Space Syntax

Abstract

In the past two decades the space syntax method, developed by Bill Hillier and his colleagues at the University College London, have been applied to urban studies. This method consists of calculating configurative spatial relationships in built environments. In urban analyses, according to Hillier, space syntax is four things. Firstly, space syntax is operating with a concise definition of urban space. Secondly, it is a family of techniques for analysing cities as the networks of space formed by the placing, grouping and orientation of buildings. Thirdly, it is a set of techniques for observing how these networks of space relate to functional patterns such as movement, land use, area differentiation, migration patterns and even social wellbeing and malaise. Fourthly, based on the empirical results from the two first things, space syntax has made it possible to make a set of theories about how urban space networks relate in general to the social, economic and cognitive factors which shape them and are affected by them (Hillier et al, 2007). Recently the Space Syntax toolkit has been integrated into the open source geographic information system QuantumGIS.