600 world

Abdulrahman A Alymani

Abdulrahman A Alymani

2

A city’s image, including its spatial meaning, spatial structure and spatial identity is the product of both the immediate sensation as well as that of memory of bygone experiences which the cityscape could be read. Kevin Lynch (1960) puts across five elements that can be used to describe an urban system. Lynch’s five elements are paths, districts, edges, landmarks and nodes. According to Lynch, people in urban systems orient themselves to the urban situations through mental maps. Normally, people form clear mental maps of urban surroundings. This is important in counteracting the ever present fear of disorientation. The five elements that Lynch proposes can be defined as follows:

Paths: Are the trails, sidewalks, streets and other channels through which people travel. Lynch made the observation that paths were usually the predominant features in people’s mental images and that other elements are related to and arranged along paths.

Districts: Are areas having similar characteristics. Districts can be medium or large areas, which people mentally go ‘inside of’ and/or regard them to have some shared identifying character. Districts appear to have ‘thematic continuities,’ that is, distinctive physical characteristics that can include building, symbol, form, detail, texture and space.

Edges: Are the separating lines between districts. They can be seen as penetrable or impenetrable barriers closing a district off from another. Edges can also be seams, lines connecting or joining two regions together.

Landmarks: Are physical components characterized with singularity. Landmarks have a memorable and/or unique aspect. Landmarks can be huge, for example hills, spires and towers, which are normally seen from distance and from many angles, over the top and above other smaller elements. Landmarks can also be small, for example trees, signs and sculptures that are mainly visible only from certain approaches and in restricted localities.

Nodes: Are a city’s strategic spots, in which people can go into, and form intensive foci through which an observer is travelling.

Reference

Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city (Vol. 11). MIT press.