Critically position the authors perspectives in relation to each other - Essay Example

He explains that it is only due to overlap and multiplicity of the various elements of a city that it appears to be a complex entity in the eyes of the observer (Alexander, 1965). Jacob’s view about cities is more or less similar to that of Alexander. Jacob’s argues that a city comprises of several entities which even though they may be very different from each other, they in one way or another have a supplementary role to play with respect to each other. She believes that efficient city planning and design on the basis of conserving and strengthening this mutual support between social and economic components of the city is the sure way to come up with successful cities (Jacobs, 1961).

According to lynch, a city is a composition of both mobile and stationary elements both of which are equally significant in relation to each other. The complexity of a city occurs over time as a result of human modifications for personal reasons. He identifies a good city as one which paints a harmonious picture in the mind of the observer through ease of recognition of its constituent elements (Lynch 1960). Corbusier on the other hand breaks down the complexity of a city into being made up of mass and surface.

Mass reflects the various forms that can be seen while the surface is what envelopes the mass and gives it its individuality. A good city is depicted through a proper plan that gives the city order (Corbusier, 1931). Alexander identifies that the different social systems within a city serve different social groups from different spatial areas. The effect brought about by this social organization is that within a single neighborhood, there are several social centers to serve the different social units (Alexander, 1965).

Lynch on the other hand identifies that there seems to a significant agreement in the perception of the environment among people of the same social group and this affects the design of a city to give an environment that is favorable for the different