Agent-Based Analysis of Urban Spaces Using Space Syntax and Spatial Cognition Approaches: A Case Study in Bari, Italy

Abstract

The present study provides a reflection on the agent-based intelligence of urban spatial environments through the comparison of a formal quantitative approach, i.e., space syntax, and a qualitative experimentation based on the spatial cognition approach. Until recently, space syntax was adopted by urban planners and designers to support urban design and planning decisions, based on an analysis of the urban physical environment. Researchers in the cognitive science field have increased their attempts to address space syntax techniques to better understand the relationships of cognitive spatial agents with the spatial features of urban environments. In this context, the experimental approach focuses on the qualities of the environment as interacted, perceived and interpreted by cognitive agents and reflects on the role which it plays in affecting spatial decisions and route choices. The present paper aimed to explore the extent to which possible integration between the different approaches can provide insights on agent-based decisions in actions and behavioural processes in space for useful perspectives in urban analysis and planning. Findings suggest relevant correlations between the experimentation results and space syntax predictions when a correspondence of some aspects can be found. Conversely, interesting qualitative insights from the spatial cognition approach are pointed out to enrich the configurational analysis. The potential and constraints of each approach and the ways of combining these are presented. Evidence supports the suitability of the proposal outlined in the present paper within the framework of urban planning practice.

Toward human-centric urban infrastructure: Text mining for social media data to identify the public perception of COVID-19 policy in transportation hubs

“…Furthermore, the movements are dynamic and are affected by the spatial environment. Thus, our simulation approach has challenges to demonstrate how to respond to more detailed spatial configurations ( Esposito et al., 2020 ).…”

Effect of Space Configurational Attributes on Social Interactions in Urban Parks

“…In this study, the curved pathway network in parks was modeled by a series of continuous segments. A series of space syntax parameters were proposed for space relationship quantization, including depth, connectivity, control, integration, and choice [23,26,28,[38][39][40]. Four types of parameters included in the segment analysis were analyzed in this study, including:…”

“…To enable the comparison between systems of different sizes, normalized angular integration (NAIN) was suggested by Hiller and Yang, which was used in this study as the measure of the integration for each space [43]; (4) Global integration calculates the integration of the starting space to the whole system [23,28]. However, when focusing on people's behavior or movement patterns, the local integration is commonly used by applying a calculation radius [39,44]. In this study, two radii, 200 and 1000 m, were first selected according to the range of the park scales to represent walking accessibility.…”

Perception of urban subdivisions in pedestrian movement simulation

“…Likewise, in STREETS, apart from a set of intermediate points along the shortest path between an origin and a destination, agents are not equipped with cognitive maps or symbolic representations of space. Even though in another model derived by Space Syntax theories agents' were equipped with information about the visibility of certain junctions [83], recent models [36,84] mainly employ route choice approaches still devised on cost minimisation grounds-i.e. road distance, number of turns and least cumulative angular change.…”

“…aspects, Esposito and colleagues [84] recommend integrating Space Syntax-based ABM with route choice behavioural theories derived from spatial cognition research.…”