Space Syntax Theory Research Articles

Whether Museum Spatial Experience can Synthesize its Exhibits in the Museum with Chinese Garden Configuration

Traditional Chinese private gardens with their fascinating spatial layouts represent a tiptop accomplishment of classical garden art. However, whether the museum spatial configuration with Chinese style garden can still synthesize its exhibits when the spatial attribute of Chinese private garden is imitated and imbedded into modern museum? To better testify the consideration, this paper took Suzhou Museum as an example, a museum with the layout of Chinese style garden, to analyze its spatial visual attribute by using Depthmap software based on space syntax theory. Meanwhile, through comparing with Zhuozheng Garden which is a classical private garden adjacent to Suzhou Museum, we found a similar spatial attribute both in Zhuozheng Garden and Suzhou Museum: the indoor spaces for exhibit layout are separated while the outdoor spaces for traveling and landscape are continuous by studying visual connectivity and integration graphs. That is to say, Suzhou Museum with Chinese garden configuration, its space for exhibit layout is generally segregated from the overall museum spatial experience. In addition, in order to re-examine above findings, visitors were randomly selected to be observed and recorded their traveling routes or stops for sightseeing. The analysis results of visitor behavior pattern also showed a relatively close relation with the former visibility graph analyses.

The Interpretation of Place Phenomenology Based on Space Syntax Theory

Since earlier linking phenomenology to space syntax by the research of David Simon, studying place image based on phenomenology explanation is always the common focus between space syntax and phenomenology. With the common focus further studied, some issues such as descriptive pattern on place space, place configuration and place sense will be combined with space syntax theory. In this paper, based on the internal relations between space syntax and architectural phenomenology, the mechanism of place description, place configuration and place self-adaptive mechanisms were analyzed by space syntax, and a method also will be presented to interpret place phenomenon by using space syntax.

The Analysis of Changsha Spatial Self-Organizing Mechanism in the Period of Republic of China

As an inland city, the spatial form of Changsha has undergone its development for more than two thousand years. Extremely stable development of socio-economical culture made little influence on the form evolution of urban center in Feudal Age. However, from 1904 to 1949, frequent and obvious changes on city’s space configuration appeared along with the socio-economical revolution by reason of opening the port, and the characteristic of spatial replacement of downtown was also especially obvious. Therefore, changes of spatial configuration, as a reflection of free commercial economy after opening port, were studied in this paper to illustrator the self-organizing process of the city space evolution. With respect of studying method, space syntax theory was used to analyze and model the process of spatial organization rather than only using thus history or humanities perspective. After comparing syntactic measurement with five historical periods, the spatial features of self-organizing morphology present three rules: (a) self-similarity of morphological evolution, (b) synergy and disturbance relations by local-global spatial interaction and (c) city business center consistently located in the high integrated spaces. As a result, these rules of spatial self-organizing could be explained by a socio-physical phenomenon of single center configuration with today’s city expansion.

A Structural Analysing Model of Sichuan Vernacular Dwelling

The overall purpose of this paper is to set up a new research model for Sichuan Courtyard Dwellings by space syntax tool. Through analysing the basic concepts of space syntax theory, the paper creatively uses activity space other than functional space as a media to shape a new framework. It will comprehensively be merged with other research methods such as everyday life activity and cultural contexts.

Application of GIS in Quantifying the Urban Form-A Case Study of Shanghai

This paper proposes a framework of quantitative analysis of urban form based on GIS and reports an empirical study of Shanghai city to investigate the evolutional characteristics of urban form. By using ERDAS IMAGINE and GIS, the spatial form characteristics of Shanghai has been extracted based on a series of Landsat TM and ETM imagery over the period from 1982 to 2008; by combining fractal dimension theory, compactness ratio theory, space syntax theory etc with the spatial analysis technology of GIS, the urban form characteristics of Shanghai has been analyzed quantitatively in terms of urban external shape, urban internal structure, urban population size and urban transportation. Practice has proved that the combination of GIS with the theories of fractal dimension and space syntax etc can not only help to learn the principals of urban nature but also can explore the intrinsic interactive mechanism of geographic entities by deeply mining the spatial data.

3차원 공간 상에서 Space Syntax를 이용한 게임 객체 배치 연구

본 논문에서는 게임 맵에 대한 공간 분석을 통하여 정량적인 공간 분석 수치를 제공함으로써기획자들로 하여금 게임 객체를 배치하는데 있어서의 합리성을 제공할 수 있도록 하는 것이 본 연구의 기본 목적이다. 본 연구의 의의로는 Space Syntax을 이용한 게임 플레이어들의 행태 분석에 국한된 기존 연구의 한계를 벗어나, 게임 개발 단계인 레벨 디자인에서 Space Syntax를 활용하여 효율적인 게임 객체의 배치가 가능할 수 있도록 한 것이다. 본 논문의 산업적인 가치로는 합리적인 게임 객체의 배치에 따라 기존의 레벨 디자인 단계에서 발생할 수 있는 반복적인 작업들을 줄여 게임 개발 기간 및 개발 기대 비용을 절감할 수 있을 것으로 기대한다.

구배 기반 가중 접근성을 이용한 역세권 보행 네트워크 분석에 관한 연구

최근보행은 교통의 가장 기본 이동수단으로 대중교통 중심개발, 지속가능한 개발, 녹색교통 활성화 등 새로운 패러다임의 부각으로 그 중요성과 관심도가 높아지고 있다. 기존의 보행 네트워크 분석 연구에서는 보행자의 목적지까지 이동거리와 공간구문론의 통합도를 대표적인 접근성 요소로 사용하고 있지만 단순한 평면상의 네트워크 이동거리는 지형적인 특성이 반영되지 않기 때문에 비슷한 네트워크 구조를 가진 분석 지역들의 경우 비슷한 결과 값을 나타낼 수 있다. 또한 분석 지역의 특성에 따라 보행자들의 이동규모와 이동거리가 다름에도 불구하고 이를 반영하지 못한다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 구배를 고려하고 보행자의 이동규모를 고려한 이동거리 분석을 통해 새로운 보행 네트워크 접근성 분석 방법론을 제시하는 것이 목적이다. 강남구에 위치한 논현역, 역삼역, 학동역을 연구지역으로 선정하고, 미국 스포츠의학협회에서 제시하는 대사량 공식을 통해 구배 가중거리 공식을 유도하고 보행자의 이동규모를 추정하기 위해 건물 면적 비율에 따라 역 이용객 수 데이터를 활용해 건물 이용자 수를 추정한 뒤 연구 지역의 1인당 평균 이동거리를 비교하고 분석하였다. 더 나아가 역세권 200m와 500m에 위치한 건물에 대한 보행자의 이동거리 분석을 실시하였으며 이는 보다 연구지역의 특성을 반영하는 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 본 연구는 단순 보행 네트워크 이동거리 분석에서 구배를 고려한 보행 네트워크 이동거리 분석, 더 나아가 보행자의 이동규모를 고려한 보행 네트워크 이동거리 분석을 실시하였고 보다 실질적인 보행자의 특성을 고려한 보행 네트워크 접근성 분석 방법론을 제시하였다. 이는 앞으로 보행 네트워크 분석에서 지형적 특성을 반영하고 보다 실질적인 보행자의 움직임을 고려한 보행 네트워크 분석 방법론으로 활용될 것으로 기대된다. Walking is the most basic personal mobility and its importance and concern is ever increasing with the highlighting of a new paradigm, such as transit oriented development, sustainable development and revitalization of green transport. The existing analytical research on pedestrian network is using a pedestrian's moving distance to a destination and integration in space syntax theory as its representative accessibility factors. However, the uniplanar network moving distance fails to reflect topographic characteristics, so the moving distance could show a similar result value in case of the regions for analysis that have a similar network structure to each other. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to suggest a new analytical methodology on pedestrian network accessibility in consideration of the grade in pedestrian sections and a pedestrian's size. this study, in its analysis of a uniplanar pedestrian network moving distance, analyzed the pedestrian network moving distance in consideration of the grade in pedestrian sections, and even the pedestrian network moving distance in consideration of a pedestrian's size, and suggested the methodology on pedestrian network accessibility analysis in consideration of a more substantive pedestrian's characteristics. It is hoped that the methodology used by this study will be used as the methodology on pedestrian network analysis which can reflect topographic characteristics in the pedestrian network analysis, and take a more substantive pedestrian's movement into account.

Creating Safer Cities through Urban Planning and Development

Crime has always been one of the major concerns of residents of many cities around the world. It is one of the fundamental threats faced at every level of society - individual, organizational, sub-national, national, international/global. The need to assure a high level of security for the city‘s inhabitants and visitors is one of the most important tasks of local government. It is clear that only a comprehensive strategy with different crime fighting methods can bring positive results. Although theories coming from social sciences dominate this field of research, the authors of the paper emphasize the role of other perspectives, especially those developed by urban planners. The second part of the paper describes the process and results of the empirical research conducted in Vilnius city which was aimed at identifying the most vulnerable to crime open public spaces of the city applying the space syntax theory. The analysis helped to identify several common tendencies and specific proposals for local governments aiming to achieve a higher level of security in their cities and a better quality of life for local population.

Rediscovering a Forgotten City: The Case Study of Laranjeiras

The term “forgotten city” was mentioned by researchers to denominate some colonial Brazilian settlements and cities which seem to have the same characteristics that demonstrate they were hidden along the years and that have the same atmosphere as they used to in their past life, i.e., they have the same traditional type of urban configuration produced at the origin of the city. This paper brings into discussion this character of this city, using as an example the city of Laranjeiras, one of the oldest cities of the State of Sergipe, which had a great and rich trade of sugar, besides significant cultural and political activities, being known as “Brazilian Athens” in the 19th century. Then, Laranjeiras decayed and stopped growing along the 20th century. However, it has had a good perspective to develop again with insertion of new different activities recently. The initial Portuguese planning to villages in Brazil followed specific rules and had a systematic assistance, what discards the myth that many Brazilian cities were born and grown up as a spontaneous form without planning. Studying some factors deeply, as spatial configuration, settlement localization and urban grid, it can be possible to point some recognizable elements which demonstrate that some cities were built to be forgotten. The methodology used for the analysis of Laranjeiras presents many historic, economic and cultural aspects related to the spatial-syntactic studies (Space Syntax Theory), bringing to light some interesting thoughts about urban form and social life.

An Analysis of Pedestrian Movement in Multilevel Complex by Space Syntax Theory: In the Case of Shibuya Station

In recent years, the major Japanese railway stations have been rebuilt into building complex with deep underground and high-rise floors by the redevelopment projects. These projects probably raise the attractiveness of stations and increase the numbers of users, but on the other hand, it is expected that its complexity will make it hard for the users to get to their destinations. In this study, spaces to own such a configuration are defined as complicated multilayered space.

공간구문론 및 지리적 가중회귀 기법을 이용한 지가분석

Existing studies on land values tend to show the use of simple euclidean distances as the accessibility variable and OLS as the analysis method. However, applying such euclidean distance-based accessibility to dense CBD areas has limitations in the incorporating the characteristics of network structure whereas using OLS, the typical method for non-spatial data, tends to exclude spatial effects of spatial data. In this study, we analyzed land values focusing on the revised accessibility variables and the analytical technique that can include spatial effects. First, we adopted space syntax theory in order to consider not simple shortest distances along the streets but distances based on street network structure. Second, we compared OLS with GWR that includes spatial effects. Third, we used different size grid-cells for the spatial units considering MAUP theory and applied them to Gangnam-gu area. Each cell was analyzed for overall influence of independent variables using OLS, and coefficients were presented by GWR which enables local analysis and visualization. As a result, we found that suggested accessibility variables have a meaningful effects for land value analyses, and we were able to verify that GWR produces improved results compared to OLS. Also, we observed that the resulting values vary depending on the sizes of spatial units.

Rock, Refrain and Remove: Hearing Place and Seeing Music in Brasília

This article investigates relationships between rock music and the concept of place in the modernist, functionalist, planned city of Brasília, Brazil, known at times as ‘Capital of Rock’ and ‘Capital of Hope’. With rock history in Brasília, the city's built environment and its social character as my foci, I theorise the homology of remove as a way to conceptualise substantive relationships between these three, seemingly disparate ‘spheres’. Fieldwork, notably three repeated motifs—the ‘refrains’—subjects use to explain their observations, historical research, and space syntax theory's ‘integration’ provide the material.

Spatial Accessibility of Road Network in Wuhan Metropolitan Area Based on Spatial Syntax

Based on space syntax theory, the spatial accessibility of the road network in Wuhan Metropolitan Area has been quantitatively analyzed by building a series of accessibility variables. Topologic connectivity in the accessible rings appears to be broken; traffic axis network is in spatial structure of hub-and-spoke and fishbone-like. Meanwhile, the differences in classified road network have led to inefficiency of its network servo and its ever-worsening capability to respond to traffic jams. Besides, two band-like integrated cores of which one is east to west along the Yangtze River and the other is north to south along Beijing to Guangzhou Railway, have become the first level traffic axis in the whole network, which is responsible for the connectivity of the entire metropolitan area network. This consequently has strengthened the dominant position of Wuhan which is located on the bands’ crossing. In short, the spatial accessibility of that classified space morphology, the urban system, the transport infrastructure as well as the social and economic development of Wuhan Metropolitan Area are highly interrelated to each other, especially to the high level highway network featured by freeways, the development level of which is well in line with that of road network accessibility.

Inside Herod’s Courts: Social Relations and Royal Ideology in the Herodian Palaces

Abstract The article examines the social relations in Herod’s royal courts according to the archaeological discoveries in the Herodian palaces of Jericho, Masada, and Caesarea and what kind of political self-image is represented by these palaces. Space Syntax Theory (Access Analysis) is used to examine the spatial plan of these five palaces. Until 15 B.C.E. Herod was interested in maintaining an open court, being easily approachable to many visitors. It therefore seems that Nicolaus and Josephus exaggerated in their depiction of Herod’s suspicious and antisocial behavior. In the last decade of his reign Herod’s palaces reflect discreteness and the division into segregated sections. Access to the king became more remote. Social interaction became more hierarchical, stressing the king’s privacy and his control over his visitors with low interaction potential. The archaeological evidence shows that Herod transformed his court structure and royal posture several years before Josephus’ report of the emergence of his grave suspicions of Alexander and Aristobulus. His social behavior changed drastically sometime before 15 B.C.E., that is, before his paranoia became worse.

The Urban Context in Flux: Articulating Urban Scales through the Study of Socio-spatial Interfaces

This paper discusses continuing research framed within a counterbalance between the fields of architecture and urban planning whilst taking into consideration the systematic relationships between spatial patterns and their referring social schemes. The main question addressed, is whether a better understanding of spatial boundaries will contribute—both theoretically and in practice—to conceiving better assimilated planning solutions and interventions into existing urban grids. Boundaries are considered here as structural agents in the global-local-unit interdependence, as the intermediary spatial formations where socio-spatial scales (domestic interior, urban neighbourhood, urban district, city) overlap and potentially interact. It is suggested that boundaries control the flow of social users in spatial patterns, being at the same time potential interfaces at different scales of activity where the individual is (successively or abruptly) transformed from inhabitant, to commuter and to citizen. It is further proposed that boundaries serve to control both disruptions in the large-scale urban grid, and disturbances at the local scale. The research topic is methodologically approached through the study of historic evolution of Athenian housing, as manifested in relation to city’s urban grid transformations. The methodological approach involves correlating architectural and morphological aspects with syntactic and analytical tools of Space Syntax Theory.

Urban Transformation Process of Soho from 1889 to 2004 - A Discussion of the Form and Function Relationship

Due to the advance of computer science, we now have more powerful tools to digitize and analyze the complex system of urban form, which was difficult for describing and exploring previously. Space syntax theory and method is one of these tools which can help to clarify the social logic of space quantitatively. By this tool, this study examined the urban transformation process of the London area of Soho in the last 100 years, aiming at articulating the intriguing form and function relationship. This study proposed that although the spatial change and social change are in different speed, their changing process still intertwined and interacted with each other.

Accessibility Evaluation of Guangzhou Subway Network Based on Space Syntax Model and GIS

Based on the current condition of Guangzhou subway network, the authors used GIS methods and extended the space syntax theory to analyze the accessibility of the subway network, and compared with actual passenger flow. The results show: 1)Space syntax is practicable to measure the accessibility of subway system; 2)Among all sections by division, the accessibility of Tiyuxilu-Chen Clan Academy is the highest, the accessibility of Yantang-Panyu Square is the second highest, while the accessibilities of Jiaokou–Xicun and Dongchong–Jinzhou are the lowest, the accessibility of Xilang -Chen Clan Academy is the second lowest; 3)The accessibility level of subway and actual passenger flow have a positive correlation, the higher the accessibility, the larger the passenger flow; 4)As a whole, line 1 has the highest accessibility and the largest passenger flow, followed closely by line 3. Their departure frequency and number of carriages should be properly increased to relieve passenger flow pressure. Line 4 has relatively low accessibility and less passenger flow, so it should appropriately decrease train frequency or extend departure interval to reduce operating cost at present. Certainly, space syntax inevitably has its limitations, but after proper extension, the space syntax method can be used to instruct traffic reconstructing and urban planning etc.

공간구문론을 이용한 근린공원 시각적 접근기회 분석- 청주시를 중심으로 -

This study analyzes the visual access opportunities of neighborhood park users using the Space Syntax theory. In order to achieve this goal, 27 neighborhood parks were selected and 27 axial maps drawn according to the spatial configuration of the sites. Based on the axial map data, this study has calculated some specific space syntax indices, including Connectivity, Integration, and Intelligibility using the Axwoman ver 3.0 based on the Arcview 3.2 application. The value of the representative indices were used to examine visual access opportunities presented by the parks. This study was conducted in two aspects: one focusing on the entire space and another focusing on only the main entrance of the parks. The former used integration and intelligibility values and the latter used connectivity and integration values to evaluate the visual access opportunities of the sites. As a result, this study found that some parks, including Joongang, Balsan, and Sangdang, have high visual access opportunities in terms of the spatial configuration surrounding the park, which shows an integration value higher than 2, and also having intelligibility values higher than 0.7. This is the result of the grid land use pattern surrounding the parks and the straight roads that are closely linked to the main entrances of the parks. It is expected that this methodology and results will be used for locating neighborhood parks during the urban planning stage as providing reasonable evidence.

Developing a topological information extraction model for space syntax analysis

Computer-aided design (CAD) systems have evolved into more intelligent systems, employing building information modeling (BIM) to manage semantic building information including the entities of building components and spaces. Based on the technological advancement, there have been some researches for conducting spatial analysis in CAD or simulation systems. However, in the previous works, the task to subdivide a concave space into convex spaces has been carried out manually, which caused inefficiency of time and cost. Therefore, this study has intended to develop a topological information extraction model (TIEM) to extract topological information, recognize geometric and topological features of spaces, and select convex spaces best fit for Space Syntax analysis in an automatic manner. To reach this goal, this study developed algorithms to extract essential information from semantic building information including building components and spaces produced in the form of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), and employed graph theory and binary spatial partitioning (BSP) tree to recognize spaces and decompose a concave space into optimal convex spaces. As a result, this study has successfully decomposed a concave space into convex spaces automatically, has drawn a j-graph with the divided convex unit spaces, and has measured spatial configurations based on Space Syntax theory indentifying social and spatial properties of a built environment. These results indicate that the TIEM will serve as useful means to help architects to find an appropriate purpose of each space for sustainable built environment on the basis of the spatial and social relationships in buildings or urban systems.

The Mathematics of Spatial Configuration: Revisiting, Revising and Critiquing Justified Plan Graph Theory

The justified plan graph (JPG) was the first practical analytical method developed as part of the theory of Space Syntax, which purported to provide a graphical, mathematical and associated theoretical model for analysing the spatial configuration of buildings. In spite of early interest, in recent years relatively little research using this method has been published, perhaps because the JPG method is rarely explained in its totality and when it is, the descriptions are often inconsistent or unclear. Although it is now embedded in several software programs and its use may be more widespread, it is no better understood and after processing there is a marked lack of consistency in how the results are interpreted. This paper provides a historical background for the development of the JPG and a discussion of its conceptual or theoretical origins, followed by a “worked example” of the mathematics of the JPG. In combination with the results for two further cases, the paper identifies some important interpretative limits in the method and uses the examples to explain its potential use in design analysis. Finally, the paper discusses how the consistent application of this method to sets of related buildings is likely to produce a more valuable, and statistically viable, basis for future work.