The Evaluative Image of the City
- Jack L. Nasar - The Ohio State University, USA, Ohio State University, USA
November 1997 | 192 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
This volume builds on the work of Kevin Lynch, whose key 1960 work The Image of the City transformed the way design professionals and social scientists deal with urban form and design.
The author explores further the role of human evaluations of the cityscape, and describes how to assess, plan and design the appearance of cities to please the inhabitants. He presents a series of studies on evaluative images, discusses methodologies, findings and applications to design and planning at various stages.
The Evaluative Image of the Environment
Likability
Building the Evaluative Image
Identity,Structure,and Likability
Precedents
Measuring Community Appearance
Speculative Versus Empirical Approaches
Domain of Study
Importance of Community Appearance
A Theoretical Framework
Two Cities
Knoxville
Chattanooga
Relevance of the Evaluative Responses
The Elements of Urban Likability
Distinctiveness,Visibility,and Use/Symbolic Significance
Likable Features
Complexity
Interrelationships,Context, and Contrast
City Structure and Experience
Evaluating the Method
The Method
Usefulness
Validity and Reliability
Refining the Method
Other Dimensions of the Evaluative Image
Sixth Graders' View of a Small Town
An Inner-City Neighborhood
Multiple Meanings in Vancouver
Multiple Meanings in Tokyo
Newcastle
A Neighborhood
A Commercial Strip
Summing it Up
Shaping the Evaluative Image
Some Generic Appearance Guidelines
Using the Method for Design Policy
Future Directions for Design and Research
Appendix
Visual Quality Programming
Form of Data Collection
Selection of Observers
Presentation of the Environment
Assessing the Environment
References
Author Index
Subject Index
About the Author