Unit 3

THEORISING AND READING URBAN

SPACE
Kevin Lynch – Image of the city

• Concept of place legibility – which is essentially how people understand the

layout of the place
• Lynch was able to isolate distinct features of the city and see what specifically
makes it so vibrant and attractive to people.
• To understand the layout, the observer must create a mental map- mental
representation of what city contains and its layout according to an individual.
• He used two primary methodologies.
• First, he conducted extensive fieldwork observing the physical layout of
the city.
• Then, in-depth interviews with city residents were conducted to better
understand the mental image people have of their built environment.
• Lynch identified five key elements that make up an individual's perception of
their city: paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks.
Paths
Paths consists of the "channels along which the observer customarily, occasionally,
or potentially moves" (Lynch, p. 47). These can include streets, paths, transit routes,
or any other defined path of movement. It is important to note that the paths an
individual identifies may not correspond to a traditional street network. These
are often the most predominant items in an individual's mental map as this is main
mechanism for how they experience their city. {eg: sidewalk; trails}

path edge
Edges
Edges provide the boundaries that separate one region from another, the seams
that join two regions together, or the barriers that close one region from another.
They are linear elements, but are not the paths along with the individual
experiences the built environment. They can be physical edges such as shorelines,
walls, railroad cuts, or edges of development, or they can be less well-defined
edges that the individual perceives as a barrier.
Districts
Districts are "medium-to-large sections of the city" (Lynch, p. 47). They are
typically two-dimensional features, often held together by some commonality.
(it has an identifiable character) The individual often enters into or passes
through these districts. According to Lynch, most people use the concept of
districts to define the broader structure of their city.

Districts (poor and wealthy economic regions)

Nodes Node
Nodes are points within the city, strategically located, into which the individual
enters (and which is often the main focal point to which she or he is traveling to
or from). There are often junctions – a crossing or converging of paths. They
often have a physical element such as a popular hangout for the individual or a
plaza area. In many cases, the nodes are the centres of the district that they are
in.
Landmarks
Landmarks are also a point-reference (similar to nodes). However, unlike nodes,
which the individual enters during his or her travels, landmarks remain external
features to the individual. They are often physical structures such as a building,
sign, or geographic features (e.g. mountain). The range of landmarks is extensive,
but the commonality is that they are used by the individual to better understand
and navigate the built environment.
Gordon Cullen – The concise townscape
Also refer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb8KRiias0w
• Concept of serial vision
• Serial Vision is to walk from one end of the plan to another, at a uniform pace,
will provide a sequence of revelations which are suggested in the serial
drawings opposite, reading from left to right.

• Place description is in a world of black and white the roads are for movement
and the buildings for social and business purposes.

• Content concerned with the intrinsic quality of the various subdivisions of the
environment, and start with the great landscape categories of metropolis, town,
arcadia, park, industrial, arable and wild nature.

• Focal Point is the idea of the town as a place of assembly, of social intercourse,
of meeting, was taken for granted throughout the whole of human civilization
up to the twentieth century.

• Closure, may be differentiated from Enclosure, by contrasting ‘travel’ with

‘arrival’. Closure is the cutting up of the linear town system (streets, passages,
etc.) into visually digestible and coherent amounts whilst retaining the sense of
progression. Enclosure on the other hand provides a complete private world
which is inward looking, static and self-sufficient.
Here and There The practical result of so articulating the town into identifiable parts
is that no sooner do we create a HERE than we have to admit a THERE, and it is
precisely in the manipulation of these two spatial concepts that a large part of urban
drama arises.
Jane Jacobs– The generator of diversity (The death and life of great american
cities)
Also refer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Qs7CR7sJw

• Observation of relationship between urban form and urban life

To generate diversity in a city’s streets and districts, four conditions are

indispensable

The district, and indeed as many of its internal parts as possible must serve more
than one primary function, preferably more than two. These must ensure the
presence of people who go outdoors on difference schedules and are in the place
for different purposes, but who are able to use many facilities in common.

Most blocks must be short. i.e, streets and opportunities to turn corners must be
frequent.

The district must mingle buildings that vary in age and condition, including a good
proportion of good old ones so that they vary in the economic yield that they
produce. The mingling must be fairly close grained

There must be a sufficient dense concentration of people, for whatever purpose

they may be there. This includes dense concentration in the case of people who are
there because of residence.
Wiliam H Whyte– The social life of small urban spaces

Also refer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRbpKXtf6xk

• Observations on why some spaces in cities work for people and why some do
not

• Parks, play grounds were less crowded- Children preferred to play on streets
• Views across streets/ watching over children – highly functional for mothers
and older people
Plazas
• Some plazas attracted a large number of people than others
• Places like seagrams and 77 water street could work well, why not others?
• Zoning is not the ideal way to achieve better design of spaces
• User- young office worker.
• Supply created demand
• Best used plazas are sociable places, with high proportion of couples, more
people in groups, more people meeting people.
• Most used plazas had higher proportion of women.

Activities recorded
Morning – elderly pedestrians pausing for rest, shoeshine man, delivary
messenger, tourist
Mid day- 80% of total usage; breaks for lunch; sandwich stalls, beer stalls
Peak hours- number will vary according to season and weather
Off peak- choices of seating were found; successful plazas had crowd

Gender mentality- men show tendency to take front row (near enterance)
women tend to find secluded places

“What attracts people is people”

Every city and every plaza is different and should be observed and treated differently
but the factors that make a plaza successful in one part of the city do work in other
plazas too.
Jan Gehl– Life between buildings
Also refer : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw2pBMUKngU

• Explains how outdoor spaces within urban environments are used by general
public
• Factors that influence people to use spaces in a particu;ar way:
Necessary activity :
A person walks with a focus to getting to a specific destination
(in doing so , the individual does not stop inbetween to engage in any social
activity )
Optional activity :
A person who is in the process of necessary activity poses to engage in an activity
that they do not plan to do. (only if outside conditions are favourable )
Social Activity
A person who normally would not choose to engage in social interaction does,
when the urban environment is favourable.

• Optional and social activity depends highly on the quality of physical

environment
• That involves climatic and design factors (good seating, entertainment etc)
Seating – primary and secondary seating
• Primary – benches; secondary- short walls and steps
• According to Gehl, places should have limited number of primary and large
number of secondary seating