What does the city's form actually mean to the people who live there? What can the city planner do to make the city's image more vivid and memorable to the city dweller? To answer these questions, Mr. Lynch, supported by studies of Los Angeles, Boston, and Jersey City, formulates a new criterion--imageability--and shows its potential value as a guide for the building and rebuilding of cities.The wide scope of this study leads to an original and vital method for the evaluation of city form. The architect, the planner, and certainly the city dweller will all want to read this book.
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"...a readable, tautly organized, authoritative volume..." Architectural Forum "This small and readable book makes one of the most important modern contributions to large-scale design theory. David A. Crane Journal of the American Institute of Planners
About the Author
Kevin Lynch (1918-1984) studied with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin and later obtained a Bachelor of City Planning degree from MIT. After a long and distinguished career on the faculty of the MIT School of Architecture and Urban Planning, he was named Professor Emeritus of City Planning.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Artsreadings
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book is written from the point of view of the urban planner and the urban designer in the early 1960s America.
As a consequence, readers looking for scholarship about visual culture of the city, the visual representation of the urban environment or a theoretical approach on the matter will not be engrossed by Lynch's book.
One of the key concepts of the book is the concern for the legibility of the urban space.
The table of contents of the book makes the intention of the author rather crystal-clear.
I. The Image of the Environment, 1;
Legibility, 2;
Building the Image, 6;
Structure and Identity, 8;
Imageability, 9;
II. Three Cities, 14;
Boston, 16;
Jersey City, 25;
Los Angeles, 32;
Common Themes, 43;
III. The City Image and Its Elements, 46;
Paths, 49;
Edges, 62;
Districts, 66;
Nodes, 72;
Landmarks, 78;
Element Interrelations, 83;
The Shifting Image, 85;
Image Quality, 87;
IV. City Form, 91;
Designing the Paths, 95;
Design of Other Elements, 99;
Form Qualities, 105;
The Sense of the Whole, 108;
Metropolitan Form, 112;
The Process of Design, 115;
V. A New Scale, 118
Appendices
A. Some References to Orientation, 123;
Types of Reference Systems, 128;
Formation of the Image, 131;
The Role of Form, 133;
Disadvantages of Imageability, 138;
B. The Use of the Method, 140;
The Method as the Basis for Design, 155;
Directions for Future Research, 156;
C. Two Examples of Analysis, 160
Beacon Hill, 160;
Scollay Square, 173;
Bibliography, 182;
Index, 187
As a consequence, readers looking for scholarship about visual culture of the city, the visual representation of the urban environment or a theoretical approach on the matter will not be engrossed by Lynch's book.
One of the key concepts of the book is the concern for the legibility of the urban space.
The table of contents of the book makes the intention of the author rather crystal-clear.
I. The Image of the Environment, 1;
Legibility, 2;
Building the Image, 6;
Structure and Identity, 8;
Imageability, 9;
II. Three Cities, 14;
Boston, 16;
Jersey City, 25;
Los Angeles, 32;
Common Themes, 43;
III. The City Image and Its Elements, 46;
Paths, 49;
Edges, 62;
Districts, 66;
Nodes, 72;
Landmarks, 78;
Element Interrelations, 83;
The Shifting Image, 85;
Image Quality, 87;
IV. City Form, 91;
Designing the Paths, 95;
Design of Other Elements, 99;
Form Qualities, 105;
The Sense of the Whole, 108;
Metropolitan Form, 112;
The Process of Design, 115;
V. A New Scale, 118
Appendices
A. Some References to Orientation, 123;
Types of Reference Systems, 128;
Formation of the Image, 131;
The Role of Form, 133;
Disadvantages of Imageability, 138;
B. The Use of the Method, 140;
The Method as the Basis for Design, 155;
Directions for Future Research, 156;
C. Two Examples of Analysis, 160
Beacon Hill, 160;
Scollay Square, 173;
Bibliography, 182;
Index, 187
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A complex read which at first seems flawless in its interpretation of the urban scene but as a comprehensive guide to imagability it falls short as a result of it's relative failure to consider senses other than optic
14 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
An extremely interesting book describing the way in which differing Urban Design principles have been associated to the development of urban settlements in America. Using case studies such as Boston and New Jersey, Lynch describes what is important to each areas image through the eyes of both the public and professionals. A core text for any Urban Design student!
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