Identifying Socio-Spatial Potentials to Improve Liveability Using Street Network Centrality Analysis
PhD cand. Wiebke Stadtlander acts as advisor
In a time when wicked problems, such as biodiversity loss, climate breakdown, the housing crisis, and eroding social solidarity, are escalating, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the role the built environment can play in improving liveability, especially for the communities most affected. A crucial first step is to examine how physical space and human behaviour intersect, and to use this understanding to identify socio-spatial potentials for targeted interventions. This project will focus on developing a tool that supports the detection of potential spaces for different types of socio-spatial interventions. The tool aims to help planners and policymakers identify suitable locations for further investigation toward designing more liveable urban networks that genuinely improve community well-being.
The objective of the study is to develop and test a digital tool for identifying socio-spatial potentials in an urban area and assess its usefulness. You will use spatial tools (GIS) to perform spatial analyses at a location of your choice, applying the Space Syntax concept. The goal is to combine the space syntax description of the urban environment with conventional descriptions of attraction into a combined accessibility analysis tool. Street Network Centrality Analysis can offer valuable insights into the spatial logic of the urban fabric. By computing and overlaying angular integration (indicating how easily a space can be reached within the network) and angular choice (indicating how likely a segment is to be used as part of a route), we can identify types of urban spaces that afford different functions and behaviours. The research shall explore how far such an analytical approach can guide decision makers in identifying socio-spatial potentials and targeting meaningful interventions.
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