“The City Image and its Elements”

From The Death and Life of Great American Cities

By Kevin Lynch

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About the Author

Kevin Andrew Lynch, Born on 1918 in Chicago, Illinois,Died on 1984 Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Was an American urban planner and author. His most influential books include The Image of the City (1960) and What Time is This Place? (1972). Lynch studied at Yale UniversityTaliesin (studio) under Frank Lloyd WrightRensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and received a Bachelor’s degree in city planning from MIT in 1947.

The Image of City – Date of publish:

Lynch’s most famous work, The Image of the City published in 1960 by The M.I.T. s the result of a five-year study on how observers take in information of the city.  Using three disparate cities as examples (Boston, Jersey City, and Los Angeles), Lynch reported that users understood their surroundings in consistent and predictable ways, forming mental maps.

mentalmap

The Image of City – period :

postmodern (1960’s).

Illustration :

            Lynch reported that users understood their surroundings in consistent and predictable ways, forming mental maps with five elements:

Path: linear element (streets, avenues, paths, railway, metro …)

1

 Edge: linear element that marks the boundary between one structure and another.

2

District: surface or defined area.

3

Node: The point that is formed from the intersection of flows.

4

Landmarks: remarkable and reference point.

5

Other References:

http://becerrilestefania.blogspot.com/2013/05/kevin-lynch.html

http://www.sjsu.edu/cfd/docs/enactAIM_hilary/

 for more information click here

 Published By: Abida Khan

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