KEVIN
LYNCH
BY: MARK JOSEPH G. ANDRADA
01 BACKGROUND OF KEVIN LYNCH
Agenda 02 CONCEPT OF MENTAL MAPPING
03 IMAGE OF THE CITY
04 KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
05 PROS AND CONS
06 LYNCH LEGACY AND LASTING
IMPACT ON URBAN DESIGN
07 LYNCH ROLE IN SHAPING URBAN
PLANNING POLICIES
08 CONCLUSION AND TAKEAWAYS
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LIFE OF Career and Achievements:
KEVIN LYNCH
• Kevin Lynch's most well-known work is the book "The Image of the
City," published in 1960. In this book, he explored how people mentally
perceive and navigate urban environments. He introduced concepts such
• Kevin Andrew Lynch was born on 7 th of January as "mental maps" and "imageability" to describe the ways people create
1918 & died on 25th of April 1984. cognitive representations of the cities they inhabit.
• He was an American Urban Planner. • He conducted research on various cities and their urban form, leading to a
• He is best known for his work on Mental Mapping better understanding of how urban spaces can be designed to be more
and perceptual forms of urban environments. legible, coherent, and user-friendly.
• His famous book “The Image of the City”, which • Lynch's ideas and principles had a significant influence on urban planning
he published in 1960, is very famous among his and design, particularly in the areas of wayfinding, urban legibility, and
works. the creation of more user-friendly urban environments.
• He was a disciple of FLW before he studied city • He authored other books, including "Site Planning" and "Good City
planning, & spend his academic career at MIT, Form," which continued to explore urban design and planning concepts.
teaching there.
• He practices site planning and urban design
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ABOUT THE BOOK: IMAGE OF
THE CITY
• This book is about the look of cities, whether this look is
important, and whether it can be changed.
• The book results from a five-year study of Boston, Jersey City
and Los Angeles on how observers take in information about
the city and use it to make mental maps.
• Lynch’s conclusion was that people formed mental maps of
their surroundings consisting of five basic elements.
• The book looks at three American Cities: Boston, Jersey City,
and Los Angeles.
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ABOUT THE BOOK: IMAGE OF
THE CITY
• In the first section, new concepts of legibility and Imageability
are presented to lay the theoretical foundation of the entire
book.
• Followed by that , Lynch introduced three American Cities are
examples to reveal his outcomes of field reconnaissance, and
then made comparison between each other.
• In the third section, five elements and their interrelations are
summarized from previous researches which act as the core
content of the book.
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Concept of Mental Mapping
• A Person’s point-of-view
Perception of there area of interaction.
• A person’s perception of the world
is known as mental map, it’s an
individual own map of their known
world.
• The image which the user form in
his mind about the architectural and In summary, the advantages of mental mapping, as proposed by
urban components of the city and Kevin Lynch, lie in its contributions to effective navigation,
their places so he can direct his
memory, sense of place, urban design, community interaction, and
motion through the city after that.
the overall legibility of the built environment. Lynch's work has had
a lasting impact on urban planning and design theory, influencing
how designers approach the creation of user-friendly and memorable
urban spaces.
Concept of Mental Mapping
Mental maps of an individual can be
investigated by:
1. Asking for directions to a landmark
or other location,.
2. Asking someone to draw a sketch
map of an area or describe that area.
3. Asking a person to name as many
places as possible in a short period of
time
Statehouse of Boston
Statehouse of Boston
Boston Common
Statehouse of Boston
Boston Common
Commonwealth Ave.
Statehouse of Boston
Boston Common
Commonwealth Ave.
Statehouse of Boston
Boston Common
Commonwealth Ave.
Statehouse of Boston
Boston Common
Commonwealth Ave.
Kevin Lynch, Consensus of 32 sketch maps of Boston,
1959
Kevin Lynch, Some major problems of Boston, 1959 .
KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
EXAMPLES:
1. PATHS/PATHWAYS
• Streets
• Rail lines
• Trails
Paths are the channels that help the observer to
move along to the city. They can be streets, canals,
railroads and so on. Paths are linear and continuous
channels. They are essential since the way we observe
city depends on the ways we walk.
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KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
EXAMPLES:
2. EDGES
• Clear transition zones
and linear boundaries,
water fronts
Basically defined edges as a boundary of two MAN-MADE EDGES
phases. They are linear elements that in between
city and sea for example. Opposite from the paths,
the edges broke the continuity of a phases and
from the edges there is another phase that began.
NATURAL EDGES 18
KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
DIFFERENCE OF PATHS AND EDGES
EDGES PATHS
PREVENTS MOTION IN DIRECT THE MOTION
SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO SPECIFIC
DIRECTION
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KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
EXAMPLES:
3. DISTRICTS
• Quarters,
• Neighborhoods
• Other sections of the city
with distinctive character
It is like the sections of the city. The observer can go
inside the districts. Districts can be defined with different
physical characteristics such as texture, space, form, detail,
symbol, building type, use, activity, inhabitants, degree of
maintenance, and topography. Also, we can say some cultural
activities can define a district, too. They can be in a relationship
with each other, or they can be in their zone and stand single. 20
KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
EXAMPLES:
4. NODES
• Strategic meeting
points
• Squares,
• Junctions or train
stations
Nodes are the strategic foci into which the
observer can enter either junctions of paths or
concentrations of some characteristic. We can say
the break points of streets can be nodes. They are
somehow reference points for observers of the city. 21
KEVIN LYNCH PRINCIPLES
EXAMPLES:
5. LANDMARK
Physical objects serve as
public reference points.
Different from nodes, observers can not
enter the landmark. They are generally
simple defined objects in the city. It can be
buildings, signs, store or a mountain.
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(EXAMPLES)
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L
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IMAGE OF THE CITY
The title "The Image of the City" refers to the
mental image or cognitive map that individuals create in
their minds to understand and navigate the urban
environment. Kevin Lynch used this term to describe the
subjective and psychological perception that people have
of the cities they inhabit. The concept of the "image" is not
a literal visual representation but rather a mental construct
that combines sensory information, personal experiences,
and cognitive mapping.
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IMAGE OF THE CITY
Lynch's interest was in understanding how people form
mental images of the city and how these images influence
their behavior, navigation, and sense of place within the
urban environment. By studying how individuals perceive
and organize the elements of the city in their minds, Lynch
aimed to uncover patterns and principles that could inform
better urban design and planning practices.
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IMAGE OF THE CITY
Lynch's interest was in understanding how people
form mental images of the city and how these images
influence their behavior, navigation, and sense of place
within the urban environment. By studying how
individuals perceive and organize the elements of the city
in their minds, Lynch aimed to uncover patterns and
principles that could inform better urban design and
planning practices.
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PROS: CONS:
1. SIMPLICITY &
1. USER – CENTERED DESIGN
UNIVERSALITY
2. CLEAR PRINCIPLES
2. LIMITED
3. LEGIBILITY AND WAYFINDING
CONSIDERATION OF
4. MEMORABILITY
SOCIAL FACTORS
5. SENSE OF PLACE
6. INFLUENCE OF URBAN PLANNING
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LYNCH LEGACY
12. Achieving well-designed places
Planning policies and decisions should ensure
that developments:
1. Are visually attractive
2. Are sympathetic to local character and
history,
3. Establish or maintain strong sense of place,
using the arrangement of streets, spaces,
building types and materials.
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LYNCH LEGACY ANDClick
LASTING
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IMPACT
ON URBAN DESIGN
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LYNCH ROLE IN SHAPING URBAN
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PLANNING POLICIES
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Conclusion and takeaways
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THE END
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References:
• Tanoglu, 2019. “The city Image and its Elements” . Available at
[Link]
.
• Pratesi, 2023. “Famous Landmarks in the World”. Available at
[Link]
• Serrano, 2019. “A City with a Sense Back to Kevin Lynch’s The Image of the City”.
Khan, 2019. “ Pioneers of town planning”. Available at
[Link]
• [Link]
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