LANDSCAPE MAGAZINE OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY coven: Alpi Spring : ‘ Rodney Fox, The Countryside: Erhard Rostlund Patrick Horsbrugh Wilbur Zelinsky The City: Erich Kithn Kevin Lynch ales Risin 1 6 Ln 2B uu a on 34 35 36 TFrepler A LANDSCAPE IN TRANSITION SYNOPSES: ‘THE GEOGRAPHY OF ART ‘THE PRICE OF PRESERVATION ‘THE ROAD TO BROWN SCHOOL SYNOPSES: URBAN SURREALISM BARNS IN CENTRAL ILLINOIS WALLS AND FENCES PLANNING THE CITY'S CLIMATE A WALK AROUND THE BLOCK COMMUNICATION: ‘THE DISPOSABLE GIT COMMUNICATIONS: IN THE ROMAN STYLE, RODNEY FOX, whose article is illustrated by his own photos graphs, is professor in the Department of Technical Journalism, peared in Lanbseare for Spring, 1956, is Associate. Profe sor of Geography at the University of California, Berk PATRICK HORSBRUGH, who is now co-ordinator IM.P.A.C.T. of London, was on the staff of the Department ‘of City Planning of the University of Illinois when he mada the sketches accompanying his article. These are originally in tempera, WILBUR ZELINSKY, who received his doctorate in geogris phy at the University of California, has taught at the Unk Versities of Georgia and Wisconsin. He is at present Industrial Analyst with the Chesapeake and Ohio in Detroit ERICH KUHN, one of the co-editors of Medizin und Stidte. dau (from which his article is taken) is Director of the Insts tute for City and Regional Planning at the Technische Hocl schule, Aachen. KEVIN LYNCH, Asociate Professor of City Planning at the ‘Mastachusetts Institute of Technology, is co-director of a fives year Rockefeller Research project for the study of the percep {ual forms of the city. A monograph. on his findings will published this Spring. MALCOLM RIVKIN, who received his Master's Degree I City Planning at Masiachusetts Institute of Technology, it active as a planning consultant. BOOKS k CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE F for Lanowattes and whe “twcatell Canuy Sage ae | AL it lowa State College, at Ames. ERHARD ROSTLUND, who has fr in bord wo. the wind rile trai De prot face ote ines, decli dese in M thar ir SPRING, 1959 tel vo. 8 xo 34" "Kevin Lynch Malcolm Rivkin: AWALK AROUND THE BLOCK which vary markedly in height. ‘Traffic on both streets i} What docs the ordinary individual perecive jn his Iandcape? What makes the strongest imprestion on him fand how docs he react (0 i? In recat research at the Masachuscts Institute of Technology we have recorded the impressions of persons as they walked through the city duects Other studles of urban perception have been made, but we believe this tobe the frst where responses have Bee recorded while actually moving through the city ite Tm this ample there were intresting agreements about what parts of the sene were most remarkable, and how these parts could be Bited together to make a whole Spatial form seemed to be a fundamental. impression. Spatially dominant buildings, of dominant use or asec dln, alo appear in the front ank: OF next importance wa the qual of the ely "loon" or pavement, and the contents and detas of the various store Irons The search for ardor In the Mon of there people felt strongly shout heir visual world, even if they found dfelty in Being articulate about Jt Emotions were associated withthe spatial charactristis in pardcular, and with the apparent coherence (or lack G1) the whole sane. They seed (o search fr, oF 6Y to eal, aseeeof order and continuity in what they saw. | ‘The Took of the world about them aid indeed make a | difference in their ves, "The tip began at the corer of Berkeley and Boylston Sueets in Bont, and each time the interviewer tld his Companion: "We are about to take a short walk, Don't took for anything in particular, but ell me about the things you sce, hear, or smell; everything and. anything you Totes” A tiny microphone was attached to the subject’ Tape, and the interviewer recorded his comments as they treat around the block through the alley, and sno the park, (See Map page 25, ‘Te block ie ia not an extraordinary one. It has many typical feature of an American shopping stret, but with ‘ae ouches of Boston tradition, and much physical con- tras in anal compass. Boyision Stretton one side, has A wide range of ofces and middle-income specialty ores, while Newbury Street, on the oppoute sid, caters to a Wrealthier clams, with its elegant, dress shops, decorator, Beauticians and baberdashers. ‘These shops occupy the ground fort of ol, narrow-fronted, busines buildngs, wironment 2 ay, and that on Boylston is quite heavy. Between the strcets ira narrow alley, nether mea nor dirtier than most, At dhe eastern end, across Arlingt Street, lie the Public Gardens, planted” in the romani style. At the corner of Arlington and Boylston stands ts { old brownstone Arlington Street Church, completed i 1861, and one of the frst buildings to occupy the neh filled Back Bay lands. At the western end of our bl} facing Berkeley Street is Bonwit Telle’'s, occupying th building builtin 1864 for the Muscum of Natural Histor During the interviews the weather was cold, sometinr sunny. The trees were bare, and there were a few patch of old snow on the ground. “Twenty-seven subjects made this tour, which was ay outgrowth of earlier tests along Copley Squate, in Boston dnd Brattle Stret, in Cambridge, After the walk, ti subjects were tested for their memories of the event, bu verbally and through photographic recognition, Some + the subjects were very familiar with the arca, and ( thers it was their first visit. They varied in age, « occupation and national background, but the group wi too small to be truly representative of American ciy dwellers. Since the process of perception isso rapid and comp, often so difficult to verbalize, the findings must be regard only as the perceptions which were "at the top of th! heap” in the whole conscious-unconscious sensing of tiv environment, Furthermore, a recorded tour in itl! bl sulficiently abnormal as to intensify, and possibly distort the usual day-by-day perception of the city _sy Yet with all these qualifications, the results are ais! Zhue as to how our cities affect us. Even aside from is! value as a research tool, the method used has poten value in thé training of designers, and as a device to mahi the layman more directly aware of the environment in which he lives. The walk itself “The walk proceeded fist along the wide Boylston Sti sidewalk. Two-thirds remarked almost immediately on th {spatial quality of the street — its breadth, the width ol |the sidewalk, the height of the flanking buildings and th open vista at the Garden end, slong igh = linplie heen» of the don Ay vast 1 to thi tre thr Al ‘dew adic intere didew Nong paint of thy the g All tnott theie and signs, Inter At walk paki trai di“tke the openness, I like the width of the side- stage. But upto this point ofthe multitude of other details tte tiene feeling or uncrowded space. You can to be seen or dicussed, almost all were pased by in silence trver feel at the bottom of a well on this spot.” for with only scattered comment: street furniture, peopl, Colors, ells, sounds, weather. ‘At the Arlington Street Church the subjects! animation once again matched that with which they frst greeted Boylston Street. Only three failed to comment upon this church which, by its associations, position, material, form Gne or two referred to the heights of the buildings slong the street, with the remark that they were not so. high a8 to be uncomfortable, This same sense of scale is iinplied in the word “house” which several people used, ie though few of these business buildings could have sn residences in the past. Some subjects were conscious jw the general architectural disunity: lBonw: cH | “Bach individual building is almost ugly, and they AER) ora dlon't seem to fit together at all.” A woman recalled after the walk etn hj “There were all different styles of houses, they didn’t wai) [seem to match, especially the heights of the houses — wiaitl{ fared 20 much, with some houses you could sce the ist | es and you eguld sce that they were not really meant nut fo be exposed tel ly) One walker summed it up briefly nes wh + think it i the hodge:podgeness of our stcets, | ADIs! | ike down aad of that Sort of discouraging” | —) isn, ‘The majority of our walkers commented at one time — | tints w another on some sign they saw, However, there was ttle — ‘atch; wnsensus of recognition of any particular one. Out of the — | iat number of signs strewn along the path, only a small —J vax on| winority were noticed at all, and some subjects refered iE A Soston,| iv this welter of communication with irritation: Fl — k th) the first thing 1 notice, are the signs along the i & ball greet, a confusion of sighs.” : sme ol ° fe : mel eThey sort of reach out and grab you by the : 2) throat” : S {P wn) A large clock on a standard in the center of the wide — “| 7 city | sidewalk excited the comment of a third of the subjects, —] 7 ss did a sidewalk book stall, both because of their intsinsie wi N ipl, interest as well as their postion in space. But a mid- — — gardai! sidewalk sign farther down the street was blissfully ignored. fof th! Alongside the Arlington Street Church a number of newly- of th j painted trash cans caught everyone's eye, no doubt because ‘sell i of their bright yellow and black colors, contrasting with fistort | the gray of the sidewalk and the brown of the fagades: sing) "That wastepaer basket is a right gor, tage Tay pl and lk BS cen All but one of the walkers commented at oe ine or ‘mali | another ‘upon the stores themselves, and the contents of tent in| their windows. Window-shopping is undoubtedly a pleasant +e Q) and. absorbing occupation for many of them. Like the tigns, the consensus of selection seemed weak, but the Pueric\(GARDEN ‘Steel interest was real, and not marked by irritation, a) on the| "At least half spoke of the parked cars along the side- 4S dth of walk edge, most often in reference to the problem of ‘THE BLOCK ITSELF: 7 ta th] yanking Seal"Almort a8 many remasied upon the OVINE “The docted line showe the course of the wa en shu Ine chrional connotation at ths Han eh Somer of Boylan sad Berkeley Streets LiL 25 EE