Environmental Image

Building The Image

Environmental image is the product of a two-way process between observer and his environment. The environment would suggest the distinction and relations; Observer with great adaptability would select, organize  and endows with the meaning, based on what he sees, what he senses, and what he feels. So, the image now developed is limited and emphasize on what is seen and perceived through the observer. However, due to different background and ways of observer perceived, the image could be different. Thus, the image of a given reality may vary significantly between different people. 

"Public Image" is the common mental pictures carried by large number's of city inhabitants: an area often expected to appear in the interaction of single physical reality (neighborhood), a common value, and a basic physiological nature.

Orientation

Orientation at the night, Paris

Orientation has been widely recognized when construct an image for an area. It could changing from culture to culture and landscape to landscape. Orientation can be the abstract and fixed directional systems, teh moving systems,, and those that directed to the person. It seems like a potential clues that most people would pick out to oriented themselves. For example, Eiffel Tower, Paris, KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Penang Bridge, Pulau Pinang.

Structure, Identity, Meaning

An environmental image maybe analysed into three components : identity, structure, and meaning. A workable image requires first identification of an object, which implies its distinction from other things, its recognition as a separable entity. This is known as identity, not in the sense of equality with something else but with the meaning of unique, character, and individuality.

Second, the image must include the spatial or pattern relation of the object to the observer and to the other objects. The object must have some meaning for the observer either physical or emotional. For meaning, is not so easily influenced by the physical manipulation as are these other two components.  

Source: Kevin Lynch (1960) The Image of The City