IMAGE OF THE CITY

-KEVIN LYNCH

BY-

AKSHAYA NANDINI

ANAGHA PRAKASH
BORN IN THE 20TH CENTURY.
EDUCATED FROM MIT.
HE GAINED PROFESSORSHIP IN MIT
IN THE YEAR 1963.
CONSULTED TO THE STATE OF RHODE
ISLAND, NEW ENGLAND MEDICAL
CENTER, BOSTON REDEVELONMENT
AUTHORITY, MIT PLANNING OFFICE.
 1. WHAT TIME IS THIS PLACE?
2. CITY SENSE AND CITY
DESIGNWITTINGS AND PROJECTS

BOOKS 3.

4.
GOOD CITY FORM
MANAGING THE SENSE OF A
REGION
5. SITE PLANNING
6. WASTING AWAY
7. IMAGE OF THE CITY
THE BOOK IS LOOKING
TOWARDS THE IDENTIFICATION
OF THE DESIGN PROBLEM OF
GIVING VISUAL FORM TO THE
CITY OR DESIGNING A NEW
ONE. PERCEPTION AND
ASSOCIATION TRIGGERS
THROUGH THE VISUAL FORM
GIVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO THE
USER TO IDENTIFY AND
ORGANIZE DIFFERENT
ELEMENT OF HIS
SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT
TO DEVELOP MENTAL IMAGE
OF THE CITY
 1. THE IMAGE OF THE
ENVIRONMENT.
2. THREE CITIES.
BASIC PARTS: 3. THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS
There are two basic part of the ELEMENT.
book one is explaining
“imageability” as the theory of 4. CITY FORM.
visual form and other part 5. A NEW SCALE.
focuses the validity of APPENDICESSS
imageability in today’s practical
environment. A. SOME REFERENCE TO
ORIENTATION
B. THE USE OF METHOD
C. TWO EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS
 CHAPTER – 1
THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

• HERE HE IDENTIFY A SPECIAL NATURE OF CITY PERCEPTION “LEGIBILITY”-AS A VISUAL

QUALITY WHICH CAN BE RECOGNIZE AND CAN BE ORGANIZE.
• ALSO THE VISUAL FORM OF THE CITY IS DIFFERENT THEN THE PEOPLE PERCEIVED.
• SO THE NEED OF GENERALIZE MENTAL IMAGE TO COMMUNICATE THE IDENTITY OF
PARTICULAR PLACE.
• AND PARTICIPATION OF THE CITIZENS PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE TO BUILD THEIR OWN
IMAGE OF PARTICULAR CITY.
• ALSO HE TALKS ABOUT IDENTITY AND STRUCTURE OF MENTAL IMAGE AND THEIR NEED IN
OUR PERCEPTUAL WORLD AND ALSO THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING HIM GAVE
BIRTH TO THE “IMAGEABILITY”.
• WHEN IT IS GENERALIZED IMPACT OF COMMON CULTURE, PHYSIOLOGICAL NATURE OF
SURROUNDINGS ARE SEEN ON BUILDING THE IMAGE AND ALSO ENVIRONMENT AS A
TOOL TO SHAPING THE IMAGE IS BEING DISCUSSES.
LEGIBILITY OR CLARITY

• IT WILL CONCENTRAT E ESPECIALLY ON ONE PARTICULAR VISUAL QUALITY : THE

APPARENT CLARITY OR "LEGIBILITY " OF THE CITYSCAPE.
• ALTHOUGH LEGIBILITY IS NOT THE ONLY IMPORTANT PROPERTY OF A BEAUTIFUL
CITY; BUT IS OF IMPORTANCE WHEN ENVIRONMENTS AT THE URBAN SCALE OF
SIZE, TIME AND COMPLEXITY IS CONSIDERED
• STRUCTURING AND IDENTIFYING THE ENVIRONMENT IS A VITAL ABILITY AMONG
ALL MOBILE ANIMALS . MANY KINDS OF CUES ARE USED : THE VISUAL
SENSATIONS O F COLOR , SHAPE , MOTION , OR POLARIZATION OF LIGHT, AS
WELL AS OTHER SENSES SUCH A S SMELL , SOUND , TOUCH , KINESTHESIA, SENSE
OF GRAVITY , AND PERHAPS OF ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC FIELDS.
• IN THE PROCESS OF WAY-FINDING, THE STRATEGIC LINK IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL
IMAGE, THE GENERALIZED MENTAL PICTURE OF THE EXTERIOR PHYSICAL WORLD
THAT IS HELD BY AN INDIVIDUAL.
 EXAMPLE

 WHEN ANY LOCATION IN THE CITY IS GIVEN IN CONTEXT WITH A WELL KNOWN ROAD OR ANY WELL
KNOWN RESTAURANT IN THAT AREA, PEOPLE TEND TO UNDERSTAND/ REMEMBER THE LOCATION/
ROUTE MUCH BETTER.
BUILDING THE IMAGE

• HIS MAIN AIM WAS TO CREATE A MENTAL IMAGE IN EACH ONE’S BRAIN OF
THE CITY.
• THE IMAGE WOULD DEPEND INDIVIDUALLY AND DIFFER FROM PERSON TO
PERSON THOUGH THERE WOULD LIE SIMILARITY IN AGE, SEX, CULTURE,
OCCUPATION, TEMPERAMENT, OR FAMILIARITY.
• FOR EXAMPLE “ ONE MAY FIND OBJECTS EASILY, THE OTHER MIGHT FIND IT
STRONG STRUCTURE”.
STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY

• ANALYSED INTO THREE COMPONENTS: IDENTITY, STRUCTURE, MEANING

• FOR INSTANCE WHEN U SEE AN OBJECT A PERSON SHOULD BE ABLE TO
IDENTIFY WHAT IT IS AND UNDERSTAND ITS IMPORTANCE OR MEANING.
• FOR EXAMPLE DOOR :IT IS POSSIBLE TO ANALYSIS THE DOOR IN TERMS OF ITS
IDENTITY, CLARITY, POSITION, STRUCTURE, CONSIDERED AS IF THEY ARE
PRIOR TO ITS MEANING.
 IMAGEABILITY

 THAT QUALITY IN A PHYSICAL OBJECT WHICH GIVES IT

A HIGH PROBABILITY OF EVOKING A STRONG IMAGE
IN ANY GIVEN OBSERVER.
 IT IS THAT SHAPE, COLOR, OR ARRANGEMENT WHICH
FACILITATES THE MAKING OF VIVIDLY IDENTIFIED,
POWERFULLY STRUCTURED, HIGHLY USEFUL MENTAL
IMAGES OF THE ENVIRONMENT. IT MIGHT ALSO BE
CALLED LEGIBILITY, OR PERHAPS VISIBILITY IN A
HEIGHTENED SENSE, WHERE OBJECTS ARE NOT ONLY
ABLE TO BE SEEN , BUT ARE PRESENTED SHARPLY AND
INTENSELY TO THE SENSES.
EXAMPLE

 CITY/
LOCALITY IS
MEMORIZED
BY IMAGES
AND THAT IS
AN EASIER
AND
MEANINGFUL
WAY…..
 CHAPTER – 2
THREE CITIES
• THIS PART DEALS WITH THE COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL STUDY OF THREE DIFFERENT KIND OF CITY WHICH
CLARIFIES THAT ANY GIVEN CITY PEOPLE ADAPT THEIR SURROUNDING IT’S THE HUMAN NATURE AND TRY TO
EXTRACT STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY FROM THEM TO BUILD THEIR IMAGE..
• SO HERE HE EXPLAINS HOW THE IMAGE BUILDING PROCESSES IS BEING DONE AND BASED ON PRACTICAL
STUDY HE EXPLAINS THE ASSOCIATION OF CITIZEN TOWARDS THE VISUAL FORM WHICH LEAD THEM TO
EXPLAIN OTHERS ABOUT.
• SO THEY MAKE IT GENERALIZE OR THERE ARE EFFECT OF THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING THEM WHICH
HELP IN MASS COMMUNICATION TO THEIR CITIZENS.
• ALL THOUGH THERE ARE LARGE NO. OF SUCH KIND OF ELEMENT WHICH PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN
RELATING DIFFERENT PARTS OR THEY ARE BECOMING THE CLUES TO BIND ALL THE PARTIAL IMAGES AND
ALSO THE FACTOR OF TIME IS ALSO BEEN SYMBOLIZED THROUGH PHYSICAL SCENE.
• ALSO THIS PART REFERRING TOWARDS THE SET OF OVERLAP IMAGES WHICH BUILD THE OVERALL CITY
IMAGE AND IDENTIFIES DIFFERENT ELEMENTS PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN BUILDING THE VISUAL QUALITY OF
FORM “IMAGEABILITY”.
BOSTON
JERSEY CITY
LOS ANGELA
 CHAPTER – 3
THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENT

• IN THIS PART THE FIVE IDENTIFIED ELEMENTS, PATH, EDGES, NODES, DISTRICTS, AND LANDMARKS
WHICH PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE TO BUILD OR THEY ARE ALLOWING CITIZENS TO PERCEIVE THE
LARGE AND COMPLETE ENVIRONMENT AND ALSO THEIR IMPACT ON VISUAL QUALITY OF PLACE.
• BRIEFLY HE HAS DESCRIBES EACH ELEMENT, ITS ROLE, ITS IMPACT ON THE CITY.
PATHS

• PATH S ARE THE CHANNELS ALONG WHICH THE OBSERVER CUSTOMARILY ,

OCCASIONALLY , OR POTENTIALLY MOVES .
• THE Y MAY BE STREETS , WALKWAYS , TRANSIT LINES , CANALS , RAILROADS.
• FOR MANY PEOPLE , THESE ARE THE PREDOMINANT ELEMENTS IN THEIR IMAGE.
• PEOPLE OBSERVE THE CITY WHILE MOVING THROUGH IT , AN D ALONG THESE
PATHS THE OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENT S ARE ARRANGE D AN D RELATED.
EDGES

• BOUNDARIES.
• THEY CAN BE EITHER REAL OR PERCEIVED.
• THESE ARE WALLS, BUILDINGS, AND SHORELINES, CURBSTONE, STREETS,
OVERPASSES, ETC.
• EDGES ARE LINEAR ELEMENTS THAT FORM BOUNDARIES BETWEEN AREAS OR
LINEAR BREAKS IN CONTINUITY (E.G. SHORES, RAILWAY CUTS, WALLS).
 DISTRICT

• DISTRICTS ARE THE MEDIUM-TO-LARGE SECTION S O F THE CITY .

• CONCEIVED OF AS HAVING TWO-DIMENSIONAL EXTENT ,
WHICH THE OBSERVER MENTALLY ENTER S "INSIDE OF, " AND
WHICH ARE RECOGNIZABLE A S HAVING SOME COMMON ,
IDENTIFYING CHARACTER .
• ALWAYS IDENTIFIABLE FROM THE INSIDE , THEY ARE ALSO USED
FOR EXTERIOR REFERENCE IF VISIBLE FROM THE OUTSIDE
• MOST PEOPLE STRUCTURE THEIR CITY TO SOME EXTENT IN THIS
WAY , WITH INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE S AS TO WHETHER PATHS
OR DISTRICTS ARE THE DOMINANT ELEMENTS .
• IT SEEMS TO DEPEND NOT ONLY UPON THE INDIVIDUAL BUT
ALSO UPON THE GIVE N CITY.
 NODES

• LARGE AREAS YOU CAN ENTER, SERVE AS THE

FOCI OF THE CITY, NEIGHBORHOOD, DISTRICT,
ETC.
• OFFERS THE PERSON IN THEM MULTIPLE
PERSPECTIVES OF THE OTHER CORE ELEMENTS.
• NODES ARE POINTS, THE STRATEGIC SPOTS IN A
CITY INTO WHICH AN OBSERVER CAN ENTER,
AND WHICH ARE THE INTENSIVE FOCI TO AND
FROM WHICH HE IS TRAVELLING..
• STRATEGIC POINTS IN THE CITY THAT:
• • THE USER CAN ENTER IT
• • BE DIRECTED TO MANY DESTINATIONS
• • IT CAN BE GATHERING PLACES
 LANDMARKS

• ANOTHER TYPE OF POINT-REFERENCE, BUT IN

THIS CASE THE OBSERVER DOES NOT ENTER
WITHIN THEM, THEY ARE EXTERNAL.
• THEY ARE USUALLY A RATHER SIMPLY
DEFINED PHYSICAL OBJECT: BUILDING,
SIGN, STORE, OR MOUNTAIN.
• A PHYSICAL ELEMENT WITH UNIQUE AND
SPECIAL VISUAL FEATURES THAT HAS A
"POINT-SPECIFIC” LOCATION, AND CAN BE
IDENTIFIED FROM THE DISTANCE.
ELEMENT INTERRELATION

• AS THE NAME SAYS ELEMENTS SHOULD

INTERRELATE THESE RAW MATERIALS OF THE
CITY MUST BE PATTERN TOGETHER TO
PROVIDE A SATISFYING FORM.
• FOR EXAMPLE “NETS OF PATHS”
• “CLUSTERS OF LANDMARKS”
• “MOSAICS OF REGIONS”
• BY IMPLEMENTING THIS THE CITY FORMS
LANDMARKS, CITY SQUARE, JUNCTIONS,
ETC,.
THE SHIFTING IMAGE

• WHEN THE IMAGE OF THE CITY IS

IMAGINED AN INDIVIDUAL WOULD
CORELATE MULTIPLE BUILDINGS THAN
A SINGLE PIECE OF MATTER
• THIS WOULD BE RESPECTED
TYPOLOGY, SEASONS,
ORGANIZATION, STRATEGIES
IMAGE QUALITY

• IMAGE QUALITY DEPENDS ON HOW THE IMAGE IS BEING FORMED IN EACH

BEING.
• THE QUALITY CAN BE BOLD , ABSTRACT , RANDOM , PARTICULAR , ETC
• HE SAYS THAT " THE MENTAL PICTURE OF THE BUILDING MIGHT BE VIVID
INVOLVING SHAPE , COLOUR TEXTURE , DETAILS OR BE ABSTRACT "
 CHAPTER – 4
CITY FORM
• HERE HE EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS WHICH WERE IDENTIFIED EARLIER AND HOW
SIGNIFICANTLY THEY CAN BE LOOKED AT WHILE RESHAPING THE CITY.
• CITY FORM MUST BE NONCOMMITTAL PLASTIC TO THE PURPOSE AND PERCEPTION OF ITS CITIZENS WHICH
ALLOWS CITIZENS TO PERCEIVE AND CHANGE THE FUNCTIONS AND MEANINGS FOR NEW IMAGERY.
• ALSO THERE ARE LIMITATIONS THAT THE DESIGNER FACES THE CREATION OF NEW IMAGE WHEN EXTENSIVE
REDEVELOPMENT IS UNDERWAY.
• SO AS A DESIGNER APART FROM FUNCTIONAL PARTS VISUAL PERSPECTIVE SHOULD BE INCORPORATED TO
GENERATES MEANINGS FOR NEW IMAGE.
• SO DEVELOPING “VISUAL PLAN” AT CITY SCALE IS NECESSARY TO STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC IMAGE.
• ALSO THE DUAL PROCESSES BETWEEN OBSERVER AND OBSERVED DIRECTS TOWARDS THE EXTERNAL SHAPE
WHERE DESIGNER PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE.
DESIGNING THE PATHS

• TO HEIGHTEN THE IMAGEABILITY OF THE

URBAN ENVIRONMENT IS TO FACILITATE
ITS VISUAL IDENTIFICATION AND
STRUCTURING.
• THE ELEMENTS ISOLATED ABOVE—THE
PATHS, EDGES, LANDMARKS, NODES,
AND REGIONS.
• ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS IN THE
PROCESS OF MAKING FIRM,
DIFFERENTIATED STRUCTURES AT THE
URBAN SCALE.
DESIGN OF OTHER ELEMENTS
 FORM QUALITIES

• THE CLUES FOR URBAN DESIGN HAVE BEEN SUMMARIZED UNDER THIS TOPIC AS:
• A. SINGULARITY
• B. FORM SIMPLICITY
• C. CONTINUITY
• D. DOMINANCE
• E. CLARITY OF JOINT
• F. DIRECTIONAL DIFFERENTIATION
• G. VISUAL SCOPE
• H. MOTION AWARENESS
• I. TIME SERIES
• J. NAMES AND MEANINGS
• ALL OF THESE QUALITIES DO NOT WORK IN ISOLATION. A REGION WOULD BE UNMISTAKABLE WHICH
HAD A SIMPLE FORM, A CONTINUITY OF BUILDING TYPE AND USE, WHICH WAS SINGULAR IN THE CITY,
SHARPLY BOUNDED, CLEARLY JOINTED TO A NEIGHBORING REGION AND VISUALLY CONCAVE.
FORM QUALITIES

A. SINGULARITY B. FORM SIMPLICITY C. CONTINUITY

FORM QUALITIES
F. DIRECTIONAL
D. DOMINANCE E. CLARITY OF JOINT DIFFERENTIATION
FORM QUALITIES

G. VISUAL SCOPE H. MOTION AWARENESS

FORM QUALITIES

I. TIME SERIES J. NAMES AND MEANINGS

 THE SENSE OF THE WHOLE

• IN DISCUSSING DESIGN BY ELEMENT TYPES THERE IS A

TENDENCY TO SKIM OVER THE INTERRELATION OF THE
PARTS INTO A WHOLE.
• IN SUCH A WHOLE, PATHS WOULD EXPOSE AND
PREPARE FOR THE DISTRICTS, AND LINK TOGETHER THE
VARIOUS NODES.
• THE NODES WOULD JOINT AND MARK OFF THE PATHS,
WHILE THE EDGES WOULD BIND OFF THE DISTRICTS, AND
THE BOUNDARIES WOULD INDICATE THEIR CORES.
• IT IS THE TOTAL ORCHESTRATION OF THESE UNITS WHICH
• WOULD KNIT TOGETHER A DENSE AND VIVID IMAGE,
AND SUSTAIN IT OVER AREAS OF METROPOLITAN SCALE.
 METROPOLITAN FORM

• TOTAL IMAGEABILITY OF AN EXTENSIVE AREA SUCH AS A

METROPOLITAN REGION WOULD NOT MEAN AN EQUAL
INTENSITY OF IMAGE AT EVERY POINT.
• THERE WOULD BE DOMINANT FIGURES AND MORE EXTENSIVE
BACKGROUNDS, FOCAL POINTS AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE.
• THERE ARE TWO TECHNIQUES SUGGESTED:
1. THE ENTIRE REGION IS ORGANIZED AS A STATIC HIERARCHY.
2. ANY GIVEN PART OF THE REGION MIGHT FOCUS ON A MINOR
NODE, THESE MINOR NODES BEING SATELLITE TO A MAJOR
NODE, WHILE ALL THE MAJOR NODES ARE ARRANGED TO
CULMINATE IN A SINGLE PRIMARY NODE FOR THE REGION.
THE PROCESS OF DESIGN
 CHAPTER – 5
A NEW SCALE
• SUMMARIZING ALL THE DISCUSSION WHICH POINTED TOWARDS THE IDENTITY AND
STRUCTURE OF SINGLE ELEMENT AND THEIR PATTERN IN SMALL COMPLEX AND DIRECTED
TOWARDS THE FUTURE CITY FORM AS A WHOLE PATTERN.
• HE IDENTIFY IMAGE AS THE FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS AND ITS ORGANIZATION
INVOLVES WHOLLY NEW DESIGN PROBLEM.
• LARGE SCALE IMAGEABILITY ARE RARE TODAY SO EFFORT TOWARD ENRICH THEM
(IMAGEABILITY) WITH SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT CAN BRING THE POWER BACK AND
THE IMPACT OF VISUAL QUALITIES WILL REFERRED TOWARD MAKING OR RESHAPING OUR
OWN CITY TOWARDS A SOURCE OF DAILY ENJOYMENT.
APPENDICES

• THE WHOLE SECOND PART DEALING WITH THE OTHER HALF OF THE CITY WHICH IN LARGER CONTEXT HAVE
INCLUSION OF ALL OTHER ELEMENTS LIKE CULTURE, ECONOMICS, TIME ETC.
• WHICH BUILD OTHER HALF OF THE IMAGE AND THE METHOD HOW THE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN DONE AND THE
CONTENT HAS BEEN NARROW DOWN TOWARDS THE PERCEPTION AND IDENTITY OF FUTURE CITY BY VISUAL FORM.
• ALSO ALL THE METHOD IS DEPENDS UPON THE UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETATION OF PARTICIPANTS.
• AS OUR PERCEPTUAL MECHANISM IS SO ADAPTABLE THAT EVERY HUMAN CAN DISTINGUISH THE PARTS FROM THE
SURROUNDING AND ABLE TO GIVE MEANING TO SIGNIFICANT DETAILS.
• HE ALSO TALKS ABOUT THE METHOD AND VALIDITY OF IT IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO AND HOW HE USED TO
ANALYZED THE IMAGEABILITY AS A WHOLE.
• DIFFERENT MAPS SHOWS THE VARIATION OF HOW CITY IS BEING PERCEIVED AND SO THE NEED OF THE
DEVELOPMENT FOR THE VISUAL PLAN IS DISCUSSED AND AS TIME BECOME THE PART OF IMAGE DEVELOPMENT IT
NEEDS TO UP TO DATE TO DERIVE VISUAL FUTURE FORM FOR THE CITY.
• TO UNDERSTAND THE GENERATORS OF THESE VISUAL IMAGES WHICH DIFFERS FROM AGE GROUPS, FAMILIARITY
TO THE PLACE AND SO ON HOW THEY COMMUNICATED AS WELL AS THE OBVIOUS STRUCTURE AND NEED OF
POTENTIAL STRUCTURE WHICH WILL ALLOW ONE TO GRADUALLY CONSTRUCT A MORE COMPLEX AND
COMPREHENSIVE PICTURE.
BEACON HILL
BEACON HILL
SCOLLAY SQUARE
SCOLLAY SQUARE
THANKYOU