Studying street centrality and human density in different urban forms in Baghdad, Iraq

Abstract

This paper provides an understanding of the quality of urban form by studying the spatial properties of street networks concerning human density in Baghdad, Iraq. By adopting the Multiple Centrality Assessment (MCA) as an analytical approach, the study examines 12 streets at two different urban patterns formed in Rusafa District. Among many key measures of MCA, betweenness centrality (CB), which is a metric representation of street qualities, has been employed to identify streets with high values in the network system. Then, the human density based on people flow – denoted the quality of urban life – was measured by site observations which focused on movement and activity. Following that, a correlation between street centrality and human density for the two examined areas was conducted and compared. Results showed that urban life was found on organic streets, where vitality, activity, and density existed with high values of betweenness; this contrasted with modern streets, which recorded low values. Furthermore, research that explored the relationship between street network systems and urban form potential can involve other key MCA measures, including Closeness (CC) and Straightness (CS), when examining the walkability, sustainability, territory, and history.