The purpose of Lynch’s book, Good City Form (1981) is to create a theory for determining whether the form of a city is good or bad – he calls it normative theory. This paper sets out the reason behind an initial impression that scholarship since then has failed to build on his theory. This is surprising for a work of such stature. If it is true, the review will examine why this may be so and then go on to see if there is any good reason why it could not be rehabilitated and form a good structure for a framework which is central to the forthcoming research project into masterplanning?
"This is a major work.... Lynch looks at connections between human values and the physical forms of cities, sets requirements for a normative theory of city form, reviews earlier physical images of what utopian communities might be, sees what is to be learned from hellish images, and helps us place city forms into one or another of three theoretic constructs: cosmic or ceremonial centers, the machine city, and the city as an organism. He tells us at some length how we might evaluate the 'goodness' of cities, speaks to the enduring issues of city size, growth, and conservation, and, having done all this, tells us about what his good city form might look like. The appendixes are a major part of the book, taking well over 100 pages.... This is a volume that in short order will be (or at least should be) standard, desired, provocative, influential reading for just about anyone concerned with why cities are the way they are and, more important, with achieving good places for people to live."
—Journal of the American Planning Association
City of Sound
http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/
"This is a major work.... Lynch looks at connections between human values and the physical forms of cities, sets requirements for a normative theory of city form, reviews earlier physical images of what utopian communities might be, sees what is to be learned from hellish images, and helps us place city forms into one or another of three theoretic constructs: cosmic or ceremonial centers, the machine city, and the city as an organism. He tells us at some length how we might evaluate the 'goodness' of cities, speaks to the enduring issues of city size, growth, and conservation, and, having done all this, tells us about what his good city form might look like. The appendixes are a major part of the book, taking well over 100 pages.... This is a volume that in short order will be (or at least should be) standard, desired, provocative, influential reading for just about anyone concerned with why cities are the way they are and, more important, with achieving good places for people to live."
—Journal of the American Planning Association
http://www.cityofsound.com/blog/
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