HOME
PROFILE
PAPERS
& PUBLICATIONS
PROJECTS
LINKS
CONTACT
Architectural policy and the
Image of the City
Introduction
Problem background
The state and some municipalities in Denmark have in recent years been highly preoccupied by the formulation of architectural policies, which include the visual environment of the cities. One main incentive has been economical, attracting tourists and consumers; another has been to support the welfare and forms of life of the inhabitants. Also the question how the built environment affects behavior; how to create an appropriate urban environment to promote and enhance human behavior in the city, has been considered. However, it seems that the architectural policies have been formulated without applying clear hypotheses and theoretical approaches in order to state and obtain objectives. What has been expressed in the architectural policies is a political will and intention to change and enhance the physical and visual features of the cities, in order to assure architectural quality. But due, among other things, to the lack of uniquely defined theory, many diverse strategies have been applied in practice. Most municipalities have concentrated their efforts on specific issues such as creating better environments through renovation, preservation and beautification of the existing building culture. Some single municipalities have particularly emphasized the green aspect of their cities in interplay with architecture and landscape.
Such strategies are of course useful in order to improve the visual features and the architectural qualities of cities. But what is ignored by such strategies is the importance of dealing with the whole visual environment of the city. Are there visual orders to be obtained that are more comprehensive for the city as a whole? Is it possible to integrate the current architectural policies with the demand for such visual orders?
These are the key questions of this study, and these questions are the reason why the theoretical focus of the study is on Kevin Lynch’s work, which precisely is concerned with such more comprehensive urban visual orders.
Purpose
The aim, then, of this study is firstly to examine Kevin Lynch’s theory of the image of the city and its potential in the context of architectural policy, and, secondly, in order to substantiate and exemplify such potentials, to formulate a proposal for Aarhus city that is striving for architectural quality in this perspective. This purpose will be obtained by fulfilling the following tasks:
1) To explicate and critically discuss Kevin Lynch’s approach to the image of the city as a basis for architectural policy.
2) To investigate some formulated architectural policies of Danish cities to show if, to which extent and in which ways they, explicitly or implicitly, take the image of the city as conceived by Kevin Lynch into consideration.
3) To make a case study of selected aspects of “the image of Aarhus”
4) To formulate a proposal for Aarhus.
Theoretical approach
Kevin Lynch’s theory originally initiates from environmental psychology with its focus on the fact that we recognize an environment by way of perception, cognition and spatial behavior. “The image of the city” mostly deals with the cognitive ways of mental mapping and way finding. Here Lynch especially concentrates on one particular visual quality: the apparent clarity or legibility of the cityscape. By this he means the ease with which its parts can be recognized and can be organized into a coherent pattern.
On the basis of this theory the environmental image can be analyzed into three components: identity, structure and meaning. In this regard this project will focus on the physical qualities, which relate to the attributes of identity and structure in the mental image. This leads to the definition of imageability, i.e. the quality in a physical object, which gives it a high probability of evoking a strong image in any given observer. Shape, color, or arrangement facilitates the making of vividly identified, powerfully structured, highly useful mental images of the environment.
Lynch believes that a highly imageable (apparent, legible, or visible) city in this particular sense will seem well formed, distinct, and remarkable; it will invite the eye and the ear to greater attention and participation. A city with such qualities will be one that can be apprehended over time as a pattern of high continuity with many distinctive parts clearly interconnected.
An outcome of this theory is the determination of some principles and criteria for the shaping of the urban environment. According to the theory, the content of the city image as referring to physical forms can be classified into five types of elements: paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. Furthermore the design of each element must be critically explicated and evaluated by the following criteria: singularity or figure-background clarity, form simplicity, continuity, dominance, clarity of joints, directional differentiation, visual scope, motion awareness, time series and names and meanings.
These principles and criteria are the major part of Kevin Lynch’s theory and the special interest of this study. These criteria will be explicated, but also critically discussed in the light of the urban developments that have taken place since Lynch formulated the criteria. Thus changes and improvements of the criteria may be a result of the analyses. The criteria are the basis for the examination in my case study of the image of Aarhus
Method of Research and Timetable
Method of research
The methods of this research project include the major stages of problem formulation; an application of the theory to the image of Aarhus city by way of typology, direct observation and interviews; and the formulation of a proposal for Aarhus by seeking solutions within the confines of the context and its problems.
Problem formulation
The problem formulation will be developed on the background of, firstly, a review of literature relevant to the conceptual framework and theoretical approach, which will serve to explicate and critically discuss Kevin Lynch’s approach of the image of the city and, secondly, a review of architectural policies of Danish cities.
Examination of theory and analysis
This stage includes the making of a case study of selected aspects of the image of Aarhus on the basis of a closer examination of the basic theory. Here typology is assigned to recognize and select the needed aspects of the image of Aarhus. Direct, regular and systematic observation on the basis of the explicated theory and interviews in the form of structured or non-structured questionnaires will be used in this context. Some successful examples of built up environment is planned to be observed. A background, comparative reference will be the Cityscape Atlas for Copenhagen, which elaborately describes and graphically illustrates some elements of urban physical environment including overall spatial character; buildings; traffic routes; open spaces; and landmarks and line of sights.
Conclusion and proposal
On this analytical background the intention is to formulate a proposal for Aarhus. The aim could be to develop a visual plan at the city scale with the purpose of strengthening the public image of the city. The plan might prescribe the location or preservation of landmarks, the development of a visual hierarchy of paths, the establishment of thematic units for districts, or the creation or classification of nodal points. Above all it will deal with the interrelations of elements with their perception in motion, and with the conception of the city as a total visible form.
Timetable
The whole research project is planned to take two years. The working plan is as follows:
1- Problem formulation:
Problem formulation, including literature review, conceptual framework and theoretical approach together with review of architectural policies of Danish cities is planned to take 6 months.
2- Analysis and examination of theory:
Typology of the image of Aarhus and case study of the selected aspects of the image of Aarhus, including direct observation and mediate observation (interview and dialogue) as well as study trips is planned to last one year.
3- Conclusion and proposal:
Proposals and conclusion together with the final report is planned to take 6 months
Results
During the research basic materials in the form of texts, maps, photographs and graphical illustrations will be searched and prepared for intermediate publication. A final publication will integrate this material into a formulation of proposals for Aarhus the context of architectural policy. These proposals will focus on both the historical and the newly built parts of the city.