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
In 1960, Kevin Lynch wrote The Image of the City, which transformed the way design professionals and social scientists dealt with the urban form and design. The Evaluative Image of the City follows the work of Lynch and further explores the role of human evaluations of the cityscape. This book describes how to assess, plan, and design the appearance of cities to please inhabitants. It presents a series of studies on evaluative images, discusses methodologies, findings, and applications to design and planning at various stages.
Urban designers and planners, architects, business people, and the general public will find this book a valuable guide for improving the image of their surroundings.
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