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Cars
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A coding of features according
to the precepts of Kevin Lynch
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District Analysis
DISTRICTS: A district
is a section of the city or region that is identifiable by a certain set
of characteristics. We found downtown Corvallis to be a district
defined by small to mid-sized commercial buildings that are oriented towards
pedestrian shoppers.
PATHS:
According to Kevin Lyncy's Image of the City, people mentally
organize their image of the city in relation to the way in which they travel
through it. It is from these routes that all other layers of the
urban framework are oriented. To find the most frequented streets,
trails, roads, etc., we asked the people who use them. Our polling
suggested that pedestrian and vehicular traffic concentrated on 2nd and
3rd street (North to South) and on Madison and Monroe (in the East
and West directions).
NODES:
A node is a focus of activity. A convergence of paths creates
a node by bringing people to a common place. Similarly, a popular
store or restaurant also creates a node by focusing activity in a single
area. Our findings included Central Park, the library, the intersection
of Madison Avenue and 6th street, the courhouse, Starbuck's, the intersection
of Madison Avenue and 3rd street, the State Theater, Squirrels, the Peacock,
the post office, and Safeway.
EDGES:
Edges are boundaries, either physical or perceived, by which a user
defines an area, district, or region. We asked the residents of Corvallis
to define their idea of "downtown."
To the North, we found that van Buren and Harrison to be the strongest
borders. This is most likely due to the heavy automotive traffic.
To the East, we assumed the river to be the predominant boundary, yet
only 40% responded as such. Another 40% were split between 1st and
2nd streets.
To the South, Western Blvd. signaled the end of the commercial region.
To the West, a vague edge was defined by 64% of the people interviewed
as somewhere from 4th to 6th, and the railroad tracks. |