The implications of the “palimpsest” of the grids of the main city of Piraeus on creation, transmission and application of cognitive knowledge

This research aims to investigate the local rules and constraints which govern the individual behaviours of the pedestrians of Piraeus, Port of Athens, Greece, by examining the relationship between the spatial syntax of mental representations and the spatial syntax of the environment. The overlaid urban grids of the main city create a “palimpsest” on which the mental spatial models of the users are constructed. Invoking three different criteria, three experiments were conducted in the city’s key-locations – Peraiki Coast, Mikrolimano and Sotiros Dios St. The first criterion concerned people’s access to spatial information (target locations that are out of sight vs. locations with visual access). The second and the third criterion concerned the types of the reference systems; egocentric vs. allocentric and global vs. local scale respectively. The configurational, geographical and topological characteristics of the peninsula provide rather an ambiguous sense of the ease or difficulty of the cognitive understanding of the site. Using syntactical tools of space syntax methodology (axial maps, visibility graphs, isovists) and descriptive statistics (mean averages, deviation averages, z-test, central limit theorem test) in the experiments, the close relation between the concepts of intelligibility, spatial configurations and visuospatial representations is demonstrated. The information provided to the pedestrians has an impact on their wayfinding and navigation processes. It is concluded that the cognitive knowledge of the pedestrians of Piraeus (etymological "the place over the passage") is created, transmitted and applied by the geometrical forms of the city, the morphology of the local visual field – which involves issues of configuration and scale of a space layout – and by topological relations. The most ancient grid although it contains the elements that have shaped the city’s contemporary urban space, are not easily recognisable by “strangers”, but they are mostly found in “inhabitants’” internal representations. On the contrary, the elements from the modern times are more frequently cited and they appear to dominate the cognitive model of all users

Agora : unified framework for crowd simulation research

Crowd simulation focuses on modeling the movements and behaviors of large groups of people. This area of study has become increasingly important because of its several applications in various fields such as urban planning, safety, and entertainment. In each of these domains, the presence of virtual agents exhibiting realistic behavior greatly enhances the quality of the simulations. However, the inherently multifaceted and intricate nature of human behavior presents a unique challenge, necessitating the effective combination of multiple behavior models. This thesis introduces a novel theoretical framework for modeling human behavior in crowd simulations, addressing the unresolved issue of combining a plethora of behavior models, often developed in isolation. The proposed framework decomposes human behavior into fundamental driving stimuli, which are then represented graphically through the heatmap paradigm. Subsequently, the agent behavior is influenced by the heatmaps, which guide them toward attractive areas and steer them away from repulsive locations based on the encoded stimuli. A key advantage of this approach lies in the ability to combine heatmaps using well-defined color operations, effectively integrating different aspects of human behavior. Furthermore, the heatmap paradigm facilitates objective comparison of simulation output with real-world data, employing image similarity metrics to evaluate model accuracy. To realize this framework, the thesis presents a modular software architecture designed to support various tasks involved in crowd simulation, emphasizing the separation of concerns for each task. This architecture comprises a collection of abstract modules, which are subsequently implemented using appropriate software components to realize the underlying features, resulting in the Agora framework. To assess the ability of Agora to support the various tasks involved in crowd simulation, two case studies are implemented and analyzed. The first case study simulates tourists visiting Þingvellir national park in Iceland, examining how their behavior is influenced by the visibility of the surrounding environment. The second case study employs Agora to model the thermal and density comfort levels of virtual pedestrians in an urban setting. The results demonstrate that Agora successfully supports the development, combination, and evaluation of crowd simulation models against real-world data. The authoring process, assisted by Agora, is significantly more streamlined compared to its native counterpart. The integration of multiple models is achieved by combining the heatmaps, resulting in plausible behavior, and the model assessment is made convenient through the evaluator within the framework. The thesis concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for the field of crowd simulation, highlighting the contributions and potential future directions of the Agora framework.Mannfjöldahermun fæst við gerð líkana af hreyfingu og hegðun stórra hópa af fólki. Mikilvægi þessa rannsóknasviðs hefur vaxið stöðugt vegna hagnýtingar á margvíslegum vetvangi, eins og til dæmis á vetvangi borgarskipulags, öryggis og afþreyingar. Þegar sýndarmenni hegða sér á sannfærandi hátt, leiðir það til betri hermunar fyrir þessi notkunarsvið. En mannleg hegðun er í eðli sínu margbrotin og flókin og því er það sérstök áskorun við smíði sýndarmenna að sameina, með áhrifaríkum hætti, mörg mismunandi hegðunarlíkön. Þessi ritgerð kynnir nýja fræðilega umgjörð líkanasmíði mannlegrar hegðunar fyrir mannfjöldahermun, sem tekur á þeim óleysta vanda að sameina fjölda hegðunarlíkana, sem oft eru þróuð með aðskildum hætti. Umgjörðin brýtur mannlega hegðun niður í grundvallar drifáreiti, sem eru sett fram grafískt útfrá hugmyndafræði hitakorta. Sýndarmennin hegða sér síðan undir áhrifum frá hitakortunum, sem vísa þeim í áttina að aðlaðandi svæðum og stýra þeim burt frá fráhrindandi svæðum, útfrá hinu umritaða áreiti. Lykilkostur þessarar nálgunar er sá eiginleiki að geta blandað saman hitakortum með vel skilgreindum litaaðgerðum, sem eru þá í raun samþætting mismunandi hliða mannlegrar hegðunar. Hitakortshugmyndafræðin auðveldar ennfremur hlutlægan samanburð hermunarúttaks og raungagna með notkun myndsamanburðarmælinga, til að meta nákvæmni líkana. Varðandi útfærslu, þá kynnir þessi ritgerð einingadrifna hugbúnaðarhögun sem er hönnuð til að styðja við ýmsa ferla mannfjöldahermunar, með áherslu á aðskilnað helstu viðfangsefna hvers ferlis. Þessi högun inniheldur safn huglægra eininga, sem síðan eru útfærðar með viðeigandi hugbúnaðarhlutum, sem raungera undirliggjandi eiginleika. Útkoman er sjálf Agora umbjörðin. Tvö sýnidæmi eru útfærð og greind til að meta getu Agoru til að styðja við ýmis mannfjöldahermunarverkefni. Fyrra dæmið hermir eftir ferðamönnum sem heimsækja Þingvallaþjóðgarð, og skoðar hvernig hegðun þeirra verður fyrir áhrifum sýnileika umhverfisins sem umleikur þá. Seinna dæmið nýtir Agoru til að smíða líkan af hitauppstreymis- og þéttleikaþægindum hjá sýndarvegfarendum í borgarumhverfi. Niðurstöðurnar sýna góðan árangur Agoru við að styðja þróun, samþættingu og mat mannfjöldahermunarlíkana gagnvart raungögnum. Þróunarferlið er verulega þjálla með Agoru en með hefðbundnum aðferðum. Samþætting margra líkana tókst með blöndun hitakorta, möguleg hegðun var framkölluð og mat á líkönunum varð þægilegra með umgjörðinni. Ritgerðinni lýkur með því að fjalla um áhrif þessara niðurstaðna á svið mannfjöldahegðunar, með áherslu á nýstálegt framlag þessarar rannsóknar og mögulega framtíðarþróun Agora umgjarðarinnar

Encounter with the eruv : a project towards the city of open enclosures

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2000.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-155).The thesis examines the physical and symbolic spaces of the eruv through a textual and visual engagement. An eruv is a synthetic single private domain to facilitate carrying in a city, which is otherwise only allowed within a private domain on Shabbat in orthodox Judaism. An eruv is created by constructing a continuous boundary and the symbolic pooling of resources of the community. Both the eruv's origin in Jewish law as well as contemporary analysis provide the framework for my own interpretation. The thesis bridges across several disciplines - from architecture, art, Judaism, anthropology, feminism, and cultural studies - to find an approach which opens this 2000 year old tradition to a contemporary encounter. The eruv's physical and intangible spaces are discussed as paradoxical spaces to create a site of encounter. In relationship to the existing and proposed readings, the contemporary significance of eruvin (pI. of eruv), not only for a Jewish community, but for any individual or community, local or foreign, is explored. The thesis discusses notions of a nomadic navigation of space, a symbiotic construction of belonging, an ethics of foreignness, and a site for encounters. More traditional interpretations that are often based on dyadic systems are contrasted with explorations of the topic in relationship to paradoxical spaces, so that a space for diverse identities and their coalition emerges. My encounter and photographs of the Boston eruv relate the mental spaces to the physical architecture and reveal its minimal physicality with in its urban context. Through photographs and text the eruv is recognized as architecture, and opens it to broader discussion of space and meaning. My research increases the presence of the eruv and positions the existing and proposed spaces for adaptation and transformation by others who might need an eruv that has yet to be designed.by Miriam Levy.S.M

The BG News September 16, 1986

The BGSU campus student newspaper September 16, 1986. Volume 69 - Issue 13https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bg-news/5549/thumbnail.jp

Ottawa County Times, Volume 1, Number 9: March 25, 1892

Weekly Democratic newspaper published in Holland, Michigan from 1892-1905.https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/oct_1892/1001/thumbnail.jp

Contextualizing “The Contemporary Eruv”

The construction of eruvin – symbolic boundaries demarcating communal space that enable traditionally observant Jews to carry in public domains on the Sabbath – poses a unique problem at the intersection of religious and secular life. The application of the ancient doctrines of eruv to modern urban spaces has proven to be controversial in rabbinic circles, and in many respects the attendant Jewish law questions remain unsettled. At the same time, controversy over the construction of eruvin in modern metropolitan areas has metastasized to impact a much broader field of inquiry that includes law, politics, sociology, architecture, and aesthetics. My research in this area – which began with the publication of my book, The Contemporary Eruv: Eruvin in Modern Metropolitan Areas, and continues in this commentary and my recent essay, The Non-Territoriality of an Eruv: Ritual Bearings in Jewish Urban Life – touches on all these areas of inquiry. This commentary provides a broad overview of my work on eruvin and offers insights into the significance of my original research, the impact my work has had on the broader scholarly community, and possible lines of further inquiry for future work. Part 2 provides a glossary that defines the many Hebrew and technical-legal rabbinic terms used throughout this commentary. Next, Part 3 of this commentary offers a broad overview of my past and ongoing research into eruvin and touches briefly on the central question that drives much of my work. Part 4 discusses the central research questions that both animate my broader body of work and frame my more specific work on the study of eruvin in modern metropolitan spaces. Building on these research concerns, Part 5 of this commentary provides a general overview of the central concepts, doctrines, and issues in the construction of eruvin, tracing the topic from its biblical origins through early rabbinic legislation that set the stage for ongoing concerns. Part 6 explains the methodology of my research into eruvin, and lays out its three-pronged approach: addressing past rabbinic scholarship, actual hands-on experience with the urban spaces in which contemporary eruvin are built, and reconceptualizing traditional doctrines so as to apply them to modern contexts. In Part 7, I offer a literature review that focuses principally on the impact that The Contemporary Eruv has had on a variety of fields of inquiry, including law, urban studies, architecture, religious studies, public policy, and art. Part 8 includes abstracts of my other published works offered as further support for the merits of my scholarship. Finally, Part 9 of this commentary provides a tentative look forward at areas for future research, including a brief discussion of some of the ethical concerns raised by the construction of eruvin in modern metropolitan areas. Part 10 includes a list of sources referenced in this commentary

The planning and urban design of liveable public open spaces in Oman : case study of Muscat

Public open space has performed a considerable role in society since the first human settlements. Since the 1960s the understanding of liveable public open space has grown dramatically as exhibiting good quality and being well-used by the public. There is evidence of the social, economic and environmental benefits of public open spaces in any city. Planning and urban design practice are the mechanisms behind providing liveable public open space which entices and encourages the public to choose to spend more of their spare time in them. This thesis is concerned with liveability in contemporary public open spaces in Middle Eastern cities, where historically public open spaces were developed based on Islamic religion and Sharī‘ah, which provided norms for the production of the built environment and social engagement with this. As a focus for the exploration of contemporary public open space in Middle Eastern cities, this study examines the design of squares and plazas in particular. Squares and plazas were introduced by colonisation and reinforced by modernity, being later emphasised by globalisation. Nevertheless, squares and plazas in the Middle East have not been as successful as the traditional local open spaces, nor as the Western versions. This research has attempted to evaluate the liveability in public open spaces in Muscat through detailed case studies of two squares and two plazas in three ways, including evaluating: the physical quality, users’ perception and professional perception. In order to achieve this, a mixed methods strategy was designed based on the theoretical perspective of social constructionism. These methods included: desk-top study of documents; three built environment assessment tools, applied by professionals; behavioural mapping and observation; a survey of open space users; and semi-structured interviews with professional involved in the provision of public open space and community representatives in Oman. The empirical work showed that though public open spaces are viewed as beautification elements of the city structure, there are major weaknesses in meeting users’ requirements, engaging users and in considering local climate in those spaces. Although the planning and urban design system in Oman has been adopted from the West, it is not established adequately in different plan sequences and strategies to govern the provision process and control the quality of the spaces; in addition, there is lack of clarity and coordination in institutional responsibilities over the provision and management of public open space. It is concluded that providing more liveable public open space in Oman would require improvements to the planning and urban design systems, as well as learning from traditional practice in the production and management of open space in the Middle East

The non-territoriality of an eruv: ritual bearings in Jewish urban life

This paper considers the definition and meaning of an eruv1 as “territoriality without sovereignty” in Jewish tradition (Fonrobert 2005). It begins by exploring the origin and development of the term eruv itself, as well as its applications in different urban settings. It distinguishes between, on the one hand, the “enclosure” of the eruv that is made up of various natural and artificial structures that define its perimeter and, on the other hand, the “ritual community” created by the symbolic collection of bread that is known as eruvei chatzeirot. It suggests that much of the controversy, including legal issues of separation of church and state, as well as emotional issues such as the charge of “ghetto-ization”, surrounding urban eruvin (plural of eruv) may be connected to the identification of the area demarcated by an eruv as a “territoriality”. It argues that the enclosure of an eruv is not in itself religious in nature but rather makes up a completely arbitrary and generic “space”, and that it is only through and on account of the eruvei chatzeirot that this space becomes meaningful as a purely symbolic “place” one day a week (on the Sabbath). In the course of this analysis, it considers the one “weekday” on which an eruv may be significant – the Jewish holiday of Purim – and how on that day it may be a tool by which the area defined as part of a given city may be extended