Spatial intelligence: integration of land use to connectivity in the context of eastern urbanism

Abstract

PurposeThere is an urgent need to develop a systematic tool for urban design in the cities of the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) proposes ideas to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This paper approaches this goal through land use, integrated into an effective connectivity network. It offers a scientific and systematic approach. The research employs Space Syntax of the University College London as a tool for urban analysis and the principles of Sustainable Street Networks developed by the Congress of New Urbanism to respond to connectivity issues.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs empirical research through case studies. A systematic literature review is conducted on the diversified applications of the Space Syntax correlations, which steered the fundamental analysis of the elements of deconstruction to structure and land use. Space Syntax and Sustainable Street Network characteristics were the essential research methods. It is important to note that these data a new finding on the Syntactic Maps of the two case study cities.FindingsThe paper summarises a set of results on (1) international comparison of spatial intelligence, (2) patterns from the Eastern cases and (3) theoretical guidelines for spatial intelligence through the Syntax by offering key characteristics of the New Urbanism principles, which could be considered, while revitalising the cities in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are specific and applicable to the oriental contexts. However, such results have been further compared to the Western context.Practical implicationsThe study develops a toolkit for urban planners and designers and architects in Klang Valley, Malaysia.Social implicationsThe research has focused and will add value for SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Theoretically, the paper offers insights to urban design readers.Originality/valueIt is important to note that the data itself is a new finding on Syntactic Maps of the two case study cities. The investigated setting is unique, and the first attempt in generating a Space Syntax map to the cities of Klang Valley, and the findings, therefore, offer a new set of knowledge-base to the city planners, urban designers, researchers and architects.

Space Syntax has Come of Age: A Bibliometric Review from 1976 to 2023

“…For instance, Dalton and Dalton (2001) developed an isovist-generating software called OmniVista. Ståhle et al (2005) created and developed the Place Syntax Tool (PST). Later, multiple plug-ins for geographic information systems, including the QGIS space syntax plug-in (Gil et al 2015), sDNA (spatial design network analysis) (Cooper et al 2016), and the QGIS PST plug-in (Marcus et al 2019), were released.…”

“…Several studies used space syntax measures to examine how street network "accessibility" and "land use" intensity and diversity contribute to "walkability" and "sustainability" (Bielik et al 2018;Dhanani et al 2017). Srirangam et al (2023) developed a toolkit based on integrating land use with street network connectivity to make cities sustainable. Also, Rybarczyk et al (2023) employed space syntax to analyze children's walking behavior to school.…”

Exploring Urban Service Location Suitability: Mapping Social Behavior Dynamics with Space Syntax Theory

“…Various studies demonstrate that incorporating integration, choice, and connectivity values is crucial in allocating urban services [30,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Li and Li (2023) studied communitybased elderly care facilities, finding that areas with higher integration and choice values attracted more users.…”