URBAN DESIGN

URBAN - DESIGN
IMAGEABILITY OF THE CITY
IMAGE OF THE CITY
IMAGEABILITY: “It is that quality
in a physical object which gives it
a higher probability of evoking a
strong image in any given
observer”
Kevin Lynch
• City Image is important because the ability to recognize objects in our
environment is critical to our ability to act and function in places
effectively (Lynch 1981). Thus, the ability of a city is somewhat depends
on its ability to be easily found and identified.
• Kevin Lynch made a connection between Psychology and built
Environment.

T.Nagar, Chennai Ritchie Street, Chennai

IMAGE OF THE CITY
 URBAN - DESIGN
KEVIN LYNCH – IMAGE OF THE
CITY
KEVIN LYNCH
(1918 - 1984)
KEVIN LYNCH (1918 - 1984)
• An American urban planner.
• He was the author of one of the most influential book, “The Image of the
city” 1960.
• Straightforward approach to the city, taken by every individual, is looking
at it, which constitutes a 5-sense aesthetical experience through space
and time. Unlike Architecture, Urbanism is in constant change: today,
fifty years later.
• Lynch focuses on four main concepts, correlated to a wise urban
planning:
• a urban system has to be held legible, through definite sensory cues
• its image has to be perceived by the observer, arbitrarily selected by
the community and finally manipulated by city planners.
• legibility and imageability would then lead to the identification of a
structure, and therefore a precise identity, which are both
parameters through which it is possible to analyse an urban system
and its own elements.
Good City forms
KEVIN LYNCH (1918 - 1984)
• Lynch provided seminal contribution to field of planning through
empirical research on how individuals perceive and navigate the urban
landscape.
• His books “Good City Forms” explore the presence of time and history
in the urban environment and how to harness human perception of the
physical form of the cities and regions as the conceptual basis for good
urban design.
• Measure of a Good City forms
• Performance of the City
• Sensitivity of the City
WHAT IS A GOOD CITY FORM??

Roman Amphitheater, Lucca, Italy

BUILDING THE IMAGE
• Environmental image is a 2-way process. It is a complex process results
from an interaction between observer and environement.
• Lynch describes observer as a citizen who “has had long associations
with some part of his city, and his image is soaked in memories and
meanings”
• He divides environmental elements into moving elements (such as
peoples, their activities) and stationary physical parts
• Way-finding in his theory is related to two things: physical elements and a
map drawn in peoples mind. This map is what Lynch named it MENTAL
MAP or COGNITIVE MAP.
• Lynch classified physical elements into natural elements and man-made
ones.
• Characteristics of environmental elements, whether they are natural or
man-made, determine the visual quality of the built environment, these
characteristics are what Lynch named Imageability.
BUILDING THE IMAGE
• The quality of an object depends upon its shape, colour and arrangement.
This quality determines the degree of legibility
• Imageability has physical and cultural components defining:
• Location (a real place, spatial relationship, prominence and scope) &
Appearance (shape, colour, age, size, material etc)
• Meaning (Economical, political, social, historical, religious, functional
etc…) and Association (familiarity, atmosphere and affinity)
• The higher imageable environments would have a good form, a strong
identity and would be recognizable to the common dweller.

Superkilen, Copenhagen
Superkilen, Copenhagen
Superkilen, Copenhagen
Superkilen, Copenhagen
Superkilen, Copenhagen
BUILDING THE IMAGE
• Image of the city introduces 2 important elements:
1. Imageability: it is how easy it is for a dialogue between the person
and the environment to build into a good mental image.
2. Legibility: is the capability of the object to be easily understood and /
or recognized
• Imageability helps in
1. Aids navigation
2. Helps make the environment feel like “home”
3. Prevents feeling lost
4. Guides social interaction
5. Legibility varies with environment.
PERFORMANCE OF THE CITY

Barcelona, Spain

The degree of good city performance is determined by its ability to

provide for biological, psychological, social, and cultural requirements of
its inhabitants.
Lynch summarized this as 5 points called the performance Dimensions
The degree of good city performance is determined by its ability to
provide for biological, psychological, social, and cultural requirements of
its inhabitants.
Lynch summarized this as 5 points called the performance Dimensions
P1: VITALITY
• The degree to which the city sustains the essential, biological
performance of human beings.
• This includes providing space and integration of water, air, energy and
food as a part of the built environment in sufficient supply to sustain
life.
• Free of danger, poisons and disasters

P2: SENSE
• It is the degree of fit between the physical city (form) and the way
people recognize and organize it in their mind.
• It reflects the clarity with which people perceive the space.
• Sense depends upon spatial structural, quality, the culture and the
current purpose of the observer.
P3: FIT
• It is the match between the action (function) and the physical city
(form), this is the requirements of the our culture.
• It is “how well the spatial and temporal pattern of a settlement matches
the customary behavior of its inhabitants”
• When there is congruence between form and pattern of behaviour,
people feel comfortable; conversely, absence or lack of fit could make
it uncomfortable and difficult to perceive through an area.

P4: Accessibility
• The ability to reach transportation and to access to all things such as
services, information, other places and to other peoples also, then an
interaction is established between these variables.
• A place should provide people with information about physical ways of
reaching it.
P5: Control
• It is degree to which the environment is under the control of the people
who actually use it or reside in it.
• People feel in control when there is enough social and physical space
to do as they need.
SENSITIVITY OF THE CITY
Stockholm, Sweden

The image of an environment is a two way process, it is the result of an

interaction between the observer and the environment in which he lives.
The process is not just how we see things and others, but also how
others see us as a part of the environment. Sense of city represents the
relationship between physical environment and cognition.
Sense can be broken into six elements:
S1: IDENTITY
• “Identity is the characteristic that allow us to differentiate one space
from another”
• It is the character and spatial attributes of an object or a place that
enhance the ability of recognizing and identifying an environment.
• These attributes of the object make it distinct, ultimately unique and
easily separable, then it stands for individuality or oneness.

S2: STRUCUTRE
• It is how the object is placed in the space considering its relation to the
observer and to the objects, as the object is not isolated from
surroundings but as a part of all environmental components.
S3: THE MEANING
• It is a hidden character of the object and the deepen sense that
reflects the importance of the object, this sense may be practical or
emotional.
• A particular city may stand for enjoyment, power, vitality, mystery or
something else presented in mental image of its inhabitants.
• Lynch says that “the visual environment should be meaningful: that is,
its visible character should relate to other aspects of life”. People
select and filter information that is meaningful to them and build their
choice on it.

S4: CONGRUENCE
• It is the relationship of the form to its function. In other words, how is
the environment structure congruent with non spatial structure. For
instance, what degree of congruence between a residential building
and family size?
S5: TRANSPARENCY (Immediacy)
• It stands for the degree of visibility of process occurring in the place to
users. It is the degree to which one can actually see what's going on.
• There are many events occurring in the city such as selling, buying
and movement, how many of them we can see actually matters.

S6: LEGIBILITY
• It is defined as “the ease with which parts can be recognized and
organised into a coherent pattern”
• Legibility is “the degree of distinctiveness that enables the viewer to
understand or categorize the contents of a scene.”
• Lynch considers legibility as a physical and spatial characteristic of the
environment, so visual sensation of color, motion, smell, touch and
sound… etc. are all cues of orientation that reinforce legibility.
• Legibility can enhance the identity, structure and the meaning of
environmental surroundings. The city has strong identity and character
but still confusing and unclear because of confusion of its path system
BUILDING THE IMAGE
• Lynch analyzed the effects of physical and perceptible objects and form
and was able to isolate distinct features of a city, and see what specifically
is making it so vibrant and attractive to people.
• People first create a mental map that constitutes a mental representation
of what the city contains, this mental representation, along with the actual
city, contains many unique elements
LYNCHIAN ELEMENTS
• Lynch undertook a 5 year study on how observers take in information of
the city, using 3 disarate cities as examples (Boston, Jersey City, and Los
Angeles). Lynch reported that users understood their surroundings
forming mental map with 5 elements.
1. Path – Distinctive thread that gives direction
2. Edge – The boundary between 2 areas
3. Node – Important pathways come together, activity
4. District – Medium/Large area with a common identity
5. Landmark – Reference point that stands out due to shape, height,
color or historic importance.
KEVIN LYNCH (1918 – 1984)
• Path: Kevin Lynch describes paths as the channels along which
people move. From here people observe other elements in the
environment
• Node: Kevin Lynch describes nodes as strategic points with intensive
use often located at junctions or connections.
• Edges and barriers: Edges are, according to Kevin Lynch, linear
elements seen as boundaries between two faces. Some edges are
barriers which close one area off from another and are therefore hard
to penetrate.
• Districts: According to Kevin Lynch districts are medium to large
sections of the city, which are possible to enter inside. The districts are
recognisable from their common identifying character.61 We have
based the districts on differences in density, usage and physical
appearance.
• Landmarks: Kevin Lynch describes landmarks as external physical
objects that can be used as a point of reference. Some landmarks are
high and can be seen from a far distance. These are often used as
radial references. Other landmarks are lower and more local, and can
only be seen from certain approaches. These contribute to the identity
of an area.
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione
• City hall constructed in 1219.
• its great rectangular hall on the upper floor, is reputed to have the
largest roof unsupported by columns in Europe
• The walls are covered with allegorical frescoes; the building stands on
arches, and the upper storey is surrounded by an open loggia.
• It severs as a active market space today.
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy
Palazzo della Ragione, Padua. Italy