Restructuring Urban Form Through Restructuring Accessibility: An Integrated Urban Network Approach: Fid-Bau Portal

Restructuring Urban Form Through Restructuring Accessibility: An Integrated Urban Network Approach

Yang, Chen / Qian, Zhu

Urban form and socio-economic activities are mutually impacted and reinforced through the medium of human movement. Prior literature has paid much attention to the interrelations between physical space and socio-economic activities regarding the shaping and reshaping process of urban form. Regrettably, limited attempts have highlighted the role of underground morphological elements in this regard. This research introduces an integrated urban network structure that combines the road network with the metro network which represents one of the most representative elements of underground morphology. We use the space syntax approach to examine both the traditional road network model and the proposed integrated urban network model. Using accessibility as the primary indicator to gauge the changes associated with this integration, we argue that underground morphology plays a critical role in restructuring accessibility, thereby affecting the existing urban form. Facilitated by Point of Interests data, this research also explores to what extent can the built environment impact the socio-economic development of cities. This research is based in the City of Xi’an, China, and all the data are collected from open sources, such as OpenStreetMap and BaiduMap API. This research contributes to the existing literature threefold: (1) theoretically, it adds to the conceptual framework of urban morphology with an underground layer; (2) empirically, it shows how metro lines impact the urban form through restructuring accessibility; and (3) practically, it cautions urban practitioners of the importance of incorporating underground morphological elements in their decision-making process.