Network Analysis

Street network analysis applies graph theory to the structure of cities. Streets are represented as networks of nodes and edges, and measures such as closeness and betweenness centrality are used to quantify the relative accessibility and through-movement potential of each street segment. Research in space syntax and related fields has shown correlations between these network properties and observed pedestrian flows, land-use patterns, and the spatial distribution of commercial activity (Hillier and Hanson 1984; Penn et al. 1998; Porta et al. 2009).

In this section, we will build and analyse network graphs, compute centrality measures for Madrid’s metro and street networks, and use localised network analysis to evaluate how changes to street configurations would alter the distribution of centrality across the network.

References

Hillier, Bill, and Julienne Hanson. 1984. The Social Logic of Space. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Penn, A, B Hillier, D Banister, and J Xu. 1998. “Configurational Modelling of Urban Movement Networks.” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 25: 59–84.

Porta, Sergio, Emanuele Strano, Valentino Iacoviello, Roberto Messora, Vito Latora, Alessio Cardillo, Fahui Wang, and Salvatore Scellato. 2009. “Street Centrality and Densities of Retail and Services in Bologna, Italy.” Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 36 (3): 450–65. https://doi.org/10.1068/b34098.