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The study of the built environment is organized around canonical visualization systems that allow us to see the invisible part of city life. But innovative visualization systems regularly arise, with varying degrees of success. These include the systems proposed by academic and planner Kevin Lynch in the 1960s. Moving away from classical topographical cartography, Lynch sought to develop new systems to map both the perceptions and representations of city dwellers. How did this innovate approach emerge? To answer this question, we need to situate it in the context of its production: a research program. In doing so, this article reveals how such tools combine both short-term individual and institutional paths as well as several broader long-term movements, including the development of new academic fields.