The Geometry of Urban Layouts

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1 The Geometry of Urban Layouts

3 Mahbub Rashid The Geometry of Urban Layouts A Global Comparative Study

4 Mahbub Rashid University of Kansas Lawrence, KS, USA ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Control Number: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland

5 To my parents

7 Acknowledgments This book originated from an elective seminar course I teach on the morphology of buildings and cities in the departments of architecture and planning at the University of Kansas. For the first few years of the seminar course, the students and I discussed various techniques for describing the morphology of buildings. For the next few years, we discussed how best to represent and analyze cities or city areas for the benefit of urban designers and scientists. This book is an outcome of the seminars of the later years. Most early versions of the drawings presented here in this book were created by the students. Put alphabetically, these students were Dhirgham Alobaydi, Elizabeth Avenius, Ahmed Bindajam, Adam Brcic, Roberto Castillo, Dominique Coolidge, Vincent Cunigan, Tyler Eighmy, Nick Fratta, Garrett Nicholas Fugate, Zach Holbert, Shareka Iqbal, Faria Islam, Sharmin Kader, Nate Kaylor, Chang Liu, Aubrey Morris, Kayla Pagano, Matthew Ainge Primovic, Pearl Suphakarn, Jesse Walters, Xiaoyun Wang, Jonathan Wilde, and Shiqi Zhang. I am most grateful to each of these students for their diligent work that served as the impetus for this book. I am also grateful to Drs. Shateh Hadi and Nayma Khan, who worked as my graduate research assistants for the seminar course. More specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Hadi for preparing the satellite images needed for the seminars and Dr. Khan for doing the hard work of counting objects on the maps. My larger intellectual inspiration for writing this book comes from Stanford Anderson, Michael Batty, Bill Hillier, Allan Jacobs, Lionel March, John Peponis, Phil Steadman, Michael Southworth, and the late Douglas Allen some of whom I have known personally, while the others are known to me only through their publications. It would be extremely gratifying if this book is able to extend some of their ideas. I would like to thank the University of Kansas for supporting my book project through the General Research Fund. I would also like to thank Dr. Ron Doering at Springer Science + Media for taking up my book project for publication and my copyeditor, Jennifer Dropkin, for carefully editing the manuscript. Additionally, I would like to thank my parents, siblings, and their children, who had never lost faith in my abilities. Finally, I would like to thank my wife and children for their love and patience. vii

9 Contents Part I The Geometry of Urban Layouts: A Comparative Study of the Urban Layout Maps of Downtown Areas in Cities Around the World 1 Introduction What Is This Book About? Why Do We Need This Book? How Is This Book Going to Affect Urban Design and Science? An Overview of This Book... 7 References Urban Layout and Its Significance Introduction Geometry, Spatial Representation, and Urban Layout Urban Layout as Map Space The Significance of Urban Layout References Studies on the Geometry of Urban Layouts: A Review of the Literature Introduction Metric Geometric Studies of Urban Layouts Normative Aesthetic Studies of Urban Layouts Empirical Studies of Urban Layouts Morphological Studies of Urban Layouts Configurational Studies of Urban Layouts Fractal Studies of Urban Layouts Space Syntax Studies of Urban Layouts GIS in Configurational Studies of Urban Layouts Discussion and Conclusions References ix

10 x Contents 4 Materials and Measures Introduction Study Sample Study Area Urban Layout Maps Street Maps Urban Block Maps Linear Maps Preparing the Maps Urban Layout Measures Measures: Street and Street Centerline Maps Measures: Urban Block Maps Measures: Axial and Segment Maps References Detecting Ordinaries, Extremes, Similarities, and Differences: Univariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts Introduction Univariate Descriptions of Street and Street Centerline Maps Univariate Descriptions of Urban Block Maps Univariate Descriptions of Axial and Segment Maps Extremes, Similarities and Differences in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Exceptional Cities Around the World Exceptional Cities in Developed Countries Exceptional Cities in Developing Countries Differences and Similarities in Urban Layouts of Cities in Developed and Developing Countries Discussion and Conclusions Examining Scaling Laws: Bivariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts Introduction Scaling Laws Mathematical Expressions Scaling in Biology Scaling in Cities Rank-Size Distributions in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Rank-Size Distributions in Street and Street Centerline Maps Rank-Size Distributions in Urban Block Maps Rank-Size Distributions in Axial and Segment Maps Discussion: Rank-Size Distributions in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Allometry in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Allometry in Street and Street Centerline Maps Allometry in Urban Block Maps

11 Contents xi Allometry in Axial and Segment Maps Other Allometric Relations Between the Measures of Different Urban Layouts Discussion: Allometry in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Discussion and Conclusions References Developing Descriptive Categories, Types, and Indicators: Multivariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts Introduction Criteria for Descriptive Categories of the Geometry of Urban Layouts Descriptive Categories of the Geometry of Urban Layouts and Their Types and Measures Quantity Density Granularity Compactness Continuity Accessibility Complexity Descriptive Indicators and Similarities and Differences in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Quantity Indicators Density Indicators Granularity Indicators Compactness Indicators Continuity Indicators Accessibility Indicators Complexity Indicators Discussion and Conclusions References Robustness, Resiliency, and Universality in the Geometry of Urban Layouts Introduction Urbanity and the Physical Environment of the City The Physical Environment of the City and the Descriptive System of the Book Contributions of This Book Univariate Analyses Bivariate Analyses Multivariate Analyses Moving Forward Postscript References

12 xii Contents Part II The Geometry of Urban Layouts: A Compendium of the Urban Layout Maps of Downtown Areas in Cities Around the World 9 A Compendium of the Urban Layout Maps of Downtown Areas in Cities Around the World Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Abuja, Nigeria Accra, Ghana Ad Doha, Qatar Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Algiers, Algeria Amman, Jordan Amsterdam, Netherlands Ankara, Turkey Atlanta, Georgia, United States Auckland, New Zealand Baghdad, Iraq Bangkok, Thailand Beirut, Lebanon Belo Horizonte, Brazil Berlin, Germany Bern, Switzerland Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Bogotá, Colombia Boston, Massachusetts, United States Bratislava, Slovakia Brisbane, Australia Bristol, United Kingdom Brussels, Belgium Bucharest, Romania Budapest, Hungary Buenos Aires, Argentina Cairo, Egypt Calgary, Canada Canberra, Australia Cape Town, South Africa Caracas, Venezuela Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Chicago, Illinois, United States Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Cleveland, Ohio, United States Colombo, Sri Lanka Columbus, Ohio, United States Dallas, Texas, United States

13 Contents xiii 9.40 Delhi, India Denver, Colorado, United States Detroit, Michigan, United States Dhaka, Bangladesh Dublin, Ireland Durban, South Africa Gaborone, Botswana Guatemala City, Guatemala Hanoi, Vietnam Harare, Zimbabwe Houston, Texas, United States Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Kansas City, Missouri, United States Khartoum, Sudan Kiev, Ukraine Kuwait City, Kuwait La Paz, Bolivia Lima, Peru Lisbon, Portugal Ljubljana, Slovenia London, United Kingdom Los Angeles, California, United States Lusaka, Zambia Madrid, Spain Melbourne, Australia Mexico City, Mexico Miami, Florida, United States Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Monterrey, Mexico Moscow, Russia Nairobi, Kenya New York City, New York, United States Nicosia, Cyprus Oslo, Norway Ottawa, Canada Panama City, Panama Paris, France Perth, Australia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phoenix, Arizona, United States Portland, Oregon, United States Porto Alegre, Brazil Prague, Czech Republic Pretoria, South Africa

14 xiv Contents 9.85 Rabat, Morocco Reykjavík, Iceland Richmond, Virginia, United States Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Rome, Italy San Diego, California, United States San Francisco, California, United States Sana a, Yemen São Paulo, Brazil Seattle, Washington, United States St. Louis, Missouri, United States Sydney, Australia Toronto, Canada Tunis, Tunisia Vancouver, Canada Vienna, Austria Warsaw, Poland Washington, DC, United States Wellington, New Zealand References

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