scholarly journals Bill Hillier’s Legacy: Space Syntax—A Synopsis of Basic Concepts, Measures, and Empirical Application

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3394
Author(s):  
Claudia Yamu ◽  
Akkelies van Nes ◽  
Chiara Garau
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Spatial Properties ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Scenario Testing ◽  
The City

Bill Hillier’s space syntax method and theory enables us to describe the spatial properties of a sustainable city. Empirical testing of the space syntax method over time has confirmed the capacity and innovativeness of analyzing spatial relationships with the purpose of understanding and explaining the socio-spatial organization of built environments. However, the conceptual framework of space syntax elements is scattered around in various academic writings. This article, therefore, gives a holistic and compact overview of the various concepts that are used in space syntax, from its basic elements to various analytical techniques and theories. To achieve this compact overview, we reviewed all space syntax literature accessible since the 1970s for finding core references to various concepts used in space syntax. Following a short description of its foundation and evolution through the work of Bill Hillier, we explain its basic concepts and measures in the form of an extended glossary. Explanations are enriched with various space syntax analyses and scenario testing on various scales that were applied to the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. We conclude with a discussion about the advantages and limitations of space syntax and about how this method adds value to the creation of sustainable cities.

Theoretical Analysis of the Concept of a Sustainable City

2016 ◽  
Vol 04 (04) ◽  
pp. 1650029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mou WANG ◽  
Junyan LIU
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Dynamic Equilibrium ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
The City

This paper systematically presents the information about a sustainable city and the process of putting forward, developing and evolving the concept, and it provides an analysis of some current main views in the studies of sustainable cities. In this paper, it is argued that the construction of a sustainable city should not be carried out simply by bringing the concept of sustainable development down to the city level; sustainable development should be more materialized, scenario focused, and localized at the city level, and it should be internalized into the various dimensions of the construction of a city at the special temporal and spatial scales of a city. Based on literature reviews, this paper holds that there are three drawbacks in the current understanding of a sustainable city, mainly including: First, emphasis is placed on the internal equilibrium of a city, but no attention is paid to the negative environmental externalities of other cities or areas and the compensation for them; second, the ultimate goal of sustainable development — achieving equilibrium — is excessively stressed, while the embodiment of the stages of development and regional differences in the goal of sustainable development is overlooked; third, the form of the city is a key indicator for building a sustainable city, but this indicator is basically unavailable in the current definitions of sustainable cities. The definition and theory of a sustainable city should fully reflect the temporal and spatial nodes of differentiation in a sustainable city and the dynamic relationship of equilibrium between the systems of a city and the surrounding areas; its definition and theory should also realistically address the urban needs and the practice of the sustainable development of a city. Based on a comprehensive analysis, this paper stresses that a sustainable city is a city in which the form of the city is scientifically designed in line with a certain social and economic development level, and environmental conditions in order to optimize the internal and external functions, improve the system of urban governance, achieve a dynamic equilibrium among economic development, environmental safety, resource utilization and social equity, continuously enhance its capability for coping with risks, make it more livable, and provide positive externalities in perspectives of economy, environment and social governance for other cities.

scholarly journals A SUSTAINABLE CITY IN THE CONTEXT OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Šlogar ◽  
◽  
Goran Bandov ◽  
Tomislav Čakanić ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Population ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Sustainable Communities ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Urban Plan ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Development Paradigm ◽  
The City

The concept of sustainable cities is based on a development paradigm that recognizes the rapid growth of urban population and makes an important contribution by forming a global urban plan. Sustainable city is organized in order to emphasize the importance of people and their needs. This paper will define what sustainable city is and show how certain innovative elements have been introduced in Copenhagen in order to achieve city sustainability. In that regard, an overview of innovative urban solutions in the context of environmental protection will be given. A comparative analysis of the achievement of the SDG 11 objective - Sustainable Cities and Sustainable Communities in Copenhagen will be carried out in relation to the other European Union capitals. The aim of this research is to determine whether Copenhagen is a sustainable city and how sustainable cities contribute to promoting the sustainable development goals. Finally, proposals will be made to achieve those objectives for other cities, based on the results achieved by the City of Copenhagen.

scholarly journals The Effect of the Spatial Organization Characteristics in Reducing the Crime in Al-Hila City

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ameera J. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

"The present work is about an organized crime which is considered a serious phenomenon that generally comes upon the world and especially in the Iraqi area. In recent decades, Al- Hilla City has suffered from spread variety of crimes, which lead the citizens to lack the sense of security. For this reason, it is seen it is significant to study this phenomenon with a new parallel phenomenon which causes their appearance. In addition, it is thought that this topic has not been tackled yet. The problem of the study lies in the lack of holistic scientific knowledge about the role of the synthetic properties of spatial organization for the city of Al- Hilla in crime growing. The study aims at establishing a holistic knowledge of that role. To deal with the problem of the research, an inductive approach (descriptive- analytical) has been adopted. The data is got from the responsible security institutions and is analyzed through invest the calculation method (space syntax). The results of the research showed that there are four areas ((4 zones) where crime is concentrated in the city and the growth of crime is related to the change of the synthetic characteristics of spatial organization (Connectivity, control, and Integration) of urban space. On the other hand, the diversity of crime in urban areas is related to other parallel phenomena and not to the structural characteristics of urban space."

scholarly journals Contribution of planned built environments to city transformation: urban design practice in Montreal from 1956 to 2016.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Racine
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
First Results ◽  
The City

Contributions to the literature on Canadian urbanism and, in particular, Canadian urban design, despite some notable exceptions, are relatively limited. The presentation explains from an urban form perspective the practice of urban design in Montreal from the mid-twentieth century onwards. The research seeks to interpret the development of urban design practice in Montreal by reviewing a representative sample of urban projects built over the past six decades. The urban projects are used to illustrate the different renewal strategies adopted, to understand how urban design ideology/ideas have changed over time in Montreal and how they have influenced the spatial organization, form, and aesthetic of the city. The principal theoretical and methodological contribution of the research is to develop a morphological framework to study and understand the physical-spatial mode of organization of planned built environments and to study their relationship to urban form (Racine 2016). The author uses this chronological investigation of the cases to reveal how each school of thoughts that has emerged in the discipline of urban design since its foundation in 1956 (Krieger, Saunders, 2009), has addressed the problems of modernist urban planning and to move the field of urban design thinking forward. The first results of our analysis show the importance of morphological and spatial relations between vernacular and planned built environments.  The morphological issue of continuity of urban space is crucial to assure a certain level of urban equity between citizens and to assure the sustainability of the development of the city as a whole.

scholarly journals Conceptual Model for Urban Interventions in Historic Cities based on Space Syntax

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 4219-4225
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Rational Approach ◽  
Cultural Integration ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
The City ◽  
Historic Cities

Urbanism today is a synthesis of inheritance, prevalence and futurism. As our inheritance struggles with the rapid transformations and anxiously waits for the future, their conservation becomes an issue related to our cognizance of the genuine relations between tangible and intangible properties. While urban development strategies enormously emphasis the issues on sustainability, social balance, public realm, environment and heritage, the space proxemics of cities are very often ignored. This model is designed in a way that combines analytical techniques of space syntax and cultural context for an objective enquiry into user precise space proxemics of the city and scientifically states the spatial configuration as visible spatial rules or principles of urbanism in the traditional urban cores, thereby evolving a rational approach towards urban interventions. This model caters both for conservation studies and as well for rejuvenation of existing built environments or to design new urban centers for developing traditional urban cores of any city. The model has its application for urban interventions in the chosen area with quantified syntactic parameters for their spatial configuration. This resulted in both cases improving and depriving the culture-precise-human-predilections about space proxemics affecting cultural integration values.

Smart Urban Profiling And Management – New Insights For Enhancing Innovative And Sustainable City Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
Rebecca Oberreiter
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Management Model ◽  
City Management ◽  
City Marketing ◽  
City Development ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Framework Conditions ◽  
Fresh Impetus ◽  
The City

Rapidly changing framework conditions for city development such as globalization, demographic trends, deindustrialization, technological developments or the increasing urbanization as well as the economic, social and political changes are profound and change our urban life. This leads, that the cities of tomorrow will differ essentially from today´s city principles. Therefore innovative, strategically wise and quick action becomes a criterion for success. Here, more than ever, local conditions and requirements must be taken into account as well as global framework conditions. The responsible parties have to set the course so that the “City” remains competitive and sustainable in the future. Therefore, innovation processes and sustainable strategies for dealing with the diverse and complex agendas of a city in dialogue with those who are responsible for it must be initiated and management systems established so that new things can develop continuously and systematically. This work illustrates how the boundaries created to manage and market future liveable and sustainable city destinations are the root of the practical and academic problems that trouble city management these days.  This paper aims to develop the new integrated Smart Urban Profiling and Management model, which presents a new integrated approach for city marketing as an instrument of sustainable urban development. In this way, comprehensive research was conducted to evaluate if the holistic city marketing concept that integrates elements of smart city strategies and adaptive management is a more suitable instrument and integrative process than conventional city marketing in order to improve the sustainable urban development. Therefore, in this work, the designed “Smart Urban Profiling and Management model” for city management introduces an alternative and holistic perspective that allows transcending past boundaries and thus getting closer to the real complexities of managing city development in dynamic systems. The results offer the opportunity to recognize the city and consequently allow to developing successful strategies and implementation measures. This study targets to contribute to this endeavor in order to produce new impulses and incitements in the city management field and shall provide a fresh impetus for a new understanding of city marketing as the initiator of development processes, mobilization and moderator in concerning communication and participation processes. This paper is written from a perspective addressing those responsible for the city- management, city- & urban marketing and development.

scholarly journals Simulating the effects of redesigned street-scale built environments on access/egress pedestrian flows to metro stations

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanan Liu ◽  
Dujuan Yang ◽  
Harry J. P. Timmermans ◽  
Bauke de Vries
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Route Choice ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Destination Choice ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Renewal Processes ◽  
City Center ◽  
Metro Station ◽  
Route Choice Behavior ◽  
The City

AbstractIn urban renewal processes, metro line systems are widely used to accommodate the massive traffic needs and stimulate the redevelopment of the local area. The route choice of pedestrians, emanating from or going to the metro stations, is influenced by the street-scale built environment. Many renewal processes involve the improvement of the street-level built environment and thus influence pedestrian flows. To assess the effects of urban design on pedestrian flows, this article presents the results of a simulation model of pedestrian route choice behavior around Yingkoudao metro station in the city center of Tianjin, China. Simulated pedestrian flows based on 4 scenarios of changes in street-scale built environment characteristics are compared. Results indicate that the main streets are disproportionally more affected than smaller streets. The promotion of an intensified land use mix does not lead to a high increase in the number of pedestrians who choose the involved route when traveling from/to the metro station, assuming fixed destination choice.

scholarly journals Measuring Disability Inclusion Performance in Cities Using Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataša Rebernik ◽  
Marek Szajczyk ◽  
Alfonso Bahillo ◽  
Barbara Goličnik Marušić
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Technical Developments

Cities are exposed to a growing complexity, diversity and rapid socio-technical developments. One of the greatest challenges is as of how to become fully inclusive to fit the needs of all their citizens, including those with disabilities. Inclusive city, both in theory and practice, still lacks attention. Even in the context of ambitious contemporary concepts, such as smart and sustainable city, the question remains: Do smart and sustainable cities consider inclusiveness of all their inhabitants? Among numerous evaluation systems that measure city’s smartness, sustainability or quality of life, those tackling inclusion are very rare. Specifically, disability inclusion is hardly covered. This may be one of the reasons why cities struggle with applying disability inclusion to practice in a holistic and integrative way. This paper proposes a Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool) and Disability Inclusion Performance Index (DIPI), designed to guide cities through a maze of accessibility and disability inclusion related requirements set within the political, legislative and standardization frameworks. The testing in two European cities shows that the tool is beneficial for providing diagnosis as to how disability friendly a city is, and as such offers an opportunity for designing informed corrective measures towards disability inclusive city design.

Editorial

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
Yurdanur Dulgeroglu-Yuksel
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Settlement Policies ◽  
Existing Housing ◽  
The City

This editorial deals with the issue of sustainability in relation to the development of the city in the 21st century. The main goal is to make an inquiry into Piecemeal vs Grand Planning Approaches to generating sustainable cities. The focus of the city is the human settlements. The issue of sustainability has been a concern for many planners, architects, urban geographers and social scientists. “Sustainability” is an old concept but has become a new solution criteria for generating liveable cities. The role of the professional is crucial in the development of cities to become more sustainable. It seems that development of cities, especially those in developing countries, in the post-modern age require a critical evaluation and updating of their existing housing and settlement policies and practices. They seem to neglect the development dynamics in fast-growing metropoles sometimes. While the natural phenomenon of urbanisation require piecemeal approach to spatial planning and development in Developing countries, their governments tend to adopt Grand policies of developed countries. Implementation of such policies with fujrthern use of high-tech often results in large wipe-outs in the city and social disintegration, following the replacement of existing neighborhoods. Physical and social integrity, as well as slow growth of settlements is a crucial start towards sustainable cities.

Connectivity in the Multi-Layered City: Towards the Sustainable City

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 24-35
Author(s):  
Bob Brown
Keyword(s):  
Global City ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Financial Speculation ◽  
A Site ◽  
The City ◽  
Development Practice

A new urban paradigm, the global city, emerged in the late 20th Century finding acceptance in discussions of urban development. Tied into a global network of exchange, it exists principally as a place of financial speculation and transaction. It is marked by a parallel economy of culture, which underpins a re-conceptualisation and spatial re-formation of the city. Despite its widespread currency, criticisms have challenged its economic sustainability. Further questions have contested its tendency to impose a singular, homogenized space prioritizing consumption while marginalising other concerns. Post-independence Riga's recent experience provides a platform from which to critique the global city paradigm, which the city embraced as it sought to embed itself in the West not only politically but culturally and economically as well. In opposition to this model's intrinsic singular emphasis and exclusionary tendencies, this text will explore the concept of palimpsest; this proposition understands the city as a multiplicity of layers, within which convergences and divergences offer a site from which to generate synergies. This will be framed in reference to recent discourse on the sustainable city and development practice. Recent design-led inquiry situated in the context of Riga will then provide a lens on palimpsest as an alternative form of praxis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document