Why read The Image of the City?

Book cover of The Image of the City

Book description

The classic work on the evaluation of city form.

What does the city's form actually mean to the people who live there? What can the city planner do to make the city's image more vivid and memorable to the city dweller? To answer these questions, Mr. Lynch, supported by studies…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Image of the City as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Matthew Carmona

Author

This third selection was published contemporaneously with the first two, but while the first two are really polemics, this book reports on empirical research. Perhaps because of that, it may seem a little dry, but the messages it has for us about the way we perceive cities are profound (albeit they have since been challenged). If you want to understand urban design then Kevin Lynch’s body of work is a must, and this is the best place to start.

From Matthew's list on urban design books that inspired me.