The urban design

david123367

ARC6984_2017-18_LOPEZ_Cressy_LynchSheffield.pdf

Home >Architecture and Design homework help >The urban design

History & Theory of Urban Design

Application of Kevin Lynch’s Urban Planning Principles

from the ‘Image of the City’ to Sheffield City Centre in 2018

ARC6984

Cressy Lopez

Year 5 MArch

170204592

Intention

Image of the City

Diagrams 8

Related works

Analysis

Sheffield City Centre

Application 16

Conclusion

Bibliography

Intention In Renaissance Europe the notion of using imagery to create Urban spaces was developed. In the 15th/16th

century, Architect and theoretician Sebastian Serlio published a series of books on Architecture and Perspective

(1537-47) identifying the connections between the construction of the image and experience. He

investigated perspectives through theatre design. Andrea Palladio explored imagery and axis further in his

Teatro Olympico (1580-85), through the design of a deep stage with five skewed paths creating notable

‘street’ perspectives. Pope Sixtus V in the 16th/17th century translated Palladio’s principles to Urban

planning in the design of the Piazza del Popolo (Tridente), utilising principles of image and order. Order here

seen as a deliberate organisation of ancient space to iterate power. He utilised perspective, playing with

perception of space, connecting important points in the city through long linear axis.

Image and order are intrinsically linked, image associated with human perception and order a

determination of rational planning. Earliest expressions of geometric order in Europe, after the Roman

era, occurred in Berlin with the Scheulen plan 1757. The expansion of the city of Berlin, carried on the work

from the 1652 extensions. Through a systematic approach, strict geometry aligned axis with significant

points.

Contemporary urban designs catering for order were formulated in Post War Germany by Rob

Krier. He recognised modern urban spaces losing sight of the ‘traditional’ physical legibility, ‘It is only

through the clear legibility of its geometrical characteristics and aesthetic qualities which allows us

consciously to perceive external spaces as urban space’1 To find the essence of urban space he specified

two key elements; the square and the street, findings synthesised from a mapping study of the city. This was

then translated to a matrix of spatial typologies and their various conceivable arrangements. He formed

interesting propositions for space generation, but ultimately they are narrow in their outlook due to

simplification.

In this study image and order will be examined within the setting of Sheffield City Centre 2018,

through Kevin Lynch’s work Image of the City to determine its relevance today.

1 Rob Krier, Urban Space (Rizzoli International Publications, 1979).

Fig1. Teatro Olimpico, Andrea Palladio/Vicenzo Scamozzi, Vicenza 1580-85/1776,

showing the design of imagery through perspective depths 2

Fig 2. Piazza del Popolo, order and image achieved through perspective organisation of streets

translating ideas tested by Palladio in Teatro Olimpico 3

2 ‘Theatre Database / Theatre Architecture - Database, Projects’ <http://www.theatre-architecture.eu/db.html?theatreId=372> [accessed 11 January 2018]. 3 ‘Art 270 Early Modern Architecture’ <http://www2.oberlin.edu/images/Art270/Art270(1).html> [accessed 11 January 2018].

Figs 3 & 4. Sudliche Freidrichstadt-Ideal Plan 1977, Rob Krier, Application of the principles of the square and the street to bring order to a war fractured Berlin. Here organisation of streets follows axial form (perspective views) similar to that

explored in Teatro Olympico and Piazza Del Popolo 4

4 ‘ARC6984_Powerpoint_"Order"_2017 – ARC6984’ <https://vle.shef.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_60090_1&content_id=_3095082_1> [accessed 11 January 2018].

The Image of the City 1960

Image become prominent in the 20th century, through the works of Lynch and contemporaries including

Gordan Cullen, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Lynch’s work was formed around aesthetic principles of form in cities, concerned about the loss of

identity of American Cities in the 1960s. The investigation was aimed at finding how planners could

enhance the city’s image to make it more memorable for the city dweller. This was achieved through

studying the US cities; Los Angeles, Boston and New Jersey. Working to quantify the concept of

imageability;

K.Lynch 5

Lynch’s main motivations were; to interrogate the connections between psychology and the urban

environment, concentrating on the aesthetics of a city landscape, challenging the low priority given to

aesthetics, to develop a visual and sympathetic way of evaluating a city finally bringing to the attention of

planners, the city dwellers and human experience when conceiving policies 6

His underlying idea is that of ‘The Image of the Environment’ where people understand and mentally

process the form of cities through recognition and utilisation of key visual elements. Not only do these

elements provide organizational clues and way-finding devices for people to orient themselves in space,

but they can also help in engendering emotional security and a sense of place-based ownership that comes

from one’s ability to recognize familiar territory.7

To evaluate ‘imageability’ studies were undertaken in Los Angeles (new city of gridiron plan), Boston

(city of residence/practice and rich in form/identity) and New Jersey (due to its presumed formlessness).

In each city research was prepared in a central area of 2.5 by 1.5 miles and occurred in two forms:

1. Static interviews of a small group of residents (about 30 in Boston and roughly half in the other

cities; long term residents or those working in the area) about their mental picture of the place. This

encouraged the forming of a person's perception of their city; based on descriptions, sketches and

imaginary trips.8 Combined with street interviews mental mapping diagrams were produced.

5 Kevin Lynch, The Image of the City (MIT Press, 1960). 6 Kevin Lynch, Reconsidering the Image of the City, 1984, Matthew Carmona and Steven Tiesdell, Urban Design Reader (Routledge, 2007). 7 Carmona and Tiesdell. 8 Lynch, The Image of the City.

‘The quality in a physical object which gives it a high probability of evoking a strong image in any

given observer. It is the shape, colour, or arrangement which facilitates the making of vividly

identified, powerfully structured, highly useful mental images of the environment.’

2. Observer mapping occurred with trained observers mapping various elements of visibility,

judging strengths and weaknesses through assumptions made as responses to components

experienced in the field.

Research was then collated into key drawings of the presumed visual forms of the cities. These found that

though the image conceived for each city was distinctive, people used the same descriptive elements to form

coherent mental images of a place. The elements convey the city image and the qualities that make them

strong or weak, they were simplified and categorised into five;

1. Paths- Channels along which an observer moves (e.g. Streets, walkways, canals)

2. Edges- Linear elements not considered as paths by the observer, boundaries between two phases

(e.g. railroad cuts, edges of development, city wall, rivers)

3. Districts- Medium-to-large areas within a city with a distinctive character

4. Nodes- Strategic points in the city which are an intense focus for travel (e.g. junctions, crossings)

5. Landmarks- References used to identify places, relied upon by the observer to make familiar

journeys (e.g. specific building, tree, sign)

Through his works Lynch found that the quality of the image of a city was vital for well-being. With

elements as key, aiding way-finding providing a better experience the stronger they are.

Fig 5. Initially observations were made about the problems with the Boston Image 9 9 Lynch, The Image of the City.

Fig 6. The five key elements as identified by through interviews and observations made in the field 10

Fig 7. Elements then compiled through research to produce a visual form of the city, Boston 11

10 Lynch, The Image of the City. 11 Lynch, The Image of the City.

Fig 8. Los Angeles Image 12

Fig 9. Jersey City Image 13

12 Lynch, The Image of the City. 13 Lynch, The Image of the City.

Related works In 1961 Cullen published The Concise Townscape. He worked with image through the notion of a ‘scape’ in a

city, championing Serlio’s ideas of the correlation of different contextual elements in creating ‘drama’, with

constantly shifting settings forming the urban scene. ‘Serial Vision’, the way in which pedestrians observe

the city, he sees as a valuable tool when designing effective spaces. Using ‘a series of jerks and revelations’

sequentially to achieve an emotional response. This correlates with Lynch’s understanding of the

importance of experience in determining spatial principles.

A different approach to image was taken by Venturi and Scott Brown, in Learning from Las Vegas

1972. The commercial strip of Las Vegas (urban sprawl) was seen as designed devoid of traditional design

principles, hence could not be represented through known methods. The investigation thus developed

suitable graphic representation using modern media, identifying the prominence of the car journey.

Findings were synthesised into matrixes showing typologies, depicted through categorisation. Here though

varied in approach, there is a realisation of image as key in providing the basis of recognition and

experience in the city, overcoming bias associated with commercial aesthetics.

Krier employed both order and image, in his Design proposal for a Market Place in Karlsruhe, 1979,

working with post modern principles beyond aesthetics. Continual conflict left Berlin as a damaged city

lacking legibility in the 1970s. Krier developed an ‘ideal’ plan (1977) providing a new order, respecting

historical plans. He proposed dividing larger blocks into smaller ones, working with the phased gridded

developments of Berlin in 1790, 1850, 1900 and 1933, creating ease of navigation. His studies on the

duality of squares and streets were implemented through hierarchy, looking at proportions and variations.

Figs 10 & 11. Cullen’s notion of the ‘serial vision’ and its effect on experiencing image within a city 14

Figs 12 & 13. Krier’s studies on different building typologies and their expression in his 1977 Proposal for Berlin; with order and ease of navigation achieved through manageable blocks 15

14 Gordon Cullen, Concise Townscape (Routledge, 2012). 15 ARC6984_Powerpoint_"Order"_2017 – ARC6984’ <https://vle.shef.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_60090_1&content_id=_3095082_1> [accessed 11 January 2018].

Figs. 14 & 15. Venturi and Scott Brown’s strong visual representation of Las Vegas giving prominence to the car

journey as primary mode for experiencing the city. Identification of ‘non architectural’ elements as key in forming the image of Las Vegas 16

16 Robert Venturi & Denise Scott Brown, Learning from Las Vegas (Cambridge (Mass.); London: MIT Press, 1972).

Analysis Lynch’s work is effective in its critique of methods both within the Image of the City and in later works,

especially Reconsidering the image of the city 1984. The initial aim was to get city planners to consult those who

live within the city when making decisions, instead a diametrically opposite result occurred with planners

using the tools (elements) formulated as a technique to predict the public image without actual

consultation. This meant that city planning carried on with no user interaction, allowing the autonomy of

power to remain with policy makers.

Other shortfalls of Lynch’s work include;

1. Absence of literature and training in methods of research

2. Accessibility for the interviewee to engage in research; unfamiliar methods of investigation used

3. Lack of variation in the sample interviewed, primarily young and middle class. Class, age,

familiarity, gender and roles have varying affects on the perception of place. Broader samples

interviewed in Appleyard in Cuidad, Guyana17 found that social class and habitual use cause

people to see a city with very different eyes.18

4. The city was perceived solely as a transaction between person and place, not enough

consideration of other aspects which affect image such as order (city plans) and movement

(traffic).

5. Mind and its workings are elusive and hence hard to accurately represent. Questions the precision

of mental mapping (variable according to situation) Mental image is as diverse as human experience.

How to quantify:

a. Pleasure of recognition vs displeasure of being lost, Surprise and disorder in providing

emotional satisfaction

b. Self-identity reinforced by identity of place, complex surroundings discriminatory to the

‘less developed’ (e.g. age and mental capacity)

6. Static findings and representation of the city, no recognition of how it came to develop its form

and how it may evolve

In later critiques Lynch identifies that mental maps are formed through a recognition of ‘Sensescapes’, not

primarily sight but also through smells and sounds of any given place.19 Furthermore a recognition of

‘sense of occasion’, formed by a city’s temporary and periodic activities such as festivals affect the mental

17 Donald Appleyard, Planning a Pluralist City: Conflicting Realities in Ciudad Guayana (MIT Press, 2003). 18 Carmona and Tiesdell. 19 Kevin Lynch, Managing the Sense of a Region (Mass., 1976).

image and should add to the ‘sense of place’.20 Another consideration which is lacking is the role of the

media in the 1960s and its affect on the image created within people’s minds.21

A contemporary who effectively raised awareness of the needs of the city dweller was Jane Jacobs,

through her activism and published works The Death and Life of Great American Cities 1961. She introduced

ideas of ‘eyes on the street’ and ‘social capital’, highlighting the communal advantages of the order of lower rise

forms in ‘old’ city spaces. She also explored how elements within the city could enhance human

experience.

J. Jacobs 22

20 Kevin Lynch, Good City Form (MIT Press, 1984). 21 Gert-Jan Hospers, ‘Lynch’s The Image of the City after 50 Years: City Marketing Lessons from an Urban Planning Classic’, European Planning Studies, 18.12 (2010), 2073–81. 22 Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016).

‘Wherever the old city is working successfully, is a marvellous order for maintaining

the safety of the streets and the freedom of the city. It is a complex order. Its essence is intricacy

of sidewalk use, bringing with it a constant succession of eyes. This order is all

composed of movement and change…we may fancifully call it the art form of the

city and liken it to the dance…The ballet of the good city sidewalk never repeats

itself from place to place, and in any once place is always replete with new

improvisations.’

Sheffield City Centre Settlements existed in Sheffield from the 9th century, with the city’s fame for steel making recorded as far

back as the 14th century. Modern day Sheffield however developed in the 19th century, with innovations in

steel production fuelling growth in industry and population. Industrial prominence led to the city being

bombed during WWII. Post war Sheffield saw necessary urban development, including traffic

infrastructure (inner ring road) and greater social housing provisions (Park Hill estate).

Over the last 15 years Sheffield’s City Centre has experienced dramatic transformations. A

guiding hand behind this success has been a series of City Centre Master Plans (1994, 2000 and 2008)

each consistently building on the last, enabling public engagement and informed structural investment

and partnership.23

To determine the appropriateness of Lynch’s early principles, they will be applied to the context

of the Sheffield city centre in 2018. Sheffield city centre, is taken to be the area which is around 0.75-mile

radius enclosed by the inner ring road (dual carriageway).

Lynch’s theory was developed in American Cities, with threats to the loss of identity, as city

planning became driven by traffic infrastructure rather than satisfying the experiential needs of a city

dweller. 1960s Sheffield would sympathise greater with planning issues around traffic infrastructure.

Comparatively the urban outlook of 2018 Sheffield differs dramatically, governed by a set of

contemporary issues; such as the need to define and promote national identity post Brexit. With the city

centre largely pedestrianized the threat to loss of identity comes not from transport infrastructure, but

from buildings constructed catering for the demands of commercialism. Urban planning in city centres

focuses on achieving financial stability and economic prosperity. In Sheffield this materialises through the

development of the ‘retail sector.’ Desire to create healthier cities means counteraction to new buildings

occurring with provisions of ‘green’ spaces. Furthermore, the rapid rise of technology has seen a cultural

shift, meaning city dwellers rely more on secondary rather than primary observations to form experiences.

23 ‘City Centre Master Plan Draft 2013.Pdf’ <https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/planning-and- development/city-wide-plans-and-reports/City%20Centre%20Master%20Plan%20Draft%202013.pdf> [accessed 2 January 2018].

Application of Lynch’s Theory

Aerial view of Sheffield City Centre from google maps looking north

Map of Sheffield Inner ring road

Photographic study of Elements within the City Centre

LANDMARK – Town Hall

EDGE – Inner Ring Road cutting through Netherthorpe

PATH- Pinstone Street looking towards the Moor

DISTRICT- Sheffield Hallam University Campus

NODE – Junction at St Mary’s Gate

LANDMARK– Moorfoot Council Building

Problems with the image of Sheffield City Centre

Visual form of Sheffield City Centre

The diagram is useful in highlighting key aspects within the city centre which dictate experience and the formation of an ‘image’. The image conceived would be enhanced if the study was implemented exactly

like Lynch through interviewing the city dwellers. However as considered in the critique and in the following pages, there are several shortcomings which compromise the formation of an accurate image.

Following the application of Lynch’s principles to Sheffield, it is necessary to propose adaptations to make

it more relevant, considering principles of Image and Order:

1. Wider variation in the sample and larger groups to achieve greater accuracy of experiences

2. More developed categorisation to match complexity of the contemporary urban realm

a. Transportation- Trams, buses, cycle lanes

b. Digital navigation and signage

3. Consider future redevelopment plans, proposals to achieve order and image as per government and

local council policies

4. Technological advancements (google maps) and its affect on modern navigation and experience of

a city

5. Beneficial to conduct comparative studies24 with different cities of scale and character

6. Wider range of outputs need to be produced using modern media, e.g. videos, time-lapses

7. Mapping over time to document fluid and constantly shifting nature of the urban realm,

recognising the various factors which affect change

8. Important to supplement experiential information with factual data, e.g. statistics on seasonal

change in use of spaces, to develop a more wholesome picture

The above adjustments would make the theory more applicable in Sheffield, however due to the

western centric approach to analysis the appropriateness of the theory would be much less in eastern

contexts where there are less rigid hierarchies and categorisation in urban planning.

24 Lynch, The Image of the City.

Conclusion

Through his analysis and diagrammatic representation of the three cities Lynch showed how people living

in certain cities perceived its form. Despite its shortcomings the Image of the City remains influential in its

innovative visual approach, integrating human experience with the built environment. Though it did not

have the desired affect on planning policy the work widened the scope of urban planning, as well as study

in other areas including anthropology, sociology and environmental psychology. The elements identified

are useful tools of investigation for architects and planners, when determining tangible criteria to define

imageabiltiy. Lynch also successfully challenged the taboo around aesthetics, identifying image as key for

functional design.

However as understood through earlier critiques and disparities when using it for contemporary

application, there are limitations to the usefulness of his approach. Representation of cities needs to

handle elements as sequential and interrelated, moving away from concern with single elements and towards

emphasising how they work to form a complex visual whole, this can then inform how both image and order are

achieved.

Generalisation and forming a set of standardised elements will always have limitations, as no one

city will have the same image and order. Even if the adaptions mentioned earlier are made to Lynch’s

theory, though now more suitable in the 21st century, they will fail to effectively address the issue of the

disparity of perception. To properly understand the construct of image, there should hence be an

acceptance of discrepancy and the need for methodology to be constantly evolving with the changing

urban scene parallel with shifts in society and culture, understanding categorisations as works in progress.

Historic theories are vital in providing foundations for research. Through their effective critique

they can then be used to form contemporary principles, addressing not only the tangible notion of order

but also the concept of image. As theoreticians and designers we need to embrace the iterative nature of

design theory with progress aligning with human development.

Bibliography Appleyard, Donald, Planning a Pluralist City: Conflicting Realities in Ciudad Guayana (MIT Press, 2003)

Carmona, Matthew, and Steven Tiesdell, Urban Design Reader (Routledge, 2007)

‘City Centre Master Plan Draft 2013.Pdf’ <https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/content/dam/sheffield/docs/planning-and-development/city- wide-plans-and-reports/City%20Centre%20Master%20Plan%20Draft%202013.pdf> [accessed 2 January 2018]

Hospers, Gert-Jan, ‘Lynch’s The Image of the City after 50 Years: City Marketing Lessons from an Urban Planning Classic’, European Planning Studies, 18 (2010), 2073–81

Jacobs, Jane, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2016)

Krier, Rob, Urban Space (Rizzoli International Publications, 1979)

Lynch, Kevin, Good City Form (MIT Press, 1984)

Lynch, Kevin, Managing the Sense of a Region (Mass., 1976)

Lynch, Kevin, The Image of the City (MIT Press, 1960)

Images

‘ARC6984_Powerpoint_"Order"_2017 – ARC6984 History and ...’ <https://vle.shef.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_60090_1&con tent_id=_3095082_1> [accessed 11 January 2018]

‘Art 270 Early Modern Architecture’ <http://www2.oberlin.edu/images/Art270/Art270(1).html> [accessed 11 January 2018]

Cullen, Gordon, Concise Townscape (Routledge, 2012)

‘Theatre Database / Theatre Architecture - Database, Projects’ <http://www.theatre- architecture.eu/db.html?theatreId=372> [accessed 11 January 2018]

Venturi, Robert, Scott Brown, Denise, Learning from Las Vegas (Cambridge (Mass.); London: MIT Press, 1972)