The research on cognition of city name, city image and cognition of distance and the cognitive distortions of urban space are the important parts of urban spatial cognitive study. Place names abroad include two aspects: One is to discuss the human emotion and the meaning of place names through its origin. The other is to study the differences of cognitive space in different spatial scales. In China, there are relatively few studies on urban spatial cognition. Most of the studies focus on the cognition of city image, while there is insufficient research on cognitive differences, cognition rate of names and correspondence. This paper aims to analyze the spatial cognition pattern in Beijing based on a large amount of cognition rate data by investigation. The objective is to set up the spatial association pattern between geographical locations and residents in different places. Spatial cognition data are obtained by questionnaires, which included properties of residents, cognition rate and so on.
This paper uses the spatial analysis method to discuss spatial difference of recognition rate of place names of Beijing and spatial cognitive correlation pattern of cognition places and sub-districts based on different cognition places and sub-district types divided by cognition rate and position relations. Three conclusions can be drawn as follows. Firstly, the difference of spatial cognition in Beijing is obvious. Judged from different types of cognition place, the cognition rate in the southern part of urban and suburban areas is low and centralized, and it is low and divergent in the northeastern suburbs while high and centralized in the western urban and suburban areas, and it is high and divergent in the southeast of urban areas. Seen from the sub-district type, the cognition rate of sub-districts in urban areas is high and that of the periphery is low, which displays the central-marginal structures. Secondly, there are different associative patterns between distance and cognition rate of 23 cognition places by various types of streets, such as short distance-low cognition rate, short distance-high cognition rate, medium distance-medium cognition rate, long distance-low cognition rate, and long distance-high cognition rate. The influence of distance on cognition rate is changing for different associative patterns. Thirdly, there are twin peaks on the space cognition curve of Beijing. One represents short distance-high cognition rate, and the location is changed with the change of cognition places. The other represents long distance-high cognition rate, which mainly lies in the urban central area.