Abstract
Space Syntax and the theory of natural movement demonstrated that spatial morphology is a primary factor influencing movement. This paper investigates to what extent spatial morphology at different scales (node, community and global network) influences the use of public space by micromobility. An axial map and corresponding network for Lisbon’s walkable and open public space, and data from e-scooters parking locations, is used as case study. Relevant metrics and their correlations (intelligibility, accessibility, permeability and local dimension) for the quantitative characterization of spatial morphology properties are described and computed for Lisbon’s axial map. Communities are identified based on the network topological structure in order to investigate how these properties are affected at different scales in the case study. The resulting axial line clustering is compared via the variation of information metric with the clustering obtained from e-scooters’ proximity. The results obtained enable to conclude that the space syntax properties are scale dependent in Lisbon’s pedestrian network. On the other hand both the correlation between these properties, the number of scooters and the variation of information between clusters indicate that the spatial morphology is not the only factor influencing micromobility. Through the comparative analysis between the main properties of the public space network of Lisbon and data collected from e-scooters locations in a timeframe, centrality becomes a dynamic concept, relying not only on the static topological properties of the urban network, but also on other quantitative and qualitative factors, since the flows’ operating on the network will operate several transformations on the spatial network properties through time, uncovering spatiotemporal dynamics.
Highlights
The study of the city is a transdisciplinary endeavor
There is a spacetime dimension where relations and activities happen, conditioning our perceptions and transforming the city (Batty 2013). As these infrastructural and social components are strongly interrelated (Bettencourt and West 2010; Barthelemy 2019), in this paper we propose a discussion about the city from the point of view of complexity studies, by analyzing the interrelations between the urban fabric and the social dynamics that characterize and transform urban life
Network science research has revealed that the architecture of networks in various domains of science and nature are governed by the same organizing principles, which allows the use of a common language and mathematical tools to explore them
Summary
The study of the city is a transdisciplinary endeavor. Since the complexity of cities seems to challenge any description, several simplified concepts of the city were used as describing models, suggesting that the dynamics of socio-spatial relations could follow clear hierarchies or regular geometries, or that parts could be separated from the whole emergent urban phenomenon (Hillier 2009). I.e., when considering each axial line, space syntax presents four measures that were conceived to describe its global and local properties in the network.
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