A Boa Forma da Cidade

by Kevin Lynch, Jorge Manuel Costa e Pinho (Tradutor)

Available in paperback under the title "Good City Form"With the publication of "The Image of the City, " Kevin Lynch embarked on the process of exploration of city form. "A Theory of Good City Form, " his most important book, is both a summation and an extension of his vision, a high point from which he views cities past and possible.The central section of the book develops a new normative theory of city form--an identification of the characteristics that good human settlements "should" possess. This follows an examination of three existing normative theories--those which see the city as a model of the cosmos, as a machine, and as a living organism--which are shown to be finally inadequate and unable to hold up under sustained analysis. In addition, an appendix demonstrates the inadequacies of a number of functional theories--those whose aim is simply to describe "how" settlements work rather than to evaluate how they ought to work. Among these theories are models of cities as ecological systems, as fields of force, as systems of linked decisions, or as areas of class conflict.Lynch puts forth his own theory by searching out the qualities that produce good settlements, qualities that allow "development, within continuity, via openness and connection." He identifies five interrelated dimensions of performance--vitality, sense, fit, access, and control--and two "meta-criteria," efficiency and justice. As in all of Lynch's writing, the theory flows from and leads back to specific examples and everyday realities. The final section of the book is concerned with applications of the theory.

Genres: Urban Planning, Architecture, Urbanism, Cities, Nonfiction, Urban Studies, Urban Design

446 pages, Paperback

First published March 3, 1981

About the author

Kevin Andrew Lynch was an American urban planner and author. His most influential books include The Image of the City (1960) and What Time is This Place? (1972).

Lynch studied at Yale University, Taliesin (studio) under Frank Lloyd Wright, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and received a Bachelor's degree in city planning from MIT in 1947.[1] He worked in Greensboro, NC as an urban planner but was recruited to teach at MIT by Lloyd Rodwin. He began lecturing at MIT the following year, became an assistant professor in 1949, was tenured as an associate professor in 1955, and became a full professor in 1963.
Lynch provided seminal contributions to the field of city planning through empirical research on how individuals perceive and navigate the urban landscape. His books explore the presence of time and history in the urban environment, how urban environments affect children, and how to harness human perception of the physical form of cities and regions as the conceptual basis for good urban design.
Parallel to his academic work, Lynch practiced planning and urban design in partnership with Stephen Carr, with whom he founded Carr Lynch Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lynch died at his summer home in Martha's Vineyard in 1984.

Reviews

[Andrew]

A lengthy, ponderous discussion of what cities are, what they have been, and what they can be. There are interesting moments, and it really makes you think about how cities are shaped, but it was a bit textbookish for me to really get much out of. The arguments there were seemed less like arguments made out of passion and more like arguments made out of necessity, as if Lynch was being pressed into having an opinion. However, his "The Image of the City" remains necessary reading. Start there.

[Ankitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaks about the various factors that affect the spatial arrangement of a city. According to the author, few of the factors playing a major role in the spatial arrangement of cities include- vitality, sense, fit, access, control, efficiency and justice. Cities could get arranged due to these factors or these factors could be observed as characteristics of the reason a settlement has grown. The author gives a convincing statement with several examples to state each of his points and although this book was written in a time and place different from now, it is seen to be applicable to cities and towns all around the world even in the 21st century. If you were to pick up any of the author's concepts/ observations and look around you - one is bound to find similar examples in today's world. Practical and structured work for city planning reference.
We had to read this book and write an essay on a topic themed around the concept of this book for city planning course.

[Anna Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great foundational Text on Urban Design. I especially enjoyed his definition of urban design and his concept of „models as ethically reflected prototypes“. I recommend to read in parallel Christopher Alexander’s „A Pattern Language“. Both understand urban design as an set that combines aspects of Form, Process and Management.

[Zyxyf]

I like this book

[G. C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

very comprehensive work on the basic qualities of cities. Kevin Lynch has a good sense of structuring his thoughts - which is very helpful when dealing with highly complex and mulitfacetted topics such as cities. Great for students who want to understand the fundamentals.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well-planned and imaged book on city design.

[diedles · Rating 4 out of 5]

有几章还是相当经典的，很具有启发性

[Asmaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

deep :)!

[Irfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i want reading this book, for my studying in urban design