New York City and its Elements

 Gregoire Filcidor

In Kevin Lynch The City Image and its Elements he went out and listed 5 elements a city may have (Paths, Edges, Districts, Nodes and Landmarks). In his writing he gave a clearly written definitions for each of theses elements and then his own interpretations of those elements and also provided us studies and experiments he had conducted on residents of cities. In The Neighborhood, The District, The Corridor written by Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the two authors focuses mainly on the neighborhood and how the neighborhood works and how it should work. Specifically the authors used guidelines one might take to a neighborhood, and how neighborhoods have been designed. The two articles also are both similar in the format on how they were written and different on how it was written

            I believe that these two bodies of writing are both accurate. Kevin gives clear definition of the elements he was stating and he gave us examples to help prove his interpretation of the elements. His is organized is writing, a word + definition + interpretation + studies. Kevin states in the path section “For most people interviewed, paths were the predominant city element, although their importance varied according to the degree of familiarity of the city”. He then wrote about a New Jersey woman’s experiences when drives. She talks about her paths and the images she witnesses when she drives. The woman talks about the Statue of Liberty, the Holland Tunnel, and the geography of the palisades. In Duany and Plater-Zyberk’s their main focus is the neighborhood. Where Kevin Lynch element can be used for a town, city, state, or even a country The Neighborhood essay focuses on the neighborhood. The author even gives us an image of a circumference throughout essay. The author begins with “The neighborhood has a center and edge”. Then they state “ The optimal size of neighborhood is a quarter mile from center to edge”.

I also believe this article is accurate because I believe the neighborhood begins with the center either it is the town hall, shopping mall, or any religious figure. The authors also states the “true neighborhood” has different income levels living amongst each other and has a variety of affordable housing. Compared to big cities like New York, which is mostly divided by districts, the income levels are very evident when you go to different districts.

            New York city is clear example for Kevin Lynch “The City Image and its Elements” because the whole city has every element happening more than once. Personally I’m not a resident of New York nor enjoy spending my time coming to this city but there are a few “Paths, Nodes and Edges” I enjoy. The West highway is my favorite path because the curviness vertically and horizontally lets me notice how far I am to my destination. I were to be blind folded I would be to pin point where I am. The view of the Hudson during the day and night is very calming. I relaxes me while I realize I’m entering this busy and annoying city. With what i’ve been to told and been led to believe New York city is full of nodes throughout its streets. The main node I believe is the most noticeable is central park. Kevin Lynch quoted ” Nodes are the strategic foci into which the observer can enter, typically either junctions of paths, or concentrations of some characteristic.” Central Park is the probably the biggest node within manhattan. The park can be appreciated from the outside and inside. Its existence stops ans slows down traffic and also helps separate the west from the east. Duany and Plater-Zyberk’s article to me does not give a clear representation to all of New York but their article does help the reader dissect it. Their article focuses  mainly on the neighborhood. And the ready can read this article percisely or they can read abstractly.  The  area im mostly familiar with in NYC are the neighborhoods in Harlem.  I quote ” The center is a public place which may be a square a green or an important street intersection. I think this statement with Harlem’s 125th st.

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