Beyond the Ghetto - an interdisciplinary perspective on patterns of ethnicity in the built environment

Despite a century of research into residential settlement patterns, not enough is understood about the patterns of immigrant settlement. This topical issue requires radical thinking, particularly as it is currently dealt with by a range of disciplines, each of which tends to rely on its own research paradigms. There is an underlying problem surrounding research into the relationship between society and space. Whilst the social sciences tend to lack an understanding of the independent contribution of the built environment to the way in which communities change over time, the spatial sciences lack an understanding of the political and cultural dynamics underpinning statistical measures of segregation. There is a need for an interdisciplinary approach to take account of both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of cities and migration. The aim of the UCL Cities and Migration working group is to challenge the orthodox view of the relation between social structures and the urban environment over time and to cross traditional research boundaries with a combination of architectural, geographical, sociological, anthropological and historical approaches to the topic of segregation. This report summarises the discussions which took place in May 2010 at the invitation of the UCL Grand Challenge: Sustainable Cities. A gathering of thirty academics and other interested parties came together to hear presentations by UCL scholars from The Bartlett (Sonia Arbaci), Geography (Pablo Mateos), Geomatic Engineering (Muki Haklay) and Public Health (Ilaria Geddes). These were followed by responses from three invited experts: Professor Pnina Werbner (Social Anthropology, Keele), Professor Ceri Peach (Social Geography, Oxford) and Professor Ludi Simpson (Population Studies, Manchester). The following report is the distillation by the UCL academics of the workshop discussions the event’s Chair, Laura Vaughan, and does not necessarily replicate the views of the participants

Successional segregation in Gerani, Athens. Unpacking the spatial structure of an immigrant quarter

This study examines the role of spatial configuration in shaping patterns of immigrant segregation through the case study of Gerani, Athens. Previous research has suggested that despite its negative effects, segregation can be positive as a key mode of accommodating urban diversity. In this context, this study asks what is the role of space in shaping immigrant segregation patterns and accommodating difference. Although Greece has accepted major migration waves during the last decades, the Greek state is characterised by the lack of internal policies towards immigrants’ integration, leading to social friction. The district of Gerani reflects the current socioeconomic and spatial transformations of the Greek capital and is chosen for this study as a multi-ethnic district and the most distinct commercial immigrant centre of Athens. The existence of a certain degree of informality that characterises both the built environment and the local economic activities reveal the structure of spontaneous socioeconomic patterns. After establishing the spatial properties of the area through space syntax analysis, the immigrant networks are mapped through primary ethnographic research tracking the development of immigrant economic activities. Finally, the above analyses are combined qualitatively and quantitatively, through statistical analysis. The study suggests that Gerani’s spatial configuration might be related to its consistent deprivation and, consequently, to the concentration of high immigrant densities. Furthermore, despite the supposed homogeneity of the “ghetto” of Gerani, the various ethnic groups appear clustered in the area in terms of economic activities and use of the public realm, while an internal hierarchical rationale emerges; locations characterised by higher levels of “natural movement” and proximity to attractors have clusters of those immigrants who have achieved greater social integration with Greek society, whilst locations with lowers levels of “natural movement” and adjacent to abandoned enclaves of anomy have concentrations of the more socially disadvantaged groups. Overall, the issue of immigrant integration and segregation remains mainly a political issue that premises the adoption of long term external and internal policies. Considering, however, the role of spatial design in this process, the current study proposes that specific spatial structures offer immigrants the necessary protection to gradually build their socioeconomic life. These principles should be re-interpreted and assimilated in strategic design proposals and policies that aim at the creation of more socially inclusive solutions

Suburban Urbanities: Suburbs and the Life of the High Street

Suburban space has traditionally been understood as a formless remnant of physical city expansion, without a dynamic or logic of its own. Suburban Urbanities challenges this view by defining the suburb as a temporally evolving feature of urban growth. Anchored in the architectural research discipline of space syntax, this book offers a comprehensive understanding of urban change, touching on the history of the suburb as well as its current development challenges, with a particular focus on suburban centres. Studies of the high street as a centre for social, economic and cultural exchange provide evidence for its critical role in sustaining local centres over time. Contributors from the architecture, urban design, geography, history and anthropology disciplines examine cases spanning Europe and around the Mediterranean. By linking large-scale city mapping, urban design scale expositions of high street activity and local-scale ethnographies, the book underscores the need to consider suburban space on its own terms as a specific and complex field of social practice

Is the future of cities the same as their past?

People have long predicted that with the advent of telecommunications, faceto- face contact would become increasingly unimportant in cities. Urban spatial layout would be irrelevant, and cities would be comprised of small groups and atomised individuals connected virtually across time and space. Paradoxically, despite the advent of mobile communications, cities have become more essential than ever in maintaining existing and fostering new relationships. People are using physical and virtual networks to vary their presence in the city: temporally, by working part of the week from home or working in cafés and squares, but also physically, so they can be bodily present, but mentally absent-communicating with an unseen presence elsewhere in the world. These new social adaptations are seen as matters for concern-as signs that we are going through a social revolution as dramatic as the effect the advent of printing had on knowledge dissemination and population movement. But nowadays urban public space can be as lively and full of vitality as ever before. Cities will continue to function as places for people to come together for social and economic transactions

High Street Diversity

This space syntax study of a sample outer-London town centres measures diversity in terms of land uses, street network configuration, and built form. The multi-layered analysis finds that inter-relationships, from building to street, from street to neighbouring street and from local streets to the wider network, create an interdependence of activities. This paper concludes that if we consider the diversity of town centres in this multi-layered way, we can achieve a more precise understanding of the nature of their urban design adaptability

Mapping Society

From a rare map of yellow fever in eighteenth-century New York, to Charles Booth’s famous maps of poverty in nineteenth-century London, an Italian racial zoning map of early twentieth-century Asmara, to a map of wealth disparities in the banlieues of twenty-first-century Paris, Mapping Society traces the evolution of social cartography over the past two centuries. In this richly illustrated book, Laura Vaughan examines maps of ethnic or religious difference, poverty, and health inequalities, demonstrating how they not only serve as historical records of social enquiry, but also constitute inscriptions of social patterns that have been etched deeply on the surface of cities. The book covers themes such as the use of visual rhetoric to change public opinion, the evolution of sociology as an academic practice, changing attitudes to physical disorder, and the complexity of segregation as an urban phenomenon. While the focus is on historical maps, the narrative carries the discussion of the spatial dimensions of social cartography forward to the present day, showing how disciplines such as public health, crime science, and urban planning, chart spatial data in their current practice. Containing examples of space syntax analysis alongside full colour maps and photographs, this volume will appeal to all those interested in the long-term forces that shape how people live in cities

From the axial line to the walked line: Evaluating the utility of commercial and user-generated street network datasets in space syntax analysis

Data availability, reliability and cost are some of the most constraining factors in space syntax analysis and wider commercial acceptance. In recent years user-created Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) that is free to all via the Internet has gained wider acceptance and proven reliability (Haklay, 2010). Furthermore it has the property of being created by the people who inhabit the spaces being mapped; therefore it captures local knowledge and detail to a far greater degree than commercial mapping agencies. From a space syntax perspective it also relates more closely to the pedestrian network as it is used on foot and captures details of pedestrian routes through the urban fabric that other road-centric data sources ignore. This paper demonstrates the methodological approaches and analytic outcomes of a space syntax sensitivity analysis of Open Street Map (OSM) VGI road network data, the UK national mapping agency Ordnance Survey Integrated Transport Network (ITN) road data and a hand-drawn Axial map for four areas within the Greater London Region. The space syntax segment analysis was completed within the Depthmap application. The segment analysis was completed on the ITN model, OSM model and hand-drawn model separately and then it was carried out on a combined model of the ITN and OSM that integrated all the network elements from both. The integration and comparison of the network models was carried out through the usage of a new algorithm currently under development at University College London that identifies and extracts the differences between two line network datasets (Koukoletsos, forthcoming) and standard GIS processing techniques. The space syntax measures were evaluated on four areas in outer London that are the focus of the Adaptable Suburbs project at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies. The analysis was carried out using length-weighted angular segment and choice analysis at radii 800m, 2000m and n (Turner, 2007). Comparative statistics were then generated for the areas to evaluate the analysis outcomes of the different network models. The London-wide network that was created through the combination of the OSM and ITN networks had a total length of 32,000km representing an increase of approximately 20% over the Ordnance Survey ITN network. The dramatic increase in network length alone demonstrates the divergent realities of the two mapping techniques and the representation of the world that they capture. It is anticipated that the sensitivity analysis will find that there was no significant difference in the global syntax values between the ITN and OSM and Axial models but at the local level the additional network segments for pedestrian routes within the OSM data will provide greater network accuracy and syntax values that model the reality on the ground better than the Ordnance Survey ITN model. Furthermore it captures potential pedestrian routes that are not present in the other data sets. The work carried out seeks to understand whether Volunteered Geographic Information is a viable alternative to official mapping sources when creating models for analysis of small urban areas. If this proves to be the case such data would provide not only a cost effective alternative to commercially produced data but indeed a more reliable network model for the analysis to be carried out. Open source geographic data have the capability to improve and enrich space syntax analysis whilst removing high price barriers that commercial data sources impose

Why do people walk in the suburbs? An analysis of how spatial configuration and land use diversity contribute to walkability

Most current research looking at how planning and urban design can contribute to walkability compares built environment measures such as connectivity, diversity and land use. This working paper contributes to this domain by reporting on a pilot study which used space syntax measures of route choice to analyse self-reported walked routes and planned activities within three outer London suburban neighbourhoods. Using a bespoke questionnaire on a wide array of activities coupled with self-reported route traces the study related the through-movement potential of the street network to the intensity of routes and land use diversity through each of the three areas. Using data on people's reasons for walking and actual routes, adjusting for differences between different groups of users, the aim was to see whether urban configuration affects patterns of movement in the suburban realm. The findings show that route availability is associated with increased walking along routes with 'active' land uses, notwithstanding the variety of activities taken during a walk. They also reveal clear differences in usage patterns and trip length according to the degree of familiarity with the areas as well as the location of physical barriers to walking routes, such as railway lines. Greater use of green spaces is found to be associated with their integration into the spatial network and local inter-visibility. The findings also tentatively suggest that routes with increased network centrality are more likely to be used for multi-purpose trips. The results suggest that improved planning and design can increase walking in an area, leading both to local vitality as well as potentially to the health of individuals