Urban block enclosure and labyrinthineness: measuring morphological attributes that matter

This paper proposes two new urban morphological measures: Block Enclosure Ratio (BER) and Block Labyrinthineness Ratio (BLR). BER captures the built-up ratio of the block perimeter, linked to the sense of enclosure. BLR is the ratio between the shortest route around a block and its total perimeter, capturing how labyrinthine its shape is. The analytical value of these metrics is demonstrated based on the case study of Paris. Results indicate that these measures combined with diagramming and mapping are effective tools to analyse urban form attributes, and can bridge some of the gap between morphological studies and statistical analysis.