But according to the principles of organization in Gestalt psychology (Booth ‚ 201 ’) ‚ there are in fact certain compositions that are more appealing to the population ‚ serving for the purpose of city branding as well. Is there an ideal skyline for cities? Each urban environment is unique in its own context and culture ‚ and each one wishes to send its own message. 11 ’) ‚ but yet very little has been done by planners to analyze and plan their cities’ skylines” ( apud Booth ‚ 201 ’ ‚ p.1 ’). Urban planning professor Wayne Attoe ‚ in his book Skylines: Understanding and Molding Urban Silhouettes (1981) ‚ argues that planners have “‘the power to influence skyline form ‚’ (Attoe ‚ 1981 ‚ p. This powerful image of the city ends up being a result of all other factors instead of a characteristic in itself. Dealing with so many variables and stakeholders rarely allows us to properly and intentionally plan for the skyline. Urban planners and designers focus on issues such as land use ‚ height and bulk of buildings ‚ public transportation ‚ automobile and pedestrian traffic ‚ open and public spaces ‚ among others. They have been built ‚ not like a puzzle in an organized and harmonic unison with pieces that perfectly fit together ‚ but like a child’s game of Lego ‚ where pieces can be crammed to each other in almost any imaginable way. Unfortunately ‚ however ‚ most of our urban skylines have been victims of rather random architectural experiments. The skyline is not only for the residents’ delight it is also a factor of demographic and economic realities. “How a city is perceived ‚ the image it creates of its physical and environmental desirability ‚ affects not only the levels of investment by property developers and companies ‚ but also the decision of employers and employees to live and work there ‚” (Gilmore ‚ 2004 ‚ p. Beginning with the tall towers of the Italian city of San Gimignano (WGBH ‚ 2000 Attoe ‚ 1981 apud Booth ‚ 201 ’) up to contemporary skyscrapers in Shanghai and Dubai ‚ cities boast their thriving economy by competing in the construction of the tallest buildings in the world. From religious power ‚ the skyline went on to becoming a symbol for economic success. European gothic and renaissance churches would stand out as the highest construction in the city ‚ symbolizing the power of religious institutions. The skyline has historically been a symbol for power ‚ wealth ‚ and prosperity. Being perceived from a distance ‚ the skyline indicates the size and economic importance of a city its divisions into residential ‚ commercial ‚ and business districts and the cultural inheritance of its architecture. The skyline ‚ or silhouette ‚ is the most powerful statement about a city.
0 kommentar(er)
