Image Sourced from: architectureandurbanism.blogspot.com
Kevin Lynch formed a theory that users envisioned the city in certain mental ways, and developed these theories and analysed them. There are 5 important elements that Lynch uses to analyse the urban environment of a city: Paths, Nodes, Edges, Landmark, Districts. By analysing these elements of the city, we can come to understand how users interact with their surroundings within a urban space.
Paths are constructed linear spaces that allow the user to move through certain places by following this route. These paths are frequently accessed by the users to move through to get from one point to another. Edges are a break between two different spaces, an element that creates a differential between one area from another when moving through a path. Nodes are a place of congregation, a spot were people will see and feel like they can stop here. A nodes purpose is to provide freedom from movement, a space for social purposes. A district is an area which is commonly recognised by a characteristic. A prime example of a district would be 'Queen St Mall', it is most commonly recognised as a large place for shopping and congregation. Landmarks are places that are recognised by a physical element such as statue, monument, etc. A landmark could also be meaningful to the user, the physical element doesn't have to be significant, but needs to hold some value to the user.
For us to be able to understand the urban environment, we need to be able to differentiate between these different elements of the city and be able to create our own mental images of cities.
No comments:
Post a Comment