Delineating neighbourhoods: An urban morphology and multi-dimensional approach

Although neighborhoods are a widely used analytical concept in urban geography, in empirical research, they are often proxied using grids or statistical sectors. The rationales underlying these proxies are often separated from the theoretical considerations of what makes a neighborhood a neighborhood, casting shadows over their relevance and applicability. In this paper, we identify two specific challenges separating empirical operationalizations from theoretical considerations in neighborhood delineations: (1) not incorporating key built environment elements and (2) monodimensional approaches. We address these issues by developing a method that addresses this double challenge by (1) creating morphological basic spatial units (BSUs) and (2) aggregating them using multilayer community detection. We illustrate this method for the case of Leuven, Belgium, by (1) using street blocks as BSUs and (2) focusing on proximity, land use, and daily activity pattern interactions. Ground-truthing these neighborhoods and contrasting results with those derived from grids and statistical sectors, we show that this approach has the ability to better approach the structure of the city. We therefore argue that our approach offers clear advantages over currently used approximations through its flexibility, inherent explanatory power and alignment with theoretical considerations, making a strong case for its adoption in neighborhood delineation exercises.