that citizens consider five aspects of the uniqueness of Krasnodar as a special cultural space, the centers of which are Krasnaya Street as a symbol of the historical center with all periods of the city’s history and the architectural and park ensemble Krasnodar as the personification of a modern metropolis looking to the future.