The Geometry of Urban Layouts

The Geometry of Urban Layouts

Mahbub Rashid The Geometry of Urban Layouts A Global Comparative Study

Mahbub Rashid University of Kansas Lawrence, KS, USA ISBN 978-3-319-30748-0 ISBN 978-3-319-30750-3 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-30750-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016935853 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

To my parents

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

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... 3 1.1 What Is This Book About?... 3 1.2 Why Do We Need This Book?... 3 1.3 How Is This Book Going to Affect Urban Design and Science?... 5 1.4 An Overview of This Book... 7 References... 8 2 Urban Layout and Its Significance... 13 2.1 Introduction... 13 2.2 Geometry, Spatial Representation, and Urban Layout... 13 2.3 Urban Layout as Map Space... 14 2.4 The Significance of Urban Layout... 15 References... 18 3 Studies on the Geometry of Urban Layouts: A Review of the Literature... 19 3.1 Introduction... 19 3.2 Metric Geometric Studies of Urban Layouts... 20 3.2.1 Normative Aesthetic Studies of Urban Layouts... 20 3.2.2 Empirical Studies of Urban Layouts... 21 3.2.3 Morphological Studies of Urban Layouts... 23 3.3 Configurational Studies of Urban Layouts... 26 3.3.1 Fractal Studies of Urban Layouts... 27 3.3.2 Space Syntax Studies of Urban Layouts... 29 3.3.3 GIS in Configurational Studies of Urban Layouts... 32 3.4 Discussion and Conclusions... 35 References... 37 ix

x Contents 4 Materials and Measures... 47 4.1 Introduction... 47 4.2 Study Sample... 47 4.3 Study Area... 48 4.4 Urban Layout Maps... 51 4.4.1 Street Maps... 52 4.4.2 Urban Block Maps... 53 4.4.3 Linear Maps... 54 4.4.4 Preparing the Maps... 56 4.5 Urban Layout Measures... 58 4.5.1 Measures: Street and Street Centerline Maps... 58 4.5.2 Measures: Urban Block Maps... 59 4.5.3 Measures: Axial and Segment Maps... 62 References... 67 5 Detecting Ordinaries, Extremes, Similarities, and Differences: Univariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts... 71 5.1 Introduction... 71 5.2 Univariate Descriptions of Street and Street Centerline Maps... 75 5.3 Univariate Descriptions of Urban Block Maps... 98 5.4 Univariate Descriptions of Axial and Segment Maps... 120 5.5 Extremes, Similarities and Differences in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 153 5.5.1 Exceptional Cities Around the World... 153 5.5.2 Exceptional Cities in Developed Countries... 154 5.5.3 Exceptional Cities in Developing Countries... 154 5.5.4 Differences and Similarities in Urban Layouts of Cities in Developed and Developing Countries... 155 5.6 Discussion and Conclusions... 157 6 Examining Scaling Laws: Bivariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts... 159 6.1 Introduction... 159 6.2 Scaling Laws... 161 6.2.1 Mathematical Expressions... 161 6.2.2 Scaling in Biology... 162 6.2.3 Scaling in Cities... 164 6.3 Rank-Size Distributions in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 169 6.3.1 Rank-Size Distributions in Street and Street Centerline Maps... 169 6.3.2 Rank-Size Distributions in Urban Block Maps... 171 6.3.3 Rank-Size Distributions in Axial and Segment Maps... 178 6.3.4 Discussion: Rank-Size Distributions in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 184 6.4 Allometry in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 186 6.4.1 Allometry in Street and Street Centerline Maps... 186 6.4.2 Allometry in Urban Block Maps... 188

Contents xi 6.4.3 Allometry in Axial and Segment Maps... 190 6.4.4 Other Allometric Relations Between the Measures of Different Urban Layouts... 192 6.4.5 Discussion: Allometry in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 193 6.5 Discussion and Conclusions... 196 References... 198 7 Developing Descriptive Categories, Types, and Indicators: Multivariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts... 201 7.1 Introduction... 201 7.2 Criteria for Descriptive Categories of the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 203 7.3 Descriptive Categories of the Geometry of Urban Layouts and Their Types and Measures... 204 7.3.1 Quantity... 204 7.3.2 Density... 207 7.3.3 Granularity... 207 7.3.4 Compactness... 207 7.3.5 Continuity... 208 7.3.6 Accessibility... 208 7.3.7 Complexity... 209 7.4 Descriptive Indicators and Similarities and Differences in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 209 7.4.1 Quantity Indicators... 209 7.4.2 Density Indicators... 211 7.4.3 Granularity Indicators... 212 7.4.4 Compactness Indicators... 213 7.4.5 Continuity Indicators... 213 7.4.6 Accessibility Indicators... 214 7.4.7 Complexity Indicators... 214 7.5 Discussion and Conclusions... 215 References... 220 8 Robustness, Resiliency, and Universality in the Geometry of Urban Layouts... 221 8.1 Introduction... 221 8.2 Urbanity and the Physical Environment of the City... 221 8.3 The Physical Environment of the City and the Descriptive System of the Book... 224 8.4 Contributions of This Book... 225 8.4.1 Univariate Analyses... 225 8.4.2 Bivariate Analyses... 226 8.4.3 Multivariate Analyses... 227 8.5 Moving Forward... 228 8.6 Postscript... 229 References... 231

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... 235 9.1 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates... 236 9.2 Abuja, Nigeria... 238 9.3 Accra, Ghana... 240 9.4 Ad Doha, Qatar... 242 9.5 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia... 244 9.6 Algiers, Algeria... 246 9.7 Amman, Jordan... 248 9.8 Amsterdam, Netherlands... 250 9.9 Ankara, Turkey... 252 9.10 Atlanta, Georgia, United States... 254 9.11 Auckland, New Zealand... 256 9.12 Baghdad, Iraq... 258 9.13 Bangkok, Thailand... 260 9.14 Beirut, Lebanon... 262 9.15 Belo Horizonte, Brazil... 264 9.16 Berlin, Germany... 266 9.17 Bern, Switzerland... 268 9.18 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan... 270 9.19 Bogotá, Colombia... 272 9.20 Boston, Massachusetts, United States... 274 9.21 Bratislava, Slovakia... 276 9.22 Brisbane, Australia... 278 9.23 Bristol, United Kingdom... 280 9.24 Brussels, Belgium... 282 9.25 Bucharest, Romania... 284 9.26 Budapest, Hungary... 286 9.27 Buenos Aires, Argentina... 288 9.28 Cairo, Egypt... 290 9.29 Calgary, Canada... 292 9.30 Canberra, Australia... 294 9.31 Cape Town, South Africa... 296 9.32 Caracas, Venezuela... 298 9.33 Charlotte, North Carolina, United States... 300 9.34 Chicago, Illinois, United States... 302 9.35 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States... 304 9.36 Cleveland, Ohio, United States... 306 9.37 Colombo, Sri Lanka... 308 9.38 Columbus, Ohio, United States... 310 9.39 Dallas, Texas, United States... 312

Contents xiii 9.40 Delhi, India... 314 9.41 Denver, Colorado, United States... 316 9.42 Detroit, Michigan, United States... 318 9.43 Dhaka, Bangladesh... 320 9.44 Dublin, Ireland... 322 9.45 Durban, South Africa... 324 9.46 Gaborone, Botswana... 326 9.47 Guatemala City, Guatemala... 328 9.48 Hanoi, Vietnam... 330 9.49 Harare, Zimbabwe... 332 9.50 Houston, Texas, United States... 334 9.51 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States... 336 9.52 Kansas City, Missouri, United States... 338 9.53 Khartoum, Sudan... 340 9.54 Kiev, Ukraine... 342 9.55 Kuwait City, Kuwait... 344 9.56 La Paz, Bolivia... 346 9.57 Lima, Peru... 348 9.58 Lisbon, Portugal... 350 9.59 Ljubljana, Slovenia... 352 9.60 London, United Kingdom... 354 9.61 Los Angeles, California, United States... 356 9.62 Lusaka, Zambia... 358 9.63 Madrid, Spain... 360 9.64 Melbourne, Australia... 362 9.65 Mexico City, Mexico... 364 9.66 Miami, Florida, United States... 366 9.67 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States... 368 9.68 Monterrey, Mexico... 370 9.69 Moscow, Russia... 372 9.70 Nairobi, Kenya... 374 9.71 New York City, New York, United States... 376 9.72 Nicosia, Cyprus... 378 9.73 Oslo, Norway... 380 9.74 Ottawa, Canada... 382 9.75 Panama City, Panama... 384 9.76 Paris, France... 386 9.77 Perth, Australia... 388 9.78 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States... 390 9.79 Phnom Penh, Cambodia... 392 9.80 Phoenix, Arizona, United States... 394 9.81 Portland, Oregon, United States... 396 9.82 Porto Alegre, Brazil... 398 9.83 Prague, Czech Republic... 400 9.84 Pretoria, South Africa... 402

xiv Contents 9.85 Rabat, Morocco... 404 9.86 Reykjavík, Iceland... 406 9.87 Richmond, Virginia, United States... 408 9.88 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil... 410 9.89 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia... 412 9.90 Rome, Italy... 414 9.91 San Diego, California, United States... 416 9.92 San Francisco, California, United States... 418 9.93 Sana a, Yemen... 420 9.94 São Paulo, Brazil... 422 9.95 Seattle, Washington, United States... 424 9.96 St. Louis, Missouri, United States... 426 9.97 Sydney, Australia... 428 9.98 Toronto, Canada... 430 9.99 Tunis, Tunisia... 432 9.100 Vancouver, Canada... 434 9.101 Vienna, Austria... 436 9.102 Warsaw, Poland... 438 9.103 Washington, DC, United States... 440 9.104 Wellington, New Zealand... 442 References... 444