Loss of Public Memory
The Image of the City and
its Elements
Loss of Public Memory
Author: Worpole, Ken
This chapter of Towns for People describes the frustration and stress caused by cities that lack or have destroyed public landmarks. Worpole states that many people can not give directions within their own town for this very reason. The lack of landmarks, anything from old streets to large department stores of the old, can cause a great deal of stress to older people for two reasons. First, they feel that when elements of the city are destroyed that they have known for years a part of their own identity is lost with it. Secondly, there is the loss of association when there is a lack of landmarks, for example many elderly people associate where they should turn on a road full of strip malls by the large department store standing alone on the corner. J.N.
Citation: Worpole, Ken. Towns for People. Philadelphia:
Open University Press, 1992.
The Image of the City
and Its Elements
Author: Lynch, Kevin.
This is a chapter of The Image of City dealing with numerous elements within the city, such as paths, edges, nodes and landmarks. Landmarks are one of the most important elements in wayfinding throughout a city. Landmarks are mostly extremely simple physical objects, such as a store or sign. The importance of a landmark is simple: it allows a person to single out one element from many others. J.N.
Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Cambridge: Technology,
1960.
