Noise and Spatial Configuration in Biskra, Algeria—A Space Syntax Approach to Understand the Built Environment for Visually Impaired People

Walid-Mahfoud Djenaihi,Akkelies Van Nes,Moussadek Djenane,Noureddine Zemmouri

doi:10.3390/su131911009

Abstract

This contribution investigates the correlation between street noise levels and the spatial configuration of the street network in four different types of neighbourhoods in the Algerian city of Biskra. Space syntax methods are used to analyse spatial relationships, where accessibility, intelligibility, and legibility of urban spaces can be evaluated. The degree of spatial integration is used as an accessibility indicator and is correlated with recorded noise level data at 154 points from the selected neighbourhoods. As the results show, there are strong correlations between spatial integration and recorded sound pressures on streets and roads in colonial and unplanned neighbourhoods. The reason is that these types of neighbourhoods have a street network with high correlations between street connectivity and global spatial integration. There are weak correlations between connectivity and global spatial integration throughout the modern planned neighbourhood, which again affects the correlation between noise and space. The experiment shows that space syntax methods have the potential to predict degrees of accessibility and orientability for people with visual impairments in urban planning.

Highlights

Impaired people have great difficulties moving around with full autonomy and security, especially in the city
Correlations between sound pressure levels and degrees of spatial integration are not as simple as they seem in line with the space syntax theory of the natural movement
As our findings show for Biskra, the higher the correlation coefficient between street connectivity and global integration, the stronger the correlation between sound pressure levels and the various space syntax variables

Summary

Introduction

Impaired people have great difficulties moving around with full autonomy and security, especially in the city They rely, generally, on sensory compensation such as sound, touch, and smell in order to perceive and understand architectural and urban spaces [1,2]. Sensory landmarks play an important role in facilitating orientation and improving the perception of space [4] These types of landmarks contribute to improving accessibility in the city for visually impaired people [5]. Biskra is an interesting case for this study, due to its remote location from other towns and cities. What makes Biskra an interesting case for studying the relationship between spatial configuration and noise is that the texture of the building surfaces are more or less the same in all neighbourhoods

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Conclusion