The study of color as a component of urban cultural construction: A theoretical reflection and methodological proposal

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical reflection and a methodological proposal for the study of urban color as an element of experience and urban cultural construction. The purpose is to propose a methodology based on the analysis of the relationships between the objective and subjective aspects of color in the city. To this end, we aim to understand the objective visual perceptions and relate them to the subjective associations that the inhabitants identify from the urban experience. Additionally, a methodological crossover is carried out that considers the study of urban color from the perceptual and objective analysis of color with the methodologies of imaginaries and urban anthropology. Thus, the proposed chromatic approach links the objective and subjective aspects of color with the tangible and intangible elements of the city. By so doing, this article underlines how the results are not limited to the objective terms of the study of urban color but are enriched by the identification of subjective aspects, such as the analysis of the historical and social contexts in which the colors were chosen, as well as the perceptions that their inhabitants have about them. This research aims to deepen and broaden the view of a city from a chromatic study's perspective. The conclusions invite us to make a reading of the representations and perceptions of the inhabitants of a city who, through the questioning of color, can express their needs, desires and emotions for the place they inhabit and thus transmit a particular cultural construction of the city.