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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
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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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
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
13 of 20 people found the following review helpful
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!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
96 of 99 people found the following review helpful
The psychology of urban designs
22 Dec 1999
Format:Paperback
This book describes mental maps obtained from residents in several cities such as Boston, Los Angeles and Jersey City. The mental maps were materialized on paper through an interview process and combined with maps from many individuals. And the results are surprising. Each map is a composite image of the city (and hence, the book's title) that reveals not only the character of the place, but gives you a feeling for it. In Boston for example, the streets are very disorganized, so people give directions by using landmarks almost exclusively. On the other hand, in Jersey City, with extremely uniform architecture, directions are given by street number and points of the compass. An unusual discovery concerns very long streets in Boston. They appear on the map with missing sections - these sections are totally invisible to the people interviewed. In many cases individuals were unaware that Washington street in one neighborhood is a continuation of Washington Street in another neighborhood. These blind spots affect how people move around, it affects the directions they give to others and it contributes or reinforces fears they may have about certain neighborhoods. The book moves from these maps and observations and tries to develop rules of thumb for urban design. People feel more comfortable and perhaps more anchored if they know where they are in space and in relation to visible landmarks. Some cities provide this comfort level more effectively than others - this book tries to find root causes. It's no wonder this is a classic.
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful
A Great Help in Forming a Design Perspective
1 May 2001
Format:Paperback
The urban setting is a composition of nodes, landmarks, paths, edges and districts, accorsing to Lynch. This physical summary of urban landscape may not be satisfactory for some. However, for others, including me, this book is a great help in forming a design perspective at the city level. It does not matter at all if you have just started forming your perspective or working on the final details. The book should be in your library, and the design guidelines should be in your mind, not only when designing a peace of urban space, but also when you are just wondering around.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
A Time Capsule of Useful Urban Design Information
18 July 2006
Format:Paperback
Given that this book was written in the 1950's, it is still relevent to current urban design thinking. It must have been very innovative in the 1950's.
Once the reader gets past the unusual layout of the book and the out of date language, there are many useful urban design concepts to be found in this little book.
Pathways, boundaries, disconnects and nodes are all discussed from varying points of view, using notable USA cities as examples.
One point of relevance is the statement that there is not one city in the USA that could be considered a great example of urban design (as stated in the 1950's). As an Australian, I could say the same of Australian cities. The Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane are terrible examples of urban sprawl. The north-south spread of Greater Sydney now covers almost 200 kilometres.
The principles stated in this book are still relevant to urban designers today.
Once the reader gets past the unusual layout of the book and the out of date language, there are many useful urban design concepts to be found in this little book.
Pathways, boundaries, disconnects and nodes are all discussed from varying points of view, using notable USA cities as examples.
One point of relevance is the statement that there is not one city in the USA that could be considered a great example of urban design (as stated in the 1950's). As an Australian, I could say the same of Australian cities. The Australian cities of Sydney and Brisbane are terrible examples of urban sprawl. The north-south spread of Greater Sydney now covers almost 200 kilometres.
The principles stated in this book are still relevant to urban designers today.
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