Normativity in Urban Design

Normative theories of urban design deal with the question of how to create the best urban environment, or, as Lynch (1981) puts it, Ôhow to know a good city when you see oneÕ. However, what is best is a question of values as well as how cities are conceptualized in terms of what they are for. For some, the most important aspect of a city may be its aesthetic qualities. Although aesthetics may be valued very differently by different people, this quality of a city has a high rank for most people. Others may look at a city primarily in terms of its capacity as a place to do a particular kind of business, and yet others may prioritize how a city meets their social, economic or cultural requirements to everyday life.