KEVIN LYNCH’S “THE IMAGE OF

THE CITY”
URBAN PLANNER KEVIN LYNCH, IN HIS SEMINAL 1960 BOOK THE IMAGE OF THE CITY, SETS
OUT TO SHOW HOW PEOPLE IN URBAN SETTINGS ORIENT THEMSELVES BY THE USE OF
“MENTAL MAPS.” HIS PURPOSE IS ULTIMATELY TO MAKE PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO
HIS OWN FIELD.

LYNCH’S DIVIDED HIS TREATISE INTO FIVE SECTIONS, THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT,
THREE CITIES, THE CITY AND ITS ELEMENTS, CITY FORM, AND A NEW SCALE.

HIS MAIN CONTRIBUTION WAS TO PROVIDE EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON CITY PLANNING,

STUDYING HOW INDIVIDUALS PERCEIVE AND NAVIGATE THE URBAN LANDSCAPE. THIS
BOOK, PUBLISHED IN 1960, ALSO EXPLORES THE PRESENCE OF TIME AND HISTORY IN THE
URBAN ENVIRONMENT, AND THEREFORE HOW THESE EXTERNAL FACTORS AFFECT PEOPLE.
THE FIRST, STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH TO THE CITY, TAKEN BY EVERY INDIVIDUAL, IS
LOOKING AT IT, WHICH CONSTITUTES A 5-SENSE AESTHETICAL EXPERIENCE THROUGH
SPACE AND TIME. A URBAN SYSTEM CAN THEREFORE BE EITHER PERCEIVED AS STABLE OR
IN CONSTANT CHANGE, WHICH IS THE MOST NOTICEABLE EFFECT OF EXTERNAL FACTORS
AFFECTING ANY ENVIRONMENT.

LYNCH STATES THAT, UNLIKE ARCHITECTURE, URBANISM IS IN CONSTANT CHANGE: TODAY,

FIFTY YEARS LATER, THIS ISSUE COULD BE REGARDED AND DISCUSSED WITH FURTHER
ATTENTION, AS ARCHITECTURE, TOO, IS SUBJECT TO EXTERNAL FACTORS AND DIFFERENT
PERCEPTIONS, SCALE, BUT MOSTLY A CULTURAL ASPECT, INVOLVING THE FACT THAT IN THE
1960S THE LIFE-CYCLE OF A BUILDING WAS STILL NOT WHOLLY TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, AS IT
CAME UP ABOUT TWENTY YEARS LATER WITH SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES.

LYNCH’S AIM IS TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL IMAGES AND

URBAN LIFE, AT THE BASIS OF URBAN DESIGN PRINCIPLES; HE THEREFORE BRINGS UP AN
ANALYSIS OF THREE DIFFERENT TOWNS, PUTTING INTO PRACTICE A RESEARCH METHOD
WHOSE SUCCESSFULNESS IS ASSESSED AND TESTED THROUGH THE RESULTS OF THE
ANALYSIS ITSELF.
THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT LEGIBILITY

HERE THE VISUAL QUALITY OF THE AMERICAN CITY IS CONSIDERED BY STUDYING

THE MENTAL IMAGE OF THAT CITY HELD BY ITS CITIZENS. THE CONCENTRATION IS
ON ONE PARTICULAR VISUAL QUALITY: THE APPARENT CLARITY OR “LEGIBILITY” OF
THE CITYSCAPE. TO EXPLAIN THIS IT IS COMPARED TO THE SAME PRINTED PAGE OF
THE BOOK SAYING, IF IT IS LEGIBLE, IT CAN BE GRASPED VISUALLY AS A RELATED
PATTERN OF RECOGNIZABLE SYMBOLS. 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. BUILDING THE IMAGE - ENVIRONMENTAL IMAGES ARE THE RESULT OF
A TWO –WAY PROCESS BETWEEN THE OBSERVER AND HIS ENVIRONMENT. THE
IMAGE OF A GIVEN REALITY MAY VARY SIGNIFICANTLY BETWEEN DIFFERENT
OBSERVERS. THERE ARE FORMAL TYPES OF IMAGE ELEMENTS INTO WHICH WE CAN
CONVENIENTLY DIVIDE THE CITY IMAGE: PATH, LANDMARK, EDGE, NODE AND
DISTRICT. STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY – IT SAYS, AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMAGE MAY BE
ANALYZED INTO THREE COMPONENTS: IDENTITY, STRUCTURE AND MEANING. ALL
THE THREE TERMS ARE DEFINED THEN WHICH LEADS TO THE DEFINITION OF
IMAGEABILITY AS, THE QUALITY IN A PHYSICAL OBJECT WHICH GIVES IT A HIGH
PROBABILITY OF EVOKING A STRONG IMAGE IN ANY GIVEN OBSERVER. THROUGH
THESE TERMS AND RELATED EXAMPLES, THE READERS ARE ASKED TO LEARN TO SEE
THE HIDDEN FORMS IN THE VAST COVER OF OUR CITIES. THE CONSCIOUS
REMOLDING OF THE LARGE-SCALE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN NOW
POSSIBLE. THIS PROBLEM IS PUT IN CAPSULE DEFINITION OF ARCHITECTURE BY
SUZANNE LANGER: “IT IS THE ENVIRONMENT MADE VISIBLE.”