5.1 Seeing the City

“At every instant, there is more than the eye can see, more than the ear can hear, a setting or a view waiting to be explored. Nothing is experienced by itself, but always in relation to its surroundings, the sequences of events leading up to it, the memory of past experiences.” (Lynch 1960; p.1)

A city stands out as remarkable when its physical reality is merged with a mythical presence. It is enriched by what is imagined about the city, the ideas we have of the city, our perceptions of it, the stories that are told of it, the images we conceive of it. A city’s interest lies within our imagined understanding of it. We are entranced with cities like Venice because of the suggestion of seduction and passion, we view its canals and gondolas and imagine drifting in love, encountering the rich mythology that it evokes. The prospect that a city offers our imaginations and emotions is what strikes us, the architecture of the city, its physicality is the setting that suggests these other invisible images to us.