Mansoureh Shahriyari; Abbasi sara
Abstract
contemporary Persian literature, the city is not merely a physical backdrop but a dynamic site for the formation of memory, meaning, and narrative agency. This article applies Kevin ...
Read More
contemporary Persian literature, the city is not merely a physical backdrop but a dynamic site for the formation of memory, meaning, and narrative agency. This article applies Kevin Lynch’s theory of the “image of the city” to a spatial reading of This Street Has No Speed Bump by Maryam Jahani, a novel awarded both the “Book of the Year of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and the “Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Prize” in 2017.The study’s theoretical framework draws on Lynch’s perceptual concepts—vitality, legibility, place identity, surveillance, agency, fit, and access. Using a comparative narrative-theoretical method, the research examines how mental design elements of urban space correspond to the spatial, linguistic, and narrative structures of the novel. Unlike prior studies focused on social or gendered themes, this article foregrounds the role of urban perception and spatial experience in shaping literary narrative.Findings reveal that urban spaces in the novel—such as the taxi “Elizabeth,” Vaziri Square, the Shahnaz neighborhood, and various urban markers—function not only as settings but as narrative agents of movement, interaction, and meaning-making. By bridging urban design theory and literary analysis, the article demonstrates that Lynch’s perceptual framework, despite its architectural origins, can be effectively extended to cultural and narrative inquiry, offering a valuable lens for interpreting urban experience in modern Persian fiction
