Scaling and Universality in City Space Syntax: between Zipf and Matthew

We report about universality of rank-integration distributions of open spaces in city space syntax similar to the famous rank-size distributions of cities (Zipf's law). We also demonstrate that the degree of choice an open space represents for other spaces directly linked to it in a city follows a power law statistic. Universal statistical behavior of space syntax measures uncovers the universality of the city creation mechanism. We suggest that the observed universality may help to establish the international definition of a city as a specific land use pattern.Comment: 24 pages, 5 *.eps figure

Ghetto of Venice: Access to the Target Node and the Random Target Access Time

Random walks defined on undirected graphs assign the absolute scores to all nodes based on the quality of path they provide for random walkers. In city space syntax, the notion of segregation acquires a statistical interpretation with respect to random walks. We analyze the spatial network of Venetian canals and detect its most segregated part which can be identified with canals adjacent to the Ghetto of Venice.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Housing Morphology and Connectivity Quality in Periphery of Bandung City: Space Syntax Analysis

The complexity that occurs in the city is determined by its diversity and intensity of inhabitant activity. The connectivity system becomes an essential factor to accommodate these lively activities, especially connectivity of the housing area to the working area and public facilities. Periphery area of some metropolitan city including Bandung City has been growing fast, which is influenced by the intense need for housing accommodation, as well as accommodation of educational and industrial sectors. The East Peri-Urban of Bandung City in this decade became a more high density, especially along the primary arterial road that connects the Western and Eastern area of Bandung. This study aims to analyze the morphology of housing development and its connectivity including road networks that located in three area of the East Bandung from 2007 to 2017: Jatihandap, Pasir Impun, and Cijambe corridors. Space Syntax analysis is conducted to perform this morphology study. Data collected by direct observation and secondary sources review that related to the development of housing settlement in the area. It is concluded that the development of housing morphology in the peri-urban area of Bandung within ten years is growing intensively. There is some dis-integration pattern of road connectivity in the case study, which tends to be isolated or can be called as “big housing pocket”. The connectivity or permeability of the housing area in the peri-urban city is urgently needed to intervene, in order to reduce isolated settlement pattern and daily heavy traffic

Transport Networks Revisited: Why Dual Graphs?

Deterministic equilibrium flows in transport networks can be investigated by means of Markov's processes defined on the dual graph representations of the network. Sustained movement patterns are generated by a subset of automorphisms of the graph spanning the spatial network of a city naturally interpreted as random walks. Random walks assign absolute scores to all nodes of a graph and embed space syntax into Euclidean space.Comment: 12 page

Feeling good and feeling safe in the landscape: a `syntactic' approach

Space syntax is a theory and set of tools and techniques for the analysis of spatial configurations. It was developed at UCL in the late 1970s, as an approach to understanding human spatial organisation and to help architects and urban designers to simulate the likely social consequences of their projects. The fundamental proposition of space syntax is that a building or place can be broken down into spatial components, so that an analysis of the interrelations of the components will yield information about the pattern of space that is meaningful and functionally relevant. Over the past thirty years, space syntax has been successfully applied to resolve problems as diverse as master planning entire cities or revealing the imprint of culture in domestic settings. With this in mind, this paper will explore opportunities and challenges of taking a syntactic approach to the spatial analysis of landscape. To the extent that people avoid walking through landscapes in which they feel apprehensive, understanding the spatial characteristics of such environments should enable landscape designers to create vital landscapes that support healthy lifestyles and avoid those conditions where people may feel insecure. The paper will focus on how the tools/techniques of space syntax can be adapted to understand the circumstances in which people feel motivated to explore their local landscape and the spatial factors that may deter people from incorporating walking into their everyday routines

Random Walks Estimate Land Value

Expected urban population doubling calls for a compelling theory of the city. Random walks and diffusions defined on spatial city graphs spot hidden areas of geographical isolation in the urban landscape going downhill. First--passage time to a place correlates with assessed value of land in that. The method accounting the average number of random turns at junctions on the way to reach any particular place in the city from various starting points could be used to identify isolated neighborhoods in big cities with a complex web of roads, walkways and public transport systems