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THE IMAGE OF THE CITY

THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

LEGEBILITY

BUILDING THE IMAGE

STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY

IMAGEABALITY

THREE CITIES

THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

ELEMENT INTERREALATIONS

IMAGE QUALITY

FORM QUALITIES

A NEW SCALE

RSUM

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THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Like the piece of architecture, the city is a

construction in space, but one of vast scale,

a thing perceived only in the course of long spans

of time.

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THE IMAGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

sequences

experience in relation with surroundings

perceptioners & builders

stable structure & changing detail

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LEGIBILITY

visual qualities of cities

structuring & identifying

over all pattern

orientation

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chessboard manhattan

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LEGIBILITY

visual qualities of cities

structuring & identifying

over all pattern

orientation

collective memories

open ended order

development

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BUILDING THE IMAGE

2 way process between observer & environment

different images of reality

group images

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STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY

environmental image _

identity, structure & meaning (practical or emotional)

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IMAGEABILITY

city as a pattern of high continuity with many distinctive parts

clearly interconnected

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venice

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IMAGEABILITY

city as a pattern of high continuity with many distinctive parts

clearly interconnected

meaning or expressivness, sensous delight, rhythm, stimulus,

choice

open space, vegetation, sense of motion on the path, visual

contrasts are of particular importance to the cityscape

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THREE CITIES

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boston_1842

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IMAGEABILITY

difficultuies in the city image: confusions, floating points,

ambiguities, branchings, lacks of character or differentiation

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

5 types of elements of physical form:

paths, edges, districts, nodes, landmarks

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cambridge street _ boston _ 55

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

path structuring, continuity, directional quality, the relative width of the streets,

the block lengths, the building frontages, the naming system, the relative lenght

and number of the two kinds of streets (longitudinal + cross streets),

their functional importance

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charles river_boston

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

districts observer can mentally go inside of, can be recognized internally,

be used as external reference as a person goes by or toward them

components: texture, space, detail symbol, building type, use, activity,

inhabitants, degree of maintenance, topographie, even facade material,

modeling, ornament, color, skyline

social connotations

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

nodes strategic spots / concentrations

people heighten their attention

where the space has some form, the impact is much stronger

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san marco_venice

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

landmarks external

building, sign, store, mountain

distant or primarily local

seen from many angles and distances

vary in scale

unique or memorable

figure background contrast

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hauptbibliothek_weimar

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THE CITY IMAGE AND ITS ELEMENTS

landmarks external

building, sign, store, mountain

distant or primarily local

seen from many angles and distances

vary in scale

unique or memorable

figure background contrast

used clues of identity and structure

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boston image as derived

from verbal interviews

_ imaginary trip

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boston image

as derived from

sketch maps

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the visual form of boston

as seen in the field

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ELEMENT INTERRELATIONS

enhancing or destroying

sets of images

series of levels

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IMAGE QUALITY

images could be distingiushed according to their structural quality

4 stages a elements are free, have no structure

b parts are related in terms,

still remaining disconnected

c flexible connection

d connections multiply, parts are interconnected, interaction

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FORM QUALITIES

categories of direct interest in design

1 singularity or figure background clarity 2 form simplicity 3 continuity

4 dominance 5 clarity of joint 6 directional differentiation 7 visual scope

8 motion awareness 9 time series 10 names and meanings

repetition, redundancy and reinforcement

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A NEW SCALE

well organized, poetic, symbolic ...

clarity of structure, vividness of identity

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RSUM

pro

universal method for urban planning

mental image as own research topic

city residents/ perseptions are included in survey/ design process

theory of urban planning, figure & form of the city

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RSUM

contra

traditional image of the city

city is radical shorten

no contrast structure with consise forms

missing relations between form & meaning, image & space

city as a diagramm without aspects of material, use and form of space