THE FACE OF CITY IS ITS INFORMATION

Herman Haken, Juval Portugali

CONTENTS

• Introduction to Authors• Aims of the article• Meaning of the City• SIRN• Gibson's Affordances• Shannon’s Theory• Shannon’s theory and application

Authors

Prof.Herman Haken• Born on 12th July 1927 in

Leipzig, Germany.• He is physicist and

professor emeritus in theoretical physics at the University of Stuttgart.

• He Is known as the founder of synergetic.

Prof.Juval Portugali• PhD, Professor of Human

Geography.• Head of the ESLab

(Environmental Simulation Laboratory)

• Head of the Environment, Society and planning Graduate Program

•SIRN – (Synergetic Inter Representation Networks)•Gisbon’s Notion of Affordances•Shannon’s Information Theory•Meaning of the city

What it is in the external representation of city that makes it imaginable?What it is in the internally represented face of the city that makes it more legible?

AIMS OF THE ARTICLE

FACE AND CITY

• Mouth & eyes attract our attention first. • City elements attract our attention first. ( Landmarks, Nodes)• Face shows internal state of mind. ( sad, happy)• Internal representation of city given via its external elements.( Performance of dwellers & designers)

Cognitive mapping

External representation of

the city

Internal represenation of the city

MEANNING OF THE CITY

Lynch’s elements• Paths• Nods• Edges• Districts• landmarks

Performances ,activities aspectsfunctionalities of its people & designers

Internal representation of city is shown via external elements

Gibson's Affordances• Different Elements in environment affords different activities

to different animals by the virtue of its property.• A chair’s affordance “to sit” results from a bundle of

attributes, such as “flat and hard surface” and “height”, • A certain element in a city due to its importance affords

Remembering.

The handles on a tea set provide an affordance for holding because the handle is curved and smooth.

Parliament building affords remembering because of the political ,cultural and other values associated with it.

Lynchian’s Five Elements

• Paths• Edges• Districts• Nodes• Landmarks

These are elements of Geographical appearance

Paths

Paths- are channels along which an observer moves. Paths are streets , roads, railways and transits.

Edges

EDGES- They are elements not used as paths by an observer. They are building walls, shores, railway cuts. They break the continuity.

Districts

Districts- are the medium to large section of city which observer mentally enters insides of and have a common identifying character.

Nodes

Nodes- are strategic point to which the observer can enter and intensive foci to and which he is travelling. They may be junction or concentrations.

Landmarks

Landmarks- are external point of reference. They are physical objects-buildings, sign or a store.

Robin’s memory stones

Julliet Balcony in Verona

Dolorosa old city in Jerusalam

Bodhgaya Temple in north India

Legibility of landscapes

It is the ease with which its parts can be identified and organized into an understandable pattern.A legible city is one whose districts, landmarks, paths and nodes would be easily identifiable and can grouped into a pattern.

Key words

SIRN A concept that explain the internal functionality of mind. SIRN= What we see+ what we understand.

1. Intra – Personal 2. Inter – Personal

3. Interpersonal with a common reservoir

Sub modules Of

SIRN

Mental/cognitive Mapping

A cognitive map is a type of mental representation produced by an individual based on what he/she sees and what he/she perceives.

• Cognitive Mapping Process

• Slaving Principle

• Application of

• SIRN Model in City

planning.

Information

Shannon's Information

• Quantitative Measure for information content of an object.

• Information content as shown by the formula:

I=Log2Z, where

I= information Z= no of possibilities

Semantic Information

• Meaning attached to an object by the virtue of its value.

• Depends on individuals perception of the world.

Data that are accurate ,specific , organized for a purpose, presented within a context that gives it meaning and relevance, and can lead to an increase in understanding .

Values

Places are more legible due to the values/importance associated with it. It is of:

• Geometrical value• Symbolic value• Cultural value• Personal value

VALUES

• Geometrical value

VALUES

• Symbolic value

VALUES

• Cultural value

VALUES

• Personal value

Shannon's Theory• I = log2 Z, I = Information(bits) Z = All the possibilities It represents the information quantitatively.

1 Pattern1Meaning

Z=1 I = log2 1

I = 0

1 Pattern4Meaning

Z=4 I = log 2 4

I = 2

I=low

I= Relatively Moderate

I=Relatively High

Shannon's Theory in Housing.

I=4 Less legible , easy to memorize

I>4 More legible, hard to memorize

Street like new york Street like Venice

STREET PATTERNS

CONCLUSION

What it is in the external representation of city that makes it imaginable?What it is in the internally represented face of the city that makes it more legible?

THEY CARRY INFORMATION.

PHOENIX GROUP