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Using a cultural transmission experiment in virtual reality, we asked participants to navigate one of two contrasting cityscapes\u2014a regular, grid-like \u201cManhattan\u201d or an irregular, landmark-rich \u201cBarcelona\u201d\u2014and to produce route descriptions and sketch maps. We examined participants\u2019 spatial conceptualizations and tracked how spatial communication was transmitted across six simulated generations. Results show that city layout shaped spatial language and map production. Participants used more horizontal (e.g., numbered routes and intersections) descriptors in the \u201cManhattan\u201d environment and more vertical (e.g., buildings distinguished by colors and textures) descriptors in the \u201cBarcelona\u201d environment. These strategies were also more effective: participants completed navigation tasks faster when the descriptions they received matched the structure of the environment. We observed robust cultural transmission of spatial conventions, with participants\u2019 productions predicted by the linguistic input they received. However, rather than showing cumulative elaboration over time, these conventions stabilized quickly. Individual-level analyses revealed consistency between language and maps, as well as across environments: participants formed coherent spatial models that persisted and shaped adaptation to a new cityscape. This suggests that individual cognitive stability may act as a mechanism for preserving, rather than progressively refining, cultural conventions. Together, these findings highlight urban environments as cognitive\u2013cultural niches that shape how people perceive, conceptualize, and communicate space. We discuss implications for theories of spatial language, cultural evolution, and urban design, showing how city layout shapes not only navigation behavior, but also the structure of spatial thought.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1162\/opmi.a.380","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T16:44:01Z","timestamp":1788972241000},"page":"1310-1337","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1162\/mitpressjournals.corrections.policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["When the City Speaks: How Urban Form Shapes the Cultural Transmission of Spatial Conceptualization"],"prefix":"10.1162","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4952-3948","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Zahra","family":"Alinam","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Coevolution of Land Use and Urbanisation, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany"},{"name":"Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4775-5219","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Riccardo","family":"Fusaroli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"},{"name":"Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3546-2689","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Jonas M.","family":"N\u00f6lle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Language Evolution Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toru\u0144, Toru\u0144, Poland"},{"name":"School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3434-4843","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Cordula","family":"Vesper","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"},{"name":"Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7492-0078","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kristian","family":"Tyl\u00e9n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"},{"name":"Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"281","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026091613304134800_bib1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e50","DOI":"10.1017\/ehs.2021.47","article-title":"Culture without copying or selection","volume":"3","author":"Acerbi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Evolutionary Human Sciences"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026091613304134800_bib2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"481","DOI":"10.1007\/s10539-015-9490-2","article-title":"If we are all cultural Darwinians what\u2019s the fuss about? 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