A lian begins eth the preparation of sbuling progam land ste analysis, So, too, do plans for designing or edesiging a portion ‘of a city. In the case of a tity, the analysis is a diagnosis of the city's ‘ompoent pices, to ee thereon between these pecs and to “255 thercontion: A vial Suvey in urban design an examination ‘ofthe for, appearance and compestion of .ety—an evaluation of “Weasels and lables A veal survey ato enables the urban designer ee where the ety needs reshaping. Fine-grain and uniform texture. Row houses in Philadelphia. Making a visual survey ‘A Working Vocabulary of Urban Form Architectural design begins with the preparation of a building program and site analysis. So, too, do plans for designing or re- designing a portion of a city. In the case of a city, the anal a diagnosis of the city’s component pieces, to sce the relations between these pieces and to assess their condition, A visual survey in urban design is an examination of the form, appearance, and composition of a city—an evaluation of its assets and liabilities. A visual survey also enables us to see where the city needs re- shapi A visual survey can be made of any city or town, regardless of size, It ean also be made at different scales—a neighborhood, the center, a suburban area, or a small group of buildings. Further- more, it can be made for a built-up part of the city which is going to be altered very slightly or for a part of the city which is going to be rebuilt entirely. The process of making a visual survey is not complicated, nor need it be done with a high degree of precision. As a matter of fact, itis best done in general terms, for to deal with the city on a large scale we must think broadly, ‘To conduct a visual survey, one must have a basic idea of the elements of urban form, These necessitate 2 descriptive vocab- ‘and it abies Credits: This artic is chapter ofthe autho’ writings, Urban Design, published by the American Institut of Architects and MeCraw-Hl, 1965, and fist appeared in AIA Journals 1964, Drawings are by the autor, {Time Saver Standards for Urban Oevign ree)2 Districts wary. Next one must examine the city and detrbe it in tems of ths vocabulary. I is also necessary to relate the elements, = der to understand is workings, its form, and is conseqec: appearance ‘While making a visual survey, i to constant evaluate. Certain discordant elements must be noted as fly t0 te contcted; certain appropriate elements must be noted as asses to be proteced. A good urban desig survey wll alo disclose 2 sumber wf specific ideas for improving, correcting, or replacing rts of the city, for a good! survey leads to ideas for action The Image of the City People's impressions of a building, « patoular environment, ce 2 whole city, are, of courae, more than visual. Within the cy Be many connotations, memories, experience, sel, hopes, crows. places, buildings, the drama of life and death, afeting exch er- Sen according 10 his particular peelectons. From his envioo- ment each person constructs his eum mental pctare ofthe par of the city in physical relationship to one andthe. The mest e- ‘ential parts of an indivial’s mental image, or map, overlap and complement those of hs fellows. Hence we can stu a elective image-map ot inpresions-map of a city: a collective picture of what people extract from the physial realy of a ci That exe tracted picture isthe image of the ety. Every work of architecture afecs the detis and often the whole of the colctive image. The collective metal picture the image of the eiy—is largely formed by many works of arch festre seen in concert or in chaos, but definitly seen together Several years ago, Prof, Kevin Lynch conducted a stdy of what people mentally extract fom the physial realty of a cy, He ‘sported the resus in a book called The Image of the City, and his findings are a major contribution to understanding waa form and to architecture as component parts of that form. Professor {Lynch is one of the country’s leading investigators of tan form. Many of the ideas in this book were derived from his studies. In his examination of the form of the ety, Profesor Lynch found that there are ive basic elements which people use to onsruct theie mental image of a city: Pashways: These are the major and minor routes of circulation which people use to move about Ally has a network of major routes and a neighborhood network of minor routes, A bilding has several main routes which people use to get to it and {rom it, An urban highway network is & network of pathways for a whole city. The footpaths of a college campus are pathways for the campus. Distrcis: A sity is composed of component neighborhoods or disses; its center, uptown, midtown, i n-own residetial areas, trainyards, factory areas, suburbs, college campuses, etc. Some- times they ate distinct in form and extent—like the Wall Steet area of Manhattan. Sometimes they are considerably mised in sharacter and do not have distinct Imite—like the midtown area ff Manhattan, Edges: The termination ofa ditrct sits ede, Some distcts have no distinct edges at all bt gradually taper of and Bead into another district. When two districts are joined at an edge they form a seam. Fith Avenue is an easter edge for Central Park ‘A narrow park may be a joining seam for two urban neighbor- hoods. Time Saver Bandar for Uiban DaighLandmarks: The prominent visual features of the city are landmarks. Some landmarks are very large and are seen at great distances, like the Empire State Building or a radio mast. Some landmarks are very small and can only be seen close up, like a street clock, a fountain, or a small statue in a park. Landmarks are an important clement of urban form because they help people to orient themselves in the city and help identify an area. A good landmark is a distinct but harmonious element in its urban setting. ‘Nodes: A node is a center of activity. Actually it is a type of landmark but is distinguished from a landmark by virtue of its active function. Where a landmark is a distinct visual object, a node is a distinet hub of activity, Times Square in New Yark City is both a landmark and a node. ‘These five clements of urban form alone are sufficient to make Useful visual survey of the form of a city. Their importance lies in the fact that people think of a city's form in terms of these basic elements. To test them, sketch a map of your own city, or better stil, ask someone else to do it, taking only a few minutes. ‘The result will be twofold: a picture of the most salient features of a city’s form—its image—and a map of the sketcher’s particular interests as they relate to the city. The result will also be akin to the cartoon maps of the United States as seen through the eyes of a Texan or a New Yorker. The features will be distorted and probably exaggerated, the degree of distortion reflecting the hierarchy of values of the sketcher, ‘The more “imageable” a city, the easier i isto find one’s way about in it, even if its street pattern is not clear. In designing a city, it is important to consider how a new development will alfect the total urban image. A new development can be made to tie visibly into a city’s path system; to form or help reinforce 4 district; if on an edge, to strengthen the edge; and if at a seam, {to maintain continuity. It can also become a good landmark and an active node. Paths, landmarks, nodes, districts, and edges are the skeletal clements of a city form. Upon that basic framework hangs a ‘tapestry of embellishing characteristics which all together constitute the personality of a city. To build a broader vocabulary upon this basic framework we must consider landform, natural verdure, climate, several aspects of urban form itself, certain details and several lesser facets of form. Landjorm and Nature Every city is built on a piece of land. The form of this land and its features are the foremost determinants of a city's form. In speaking of landform, we are speaking primarily of topography. In looking at landscape, we are seeking its character. As urban designers we observe the form of the terrain—flat, gently rol hilly, mountainous—in relation to the architecture and the which are set in it. A flat site may suggest tecture or assertive horizontals. A slighty hilly site may call for Vertical architecture at the summits with a flow of cubes on the slopes, or may suggest termination of architecture just below the crests, A steep hillside or valley may lend itself to terracing, with orientation to the sun, In every ease we must assess the Qualities of the terrain, ineluding the design relationships they express. “The prominent features of a landscape should be carefully noted—cliffs, mountain peaks, ranges of hills on the horizon, Representing the form of a ety with representational symbols. ‘Making a visual survey «3 Time-Saver Standards for Urban Design a