Academic book review by S.

Papelleras
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
College of Architecture S.Y 2021-2022

The Image of the City

Harvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies Series

Joint Centre for Urban studies
Volume 11 of M.I.T. paperback series
Volume 1 of Publication of the Joint Center for Urban Studies, ISSN 0075-3947
Publications of the Joint center for urban studies of the Massachusetts institute of
technology and Harvard university, ISSN 0075-3947

The Image of the City is a notable textbook that examines urban planning and, more
specifically, how people view cities. The book focuses on how people imagine the cities
where they work and live in their heads. The author, Kevin Andrew Lynch (1918 Chicago,
Illinois -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)

This book is one of a series published under the auspices of the Joint Center for Urban
Studies.

Image of the City is a seminal book to the field of urban design. In this book, Lynch
describes how individuals perceive and recall features in urban spaces.

This book is a really useful contribution to our understanding of how individuals see,
inhabit, and navigate around the urban environment. It demonstrates that urban
environment is made up of representations in mental pictures as well as physical aspects.
Mobility is more than just (the capacity for) free-flowing movement; it also relies largely
on mental maps to structure and recognize the environment.

New notions of legibility and imageability are provided in the first section to lay the
theoretical groundwork for the entire book. Lynch then used three American cities as
examples to demonstrate the results of his field reconnaissance, and then made
comparisons between them. The third section summarizes five elements and their
interrelationships from prior studies, which serve as the book's primary material.

People may adjust to structural idiosyncrasies or an uninteresting identity, according to

Lynch, but it takes time and effort. People can use tactics that help them traverse cities.
To develop passable and interesting cities, he advises city planners to consider five

1|Page
Academic book review by S. Papelleras
Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
College of Architecture S.Y 2021-2022

interrelated features. These aspects aid citizens in forming mental images and allowing
them to infer their own interpretations from the city's characteristics. Paths, edges,

districts, nodes, and landmarks are examples of these properties. These are the main
aspects of a city, according to Lynch, that allow inhabitants to generate mental images,
assign meaning, and form emotional attachments to it. He urges city planners to consider
these elements when designing new urban developments.

The book demonstrates the benefits and preferences of well-planned communities, and
these ideas are applied to our planning and investment processes. "The function of a
good visual environment may not be just to facilitate routine excursions, nor to enhance
meanings and feelings already owned," according to this book, which is laced with
meaningful insights into the various ways one can experience the city. Its position as a
guide and incentive for fresh exploration could be just as significant. Readers will be
interested in learning more about the significance and importance of this, particularly in
terms of how citizens perceive cities.

It's difficult not to admire the Author's work because of his simple, forgiving approach,
which draws the reader in. I got a little caught down in the details at times. Without a large
map of the city to hand, I found myself skimming some of the results pages as he lists the
names of many individual roads, bridges, suburbs, and so on. The book does have a
shroud of tediousness that makes it a boring read at times, but the numerous pages that
cover these crucial principles are well worth the effort.

Nonetheless, "The Image of the City" is a great work that may be read again as if it were
written today. Lynch's split of mapping/earning/shaping can be applied to each locative
media project as crucial questions to ask.

REFERENCES
To be discussed

2|Page