Examining three roles of urban "portals" in their relationship with "places" using social media photographs.

Portals are the transition spaces between paths and places in an urban environment such as the entrance to a square from a connecting street. This paper aims to explore different forms of portals by considering their relationship with places. In doing so, a people-generated image analysis was adopted for two case studies conducted in popular Chinese recreational venues: Sanlitun Village, Beijing; and Xintiandi, Shanghai. Through an analysis of nearly 53,000 Instagram photographs, three different roles that a portal can fulfil are identified and defined as the 'doorway', the 'showroom', and the 'place'. These typologies are derived from a deeper understanding of urban space through the 'eyes of the users', and this knowledge can in turn influence the design process for the public realm and urban spaces. Permissions from joannahiew and chulheepark are shown below (my Instagram ID is joomoly). Unlabelled Image • Portals are transition spaces providing an interactive preview of adjacent places. • There are three types of portals identified: the 'doorway', the 'showroom', and the 'place'. • The 'doorway' allows active and passive participation to coexist; it can be connected with any place. • The 'showroom' enables passive participators to collect information; it suits the place with a thematic expression. • The 'place' encourages people to attend events and build relations with surroundings; it suits the place of participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]