Kevin Lynch Article

Kevin Lynch discusses the 5 classifications of the studied elements within city images, these being elements, paths, edges, districts, nodes, and landmarks. Paths within a city serve as a channel in which the user uses to move within it. People use paths by observing the city as they move through it. To further the guiding of observers within a city are edges. Edges serve as linear elements that act as a path, but are not. They can also serve as barriers by closing off one section from another. Districts are commonly seen within cities, which serve as different sections within a city. These can be used as exterior reference if they are viewable from the outside. There are certain points within a city, known as nodes, that are spots within a city that the observer can enter and can be seen as the concentrations of that specific city. A similar point-reference are landmarks. Every city has their landmarks that are prominent and known by most and serve as a location finder. Reading Kevin Lynch’s excerpt is helpful in this way finding project by helping us to better understand the different elements that help us get from one destination to another. Most of the time, we see and use these 5 elements without even noticing it. Unfortunately poor directional devices are noticed more than when it is easy to get from one place to another. Every city has landmarks, nodes, districts, edges, and paths that allow us to easily, or not so easily, get from one place to the next.