Traffic Network and the Urban Environment: An Adapted Space Syntax Approach

The general idea of Space Syntax approach postulates that, the total network of public spaces which is defined by the natural form of the urban tissue in every settlement or city, can be considered as a single and continuous spatial system. This system can be divided into components, analyzed as networks of choices, and then represented as maps and graphs that describe the relative connectivity of those spaces. Among the Space Syntax analysis methods the most widely used is the integration analysis which identifies the preferred shortest route between two points in a given street network. Although paradoxes arise using this method, many research results from European and American cities of different morphology have claimed strong connectivity of preferred routes and traffic volume generated by city planning choices (land use, population density, etc). The proposed adaptation of the chosen Space Syntax methodology is applied to Xanthi, a Greek medium size city in Northern Greece with a very interesting variety in the form and density of its urban tissue. It is the purpose of this application (which uses the DepthMap program) to verify and interpret the functional structure of the city through identifying the form of its core, the principal and most congested road axes, the allocation of the central land use etc. Moreover, it aims to verify the argument that the space syntax attributes of the urban public space have an impact on the accomplishment of the objectives in the regeneration studies and are able to affect the development and structure of its central functions.