· .IZMffi INSTITUTE OF IDGH TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE

DEPARTMENT OF URBA &REGIO AL PLAN ING

MASTER OF URBAN DESIGN

UD. 554 URBAN FORM, URBAN LIFE

&URBAN DESIGN THEORY

SUPERVISOR: PROF. DR. CEMAL ARKO

BASIC DIMENSIONS OF GOOD CITY FORM

PREPARED BY

UD. 017 ULAS KILI(:KA YA

JUNE-1997

izMiR

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. FORM

3. URBAN FORM

3.] Urban Fonn Detenninants

3.2 The contrasts

3.3 Characteristics of City Form

3.4 Image Elements of the City

4. A GENERAL NORMATIVE THEORY BY KEVIN LYNCH

5. DIMENSIONS OF GOOD CITY FORM

5.1 What is this City we are talking about?

5.2 The Dimensions

5.3 Vitality

5.4 Sense

5.5 Fit

5.6 Access

5.7 Control

5.8 Efficiency

5.9 Justice

6. CONCLUSION

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

8. REFERENCES

1. INTRODUCTION

The good city form is an ancient question. Even in the early ages, people were to

define their settlement forms so as to afford their needs& determinants, moreover we

understand their way of life by studying the form of early cities.

Today, the city is really a complex thing, and the more we learn about it the more

we are questioned. But as Shakespeare said: "What is city, but the people!"

Looking at the form of cities of today tells much about us. We , the citizens of the whole

world, who are we, how do we want to live, what is our interest, what is our social­

economic problems, and so on.

Cities are not built by itself, we built them. It we want to change, we also change

the form of the city. We are the essence&form is just an outlook.

From this point of view , Iwant to say that Kevin Lynch as a perceptualist , plays a

vital role in my study by his book: Good City Form. It is a different study concerning all

the previous studies&has a feature of complementary. My study is something briefly

telling what Lynch tries to advocate as a normative theory in this book.

In the first chapter , a general form definition is made. In the contents of

second chapter , the concepts concerning the issue of city form are defined & analyzed .

Third following chapter tells much about Kevin Lynch's study( Good City Form) as I find

it a great reference, where I can completely agree with.

2. FORM

Here, I want to give a well thought general definition concerning my issue and

helping me produce the way I followed(l):

"The body of essence is not the opposite form as considered till our century

buttightly dependent on it. Form and essence can only 'be' together. In this dependence,

essence is the primary and the form is the secondary; because that the determinant is the

essence.

The conflicts of essence develops the form and the developed essence effects and

changes its form. The form, provided by the essence, is in an impact relation with its

creature and with this impact, form either fastens the development of its essence or

interrupts this process. Like essence can develop in several ways, so the form can build

several essences. Form is not the essential outlook, but the more it represents inherence of

the essence, the more is a real part of it. "

3. URBAN FORM

Before defining "Basic Dimensions of Good City Form"-referring Kevin Lynch's

book: Good City Form-, it will be proper to tell some about urban form and

characteristics, contrasts and determinants of the urban form and the image elements that

playa vital role in the perception of the form.

During the evolution of the urban areas, there may be two kinds of urban form

concerning the process of settlements(2):

l.First is the 'Organic Growth Form'; that has evolved without preconceived planned

intervention.

2.Second, in direct contrast, the 'Planned Urban Form'; is the result of predetermined

intention.

It is possible to see through history, the planned extensions or renewals added to

organic growth settlements, besides with organic growth changes effecting towns of

planned origin. Today, planners, throughout the world are preoccupied with making

planned urban sense out of organic growth inheritance.

3.1 Urban Form Determinants

In every settlement status, 'the form of the settlement' is determined by factors and

influences named as 'Urban Form Determinants' by Morris in his book, 'History of Urban

Form'(3). Morris defines these determinants of two origins:

1. Natural World Determinants (Natural world attributes of the location ofa settlement)

1.1 Topography

1.2 Climate

1.3 Construction Materials & Technology

2. Man-made Determinants

2.3 Trade-economic

2.4 Political and Social Power

2.S Religion

3.2 The Contrasts

Another important concept concerning our issue is the contrasts generating the city

form(4):

1. Built-Vacant

2. Continuous- Not continuous

3. Repeating- Not repeating

3.3 Characteristics of City Form

A well planned urban form should deal take care of all the characteristics given

below. Besides, the perception of the city or the image of the city depends on these,

moreover, on the harmony between themeS):

1.Figure-Ground

2.Continuity

3.Repetition

4.Rhythm

5.Size & Scale

6.Shape

7.Ratio

8.Hierarchy

9.Dominance

10.Pattern

11.Direction- Focusing

12. Similarity

13. Volume and Enclosure

14. Time

3.4 Image Elements of the City

When studying the physical relationships of a city to the reglOn and in

strengthening the city's identity or image, we are to go beyond the limits of the city, the

immediate environment of the city and examine the larger context.

The image of the city is based on its shape, color, texture, arrangement and

sensory quality, all of which give the observer clues to its identity and structure. Image has

been classified into five elements(6):

I.Paths: Circulation routes or lines along which people move.

2.Nodes: Centers of activity into which one can enter. They are junctions or crossings of

paths, or points of concentrations such as plazas. They maybe transportation junctions

such as stations.

3.Edges: Linear boundaries that distinguish one area or region from another. An edge may

be a river or a street or so on.

4. Districts: Medium to large parts of a city that have common distinguishing

characteristics. They are identified from the inside and can be used for exterior

reference if viewed from the outside. A district is an area of a city with which people

identify and which generally has a name such as Kordon, Fuar, Kar~lyaka.

5.Landmarks: Physical object such as building(Hillton), a tower (Saat Kulesi), a sign, a

dome, a mountain, a square or so on.

4. A GENERAL NORMATIVE THEORY BY KEVIN LYNCH

Under this heading, all I'll tell is referring to Kevin Lynch's study, 'Good City

Form'. Lynch advocates a new theory, a normative theory, aiming to create a

complementary basis for further studies concerning the past, today and the future.

Lynch mentions about theories of cities and tells that there exists no adequate

normative theory about the form of cities. The statement, where I intimately agree with

him, is, "there is dogma and there is opinion; but there is no systematic effort to state

general relationships between the form of a place and its value"(7).this is Lynch's starting

point trying to provide a general normative theory dependent on the creation of a rational•

ground for deciding what cities should be, despite a flood of criticism and proposals. In his

own words(8):

"Since decisions about the form of cities affect many people, they must at least

appear to be explicit and rational. More than that, since rationality, however cumbersome,

is the only means we have for making better decisions, public decisions should be rational

in fact."

In his study, as Lynch mentions, the very general aims to city form are incalculable

and on the other hand low level goals and solutions are too restrictive in their means. So,

that's the point where lynch wrote the book: Neither telling "a pleasant environment" nor

"a tree on every lot", but "the micro climate should fall within such and such range in

summer" or even "some long-lived living thing should be visible from every dwelling"(9).

Before creating his theory, Lynch tells about his position, that is what he thinks

and what the situation is, by eight objections. These are quite important as they tell what

do the past studies means to Lynch and how does he consider all the issues concerning the

good city form(IO).

I.Physical form plays no significant role in the satisfaction of important human values,

which have to do with our relations to other people. One can be miserable in an island

paradise and joyful in a slum. It is rather easy to demonstrate that we are made

miserable or joyful by physical conditions as well as by social ones, although the affects

are sometimes obscure.

2.More precisely, physical form by itself has no important influence on human satisfaction.

Unless you specify the particular social circumstances of the people who occupy a

place, you cannot judge the quality of that place.

3.Physical patterns may have predictable affects in a single culture, with its stable structure

of institutions and values. But it is not possible to construct a cross-cultural theory.

Each culture has its own norms for city form, and they are independent of these of any

other. Certain affects are probably species-wide and their disentanglement from

culturally bound norms would surely be useful. It may be that certain concerns about

form transcend particular cultures, while the solutions to these concerns are special.

4.Regardless of any influence, it mayor may not have, physical form is not the key

variable whose manipulation will induce change. Our physical setting is a direct

outcome of the kind of society we live in. Change the society first and the environment

changes as well. Change the environment first and you change nothing, if in fact the

change can be made.

5.Physical form is not critical at the scale of a city or a region. The shape of one's home or

workplace or neighborhood, where most people live out their lives, has something to

do with the quality of life. But the shape of a city is irrelevant to it. As this and larger

scales, economic and social considerations take over. This common view is questioned

by Lynch. And Lynch tries to show that this consignment of physical concerns to a

purely local influence is a false boundary. From this point of view, he asks the reader to

hold his breath and suspend the judgement.

6.Even if there were a demonstrable connection between city form and value, it would be

inapplicable, since there is no such thing as the 'public-interest', even within a single

settlement. There is a plurality of interest, all in conflict. The only proper role for a

planner is to help clarify the course of that conflict by presenting information on the

present form and function of the city, predicting future changes and explaining the

impact of various possible actions.

7.Normative Theories- that is, explicit, commonly understood rules of evaluation- may be

possible in regard to purely practical objects such as foundations or bridges, bur are

inappropriate for esthetic forms.

8.Even then ... city form is intricate and complex, and so is the system of human values.

The linkages between them are probably unfathomable. Not only that cities are so

complicated that, while you can design a house, you can never design a city. And

should not. Cities are vast in natural phenomena, beyond our ability to change and

beyond our knowing how we ought to change them.

5. DIMENSIONS OF GOOD CITY FORM

When talking about 'the goodness of the city', it is not easy to define the limits of

this issue. That is same also in the goodness of city form. So, the performance

characteristics should be general and the easier to use, to the degree that performance can

be measured solely by reference to the spatial form of the city. And the quality of a place is

due to the joint affect of the place and the society which occuppies it.

Through the generalization of Performance Dimensions, an important aspect is

what do we mean by saying so: "Certain identifiable characteristics of the performance of

cities which are built primarily to the spatial qualities and which are measurable scales,

along which different groups will prefer to achieve different positions. It should then be

possible analyze any city form or proposed, and to indicata its location on tha dimension,

whether by a number of just by 'more or less'"(11)

Lynch defines these generality adding that these dimensions should be important

qualities for most, if not all, persons and cultures and that they should include all the

qualities which any people value in a physical place.

5.1 What is this City we are talking about

"The city is interconnected to an important degree by signals, rather than by place

order or mechanical linkages or organic cohesion. It is indeed something changing and

developing, rather than an eternal form,or a mechanical repetition which in time wears out,

or even a permanent recurrent cycling which feeds on the degradation of energy, which is

the concept of ecolochy. "(12)

Considering all the previous definitions, Lynch makes a general definition and

finally he relates the city to the idea of ecology as ecosystem is a set of organisms in a

habitat, where each organismis in some relation to others of its own kind, as well as to

other species and the inorganic setting.

As told before, the city is complex, but to achieve a good one is a concept

something enormous, but maybe, as Lynch does, in general words: "Settlement is good

which enhances the continuity of a culture and the survival of its people, increases a sense

of connection in time and space and permits or spurs individual growth: development,

within continuity, via oppenness and connection. "(13)

To clarify a model of good city form, then it is primary to integrate statements of

value with statements of objective relationships.

5.2 The Dimensions

Over all these statements mentioned before, here are the performance dimensions

that Kevin Lynch advocates. None of these performance dimensions are single dimensions;

all refer to a cluster of qualities. Yet each cluster has a common basis and may be

measured in some common way(14).

5.3 Vitality

The degree to which the form of the settlement supports the vital functions, the

biological requirements and capabilities of human beings- above all, how it protects the

survival of the species.

A good city form should, of course, deal with leavibility; but we all know that this

is quite complex. Live to live or live to be happy and so on are all the concepts of this

issue under the 'meaning of life'. But if our aim is to create a pleasure in our lives and that

planning is a tool for this huge aim, we must consider the term 'vitality'. Vitality depends

on much environmental aspects that are the issues of biology, physiology, ergonomy and

so on. What Lynch advocates under this heading is a quiteb general one under the idea

that vitality is not the only dimension to be used. Every planner or designer should and can

be aware of all these, but in a systematic way and direction, the performance dimensions

can be applied to each project under taking the main idea.

There are a number of performance dimensions for the city form that group

themselves under these heading of Vitality:

A. Sustenance: The adequacy of the throughput of water, air, food, energy, and

waste.

B. Safety: The obsence of environmental poisons, diseases or hazards.

C.Consonance: The degree of fit between the environment and the human

requirements of internal temperature, body rhythm, sensory input, and body function.

D. For other living things, how well the environment provides for the health and

genetic diversity of species which are economically useful to man.

E. The present and future stability of the total ecological community.

The first three principal features are defined as the principal features of the

environment which are conducive to health, good biological function, and survival in this

sense, that is, which make it a vital place, an adequate lifeground.

5.4 Sense

The degree to which the settlement can be clearly perceived and mentally

differentiated and structured in time and space by its residents and the degree to which

that mental structure connects with their values and concepts- the match between

environment, our sensory and mental capabilities and our cultural constructs.

By sense, Lynch means the join between the form of the environment and the

human process of perception and cognition. And he defines perception as a creative act,

not a passive reception and that cannot analyzed except as an interaction between person

and place.

Sense depends on spatial form and quality, but also on the culture, temperament,

status, experience and current purpose of the observer. There are some constancies in the

experience of the same place by different people. These constancies arise from the

common biological basis of our perception and cognition, certain common experiences of

the real world(gravity, inertia, shelter, fire and sharpness to name a few) and the common

cultural norms that may be found among these who habitually use any particular place

The simplest form of sense is Identity, in the narrow meaning of that common

term: 'A sense of place'

A good place is accessible to all the senses, makes visible the currents of the air,

engages the perceptions of its inhabitants. Place identity is closely linked to personal

identity. "I am here" supports "I am". When form and familiarity work together, the

emotional result is powerful: "I am the citizen of no mean city".

Events can also have identity; this is the "sense of occasion". Occasion and place

will reinforce each other to create a vivid present. The result is an active involvement in

the immediate, material world and an enlargement of the self.

The next element of sense is Formal Structure, which at the scale of a small place

is the sense of how its parts fit together, and in a large settlement is the of orientation:

Knowing where (or when) one is, which implies knowing how other places (or times) are

connected to this place.

Next come those qualities which help us to connect settlement form with other

features of our lives:

The first level may be called congruence: the purely formal match of environmental

structure to nonspatial structure. Congruence is the perceptual ground of a meaningful

environment, which in its full sense is a much more complicated subject.

Transparency or "immediacy"is another relatively simple component of

sensibility.Here the degree to which one can directly perceive the operation of the various

technical functions, activities, and social and natural processes that are occurring within the

settlement. Can one actually see people at work?

Another concept is Legibility. The degree to which the inhabitants of a settlements

are able to communicate accurately to each other via its symbolic physical features.

Congruence, legibility, transparency are components of sense which describe

explicit connections of settlement form to nonspatial concepts and values. But there is a

deeper level of connection, one much more difficult to specify and measure, which we

might call the expressive or symbolic significance of a place. The significance of a place is

difficult to specify and varies among persons and cultures.

Lynch defines a good place: A good place is one which, in some way appropriate

to the person and her culture, makes her aware of her community, her past, the web of

life,and the universe of time and space in which these are conbined. These symbols are

culture-specific, but also draw on such common life experiences as cold and warm, wet and

dry, dark and light, high and low, big and small, living and dead, movement and stillness,

care and neclect, clean and unclean,freedom and restraint.

Identity and structure are the formal components of sense. Congruence,

tranperency and legibility are specific componenets which connect environment to other

aspects of our lives. All of these can be analyzed in some direct and objective way.

Symbolic significance on the other hand, the deepest level of legibility, can be intuited but

is at root elusive.

There are two important qualifications to the ideal of good sense: First, that there

are limits at which individuals may wish to deny further knowledgeof their affairs, or

beyond which the human mind is overloaded, and second, that a settlement should permit

an unfolding creation of meaning, that is, a simple and patent first order structure which

allows a more extensive ordering as it is more fully experienced, and which encourages the

construction of new meanings, through which the inhabitant makes the world his own.

Since the quality is a join between mind and setting, the means of achieving it

naturally divide themselves into two operations: Changing city form on the one hand and

changing mental conceptions on the other. Designers have focused on the first of these,

and the list of devices is lengthy:

- To clarify the circulation system so as to settlement structure by making

understandable street patterns, heightening the identity of streets and destinations, making

intersections intelligible, or creating vivid spatial sequences along some important path.

Achieving a clear layout of streets in a subdivision is a recent and modest example for this

approach.

- One may also make districts which have a strong visual identity or endow them

with visible boundaries; build active centers of special character; create visible and

audible landmarks at strategic points and times; exploit and intensify natural

features; or conserve and enhance an existing urban character.

Although there have been frequent attempts to control or suppress the legibility of

places, efforts to develop and enhance it are less frequent. While historic conservation is

used to make connection with the past, less thought is given to make connection to the

feature.

It is also possible to increase sensibility by improving the human ability to perceive

the environment and this is less often thought of by designers trained to focus on things.

One may educate users to attend to their environment, to learn more about it, to order it,

to grasp its significance.

It could be explicit public policy to increase certain types of sense for urban groups

of people, measuring achievement by some of the "objective tests".Sensibility will be

easier to attin in more stable and homogeneous socities. It is likely to be important both in

rich and poor settlements, since human perception is a constant, but the means for

achieving it will differ. There is always danger thet sense will be used as a device to gain

dominance or to fix the status-quo. But this is not inherent in the qulity and perhaps the

most interesting questions of design have to do with achieving sesibility in societies which

are plural, dynamic and relatively egalitarian.

5.5 Fit

The degree to which the form and capacity of spaces, channels and equipment in a

settlement match the pattern and quantity of actions that people customarily engage in, or

one to engage in- that is, the adequacy of the behavior settings, including their adaptability

to future action. It is the match between action and form in its behavior settings and

behavior circuits. The personal correlate offit is the sense of competence- the ability to do

something well, to be adequate or sufficient. Since fit is the match between place and

whole patterns of behavior, so it intimately dependent on culture: on expectations, norms

and customary ways of doing things.

Fit is linked to characteristics of the human body and of physical systems in general

(gravity, inertia, the propagation oflight, size relations, etc).This context is universal.

Simple quantitative adequacy is the elementary aspect of fit: Is there enough

housing of standard quality? A sufficiency of playgrounds? We are attracted to numerical

data, which are so much precise, firm, and impressive than the soft, subjective stuff of

patterns and feelings. The amount of something is one of its important characteristics (

and there can be too much of it, as in the case of public plazas too large to seem active

and inviting). But the key test is the behavioral fit.

Fit deals with place and actual behavior, or, at most, behavior consciously desired.

Since fit is specific to activity and culture, forms universally conducive to it could hardly

be found.

Awell-adapted place is one in which function and form are well fitted to each

other. This may be achieved by adaption of the place to the activity, or vice versa, and also

by a natural adaptation. Clearly, adaptability in the more general sense is also achieved by

the presence of adaptable persons,and often more easily and effectively.

The true question is whether the cost of bringing the first an acceptable standard

by adopting an old setting to some new use is lower than either making a new setting, or

adopting the use to the old setting as it stands.An environment in which things do not

survive but are rapidly replaced by new forms may in fact be a highly adaptable one.

Formulation of adaptability can be achieved may means of two concepts:

Manipulability: The extwnd to which a behevior setting can presently be changed

in its use or form, in an easy and incremental fashion, and whether that ability to in the

predictable near fucture.

Reversibility (Resilience): Concerning the avoidance of future dead ends. If past

moves into future through a net of diverging possibilities, then if one can retrace the net

to an earlier state, one has another chance to undo a mistake (or even to repeat it, if one

wishes).

The measure of general fit is the degree of congruence between daily behaviour,

overt or intended, on the one hand, and the spatial setting on the other. It can be achieved

by the medification of place, or behaviour, or both.

A flexible provision for future fit is a more puzzling criterion.It is difficult to define

as a general measure.

All these verious measures of fit can be used in programing, design, managament,

control and evaluation.

5.6. Access

The ability to reach other persons, activities, resources, services, information, or

places, including the quality and diversity of the elements which can be reached.

Access may be classified according to the features to which access is given and to

whom it is afforded.Here are some important concerns dealing with access:

1) Access to other persons

2) Access to certain human activities

3) Access to certain material resources (food, water, energy and various other goods)

4) Access to places (shelters, open spaces, to wasteland, to centers, to symbolic places)

5) Access to information (Today this has become a by reqursite)

Legibility is a special aspect of this access to information. Access to information

may be an emergent key to the quality of the environment.

Access is one fund emental advantage of an urban settlement, and its reach and

distribution are a basic index of settlement quality.No one wants maximum access, but

only some optimum level, although that should be a level which can be increased, if one is

willing to explore. It is a matter of potential reach, and the obstacles to it may be physical,

financial, social or psychological. Access to what and for whom must be analyzed, as well

as the mode and the cost (which may be negative). The three important subdimensions of

access are the diversity of things given access to, the equity of access for different groups

of the population, and the control of the access system. The latter is a prime means of

enforcing social control. Sharp variations in access, if under the control of the individual,

may be very desirable features.

There are well known devices for improving access, including the provision of new

channels and modes, the rearrangement of origin and destination, the abolition of social

and physical barries, a heightening of system legibility, a substitution of communication

for transport, the modification of managament and control, subsidy, and the training of the

traveler himself.

There are numerous ways of measuring access, including time-distance maps,

linkage diagrams, maps of rechable territory. Access is central to studies of the productive

economy, but also for an understanding of the social system and for analyzing the

psychological impact ofthe city.

5.7. Control

The degree to which the use and access to spaces and activities, and their creation,

repair, modifiction, and management are controlled by those who use, work, or reside in

them.

Space and the behavior associated with it must be regulated. Man is a territorial

animal: he uses space to manage personal interchange and asserts rights over pieces of

ground, and also over volumes that accompany the person. Our subject is the former.

Control of human is the subject. We must admit that we do not own the earth.

Ownership is a human convention that allocates present control, sufficient for human

purpose, among existing people.It is neither permanent nor total.

We are accustomed to one particular form of space control: the legally defined

ownership of as haply bounded area, which includes all rights not explicitly excluded by

law or contract, which is held "forever", and is transferable at will.

How do variations III control affect the goodness of a place? One prImary

dimension is surely the congruence of use and control, that is, the extent to which the

actual users or inhabitants of a space control it, in proportion to the degree or permanence

of their stake in it. Do families own their houses? Do shopheepersown their stores?

The balancing criterion to congruence is therefore responsibility: These who

control a place shoul have the motives, information, and power to do it well, a

commitment to the place and to the needs of other persens and creatures in it, a

willingness to accept failure and to correcit.

It is commendable to increase both congruence and responsibility, by means of

education and the system of management. This suggests that place control should devolve

upon its users step by step, as they build their competence to exercise that control.

Training people to be place managers is a useful social task, and so is reshoping the setting

in order to open up opportunities for place managemet. Indeed, progressive responsibility

for place is an effective means of general education, both intellectual and moral.

A final dimension of control is, certainty, the degree to which people understand

the control system, can predict its scope, and feel secure with it. This is not the same as

sayiny that control should be unchangig, since shifting situations or values may require

change. But conflict and ambiguity mean waste and confusion.

In a good settlemet, spatial rights are noterious, accested and clear, and

correspond to the reality of control. The smoothness with which control can be transferred

is this same measure, extended in time.

Space is also controlled by manipulating access. Walls and other barriers to

movement are erected. The act of entering is concentrated at the gates, where it can be

supervised and, if necessary, repelled.Roads are built within a settlement, or between

settlements, to permit the rapid movement of troops or police when control is threatened.

Other roads are dead-ended or diverted, to increase the privacy of a place Islamic cities

made exceptional use of many of these means, since private control was so important a

value and so often at risk

Symbols can be used to assert control. Symbolic barriers and pathways are created,

such as law hedges and or the pointed lines of highways. Periods of time can be

controlled, as well as chunks of space.

The control of space is important to environmental quality in any social context:

rich or poor, centralized or descentralized, homogeneous or heterogeneous, stable or

fluid.But it particularly critical changing,uralistic society, where power is unequally

distributed and problem are large in scale.

A good settlement is one in which place control is certain, responsible, and

congruent, both to its uers (present, potential, and future) and also to the structure of the

problems of the place. The relative importance of these dimensions and their level of

adequacy will depend on the social and environmental context of the settlement. To

express it in vague, general (and perhaps even contradictory) terms, is one of responsible,

capable, and certain local control, which is open to potential users and open conservative

of the future, and which is interspersed with areas of low control, tolerant of diversity and

deviance. The continuity of any human society depends on ground control of its living

space, but responsible controlis also critical to the development of the individual and of

the small group. In our minds, control is associated with status, power and dominance.

Itcan be subverted, however, to the purposes of an open and egalitarian society.

5.8 Efficiency

The cost, in terms of valued thimgs, of creating and maintaining the settlement, for

any given level of attainment of the environmentalfive dimensions listed above.

It is the balancing criterion: it relates the level of achievement in some performance

to a loss in some other. Efficiencies of settlements can be compared only by seeing values

expended or achieved. Since the values which enter the calculation are not objectively

commensurate with each other( dollars versus a clear environmental image, for example),

objective comparisons of efficiency can be made only when all types of costs and benefits

but one are held constant(Except, of course, in the rare case when one alternative is better

than another on all counts.). Subjective comparisons among more complex variations can

always be made. Such choices are made everyday. We can make these necessary choices

explicit, but not measurable.

An efficient city is one that offers a high level of access without any loss of local

control, or one that has a vivd and legible image and yet is very adaptable to future

change. It may be useful, then, to list some areas where performance dimensions are

likely to be in conflict with each other.

There exists some interdimensional conflicts:

1. A vital environment will often conflict with decentralized use control, SInce many

biological affects are invisible, at least to the layman and in the short run.

2. The ideal of a vital environment will often conflict with a well-fitted one, when by

good fit we mean comfort.

3. Sense is frequently in opposition to adaptability of fit. A vivid, structured, meaningful

place may easily be a rigid and inadaptable one. A flexible place, apt for many uses,

can seem shapeless, gray, and ill-defined. "Efficient" solutions at this particular

crossing are those which create sensibility while imposing small restraints on the

future, as by relying on focal points to organize an area, rather than by using sharp

distsict boundaries.

4. Present and future fit are often contradictory to each other. To be adaptable, usually

implies being loosely fitted to the present, and vice versa.

5. Good access for all often clashes with local control of territory. Under what

circumstances should one be favourite, rather than the other? Are there efficient ways

of satisfying both demands?

6. High levels of personal access may cause senous health problems, as when our

beloved automobiles pollute the air and kill more victims than the most desperate of

wars.

5.9 Justice

The way in which environmental benefits and costs arte distributed among persons,

according to some particular principle such as equity, need, intrinsic worth, ability to pay

effort expended, potential contribution, or power. Justice is the criterion which balances

the gains among persons, while efficiency balances the gains among different values.

Clearly, every person should have a right to the basic vital requirements-enough

food, clean air and water, a reasonable protection from hazard and person.

Equal access, indeed, is second only to vitality as a pivotal issue of environmental

justice. The lives of the handicapped, the young, the old, the poor, the ill, the subjugated

races, classes, and genders are severally diminished when their access to other people,

areas, services, and activities is curtailed.Free movement and free communication are a

fundamental component of freedom of thought and of person that we prize.

A just distribution of one type of spatial control can be considered critical, since

the ability to mention a private territory (and perhaps also to have access to some "waste-

land" where behavior is open) is another important component of freedom. Justice may

require that all people should be able to participate in the control of those activity settings

in which they have a vital interest and to which they are willing to devote substential

effort( as long, that is, as such control does not unduly constrict the access and

participation of others.)

6-CONCLUSION

In today's world we have a great problem; that is the population is exploding. We

have limited resources , we have different origins , cultures&regions. But there is

something we all talk about it: The cities. Either in America, or Europa, or in Asia people

talk about how to achieve a good city.And during these talks the form of the city is a great

tool in any analyses. Both physical, and socially-economically or in any area, the city form

tell much about our problems .But the opposite, how to achieve a good city form is

something hard to answer.Proposing physical conditions can never be true solution unless

taking essece into considerationas the relationships between people, life quality and related

Issues.

As Lynch did, in his book (Good City Form )(15), some general performance

dimensions are proposed to achieve a good city form.

All dimensions are general and at the same level of generality. They are explicitly

connected to city form, assuming that we allow perceptions and control institutions to be

considered as features of city form. They can be connected to important goals which

appear in the vast majority of cultures, if not in all them.

They are dimensions of performance, measurable by obtainable data. On 2 counts

, however, they may be week and this is worth some discussions:

1) To what extent are they independent of each other? Where does a setting on are

dimension entail fixing performance on another? To the degree that there is such

intendepence , analysis is more diffult , although the dimensions are not thereby

rendered completely useless.

2) The second and more diffucult issue is the relation of these dimensions to cultural

variation. Clearly , different cultures will value positions along these dimensions

differently ; the dimensions are designed to allow for just that. But would

thesecultures define them differently so that no analysis of position on any

dimension could be made until the culture was specified?

If desirable positions on these dimensions vary with situation , it would be

comforting to state some general hypothesis about how they vary. Tese are several

fundamental differences among societes that might be expected to be critical for this

purpose: the level of resources available, the homogeneity of values, the degree to which

power is concentrated and the relative stability of society and setting. The matrix below

displays some first speculations as to how valuations on these dimensions might be

expected to way with social situation. The variance of situation is expressed as a crude

polar opposition.

Except for sense and vitality , a rich , stable , homogeneous society IS less

dependant on the quality of its environment than is a poor, unstable, plural one. But these

guesses (or hypotheses , to be more dignified ) refer only to general tendencies of

valuation in any society. Persons and small groups within that society will set their own

goals and thresholds along those dimensions , according to their own deep values and

situations.

The values mentioned are measurable , at least in rough degree , their integration

must be left to personal and social judgement. Moreover, Lynch speaks only of the formal

qualities of the city. The goodness of any human settlement , considered as an entity,

depends on much more than its form.

What is Good City Form

1) It is vital ( sustenant , safe and constant )

2) It is sensible ( identifiable, structured congruent, transparent, legible, unfolding and

significant)

3) It is well fitted ( a close match of form and behavior which is stable, manipulable and

resident)

4) It is accessible ( diverse, equitable and locally manadeable )

5) It is well-controlled ( congruent, certain, responsible and intermittently loose)

All of these are achieved with justice and internal efficiency. At its most general, it

is a continuous, well-connected, open place, conducive to develpoment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. ARAVOT, Iris; (summer 1996), Journal of Architectural and Planning Research,

volume 13, number 2; "From Reading of Forms to Hierarchical Articulation:An

Approach to Urban Design; Locke Science Publishing Co., Chicago.

2. CATANESE, Anthony J; Sydner, James C; "Urban Planning"; Mc Graw Hill, N.Y.,

second edition; 1988.

3. EISNER, Simon; Gallion, Arthur; Eisner, Stanley; "The Urban Pattern", Van

Nostrand Reinhold, sixth edition, New York, 1993; pp 97-128.

4. GOOTDIENER, Mark;"The New Urban Sociology"; Mc Graw Hill, 1994, USA;pp

147-172

5. HANCERL YODLU, Orhan; "Fe1sefe Ansiklopedisi: Form"

6. KOSTOF, Spiro; "The City Shaped"; Thames and Hudson;1991, London;pp 34-37,

159-206.

7. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994.

8. EDIT. BanaIjee, Tridib and Southworth, Michael; "City Sense and City Design:

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47,355-378.

9. MORRIS, AE.J.; "History of Urban Form"; Longman and Scientific and

Technical;Harlow, Essex;third edition, 1994.

10. OCAKCI, Mehmet (Assoc.Prof,ITU); Graduate Course Notes: The Image of the

City; 1995

REFERENCES

1. HAN<;ERL YODLU, Orhan; "Felsefe Ansiklopedisi:Form".

2. MORRIS, A.B.J.; "History of Urban Form"; Longman and Scientific and

Technical;Harlow, Essex;third edition, 1994; pp 9-10.

3. MORRIS, A.E.J.; "History of Urban Form"; Longman and Scientific and

Technical;Harlow, Essex; third edition, 1994; pp 10-18.

4. OCAK<;I, Mehmet (Assoc.Prof.,ITU); Graduate Course otes: The Image of the

City; 1995.

5. OCAK<;I, Mehmet (Assoc.Prof.,ITU); Graduate Course Notes: The Image of the

City; 1995.

6. OCAK<;I, Mehmet (Assoc.Prof.,ITU); Graduate Course Notes: The Image of the

City; 1995.

7. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; P 99.

8. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; p 107.

9. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; p 108.

10. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; pp 99-105.

11. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; p 112.

12. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; p 114.

13. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; p115.

14. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; pp 110­

230.

15. LYNCH, Kevin; "Good City Form"; The MIT Press; Cambridge, 1994; pp 230­

235.