Evaluating Way-Finding Ability Within Urban Environment

PAPERREF#8204
Proceedings:EighthInternationalSpaceSyntaxSymposium
EditedbyM.Greene,J.ReyesandA.Castro.SantiagodeChile:PUC,2012.
EVALUATINGWAYFINDINGABILITYWITHINURBAN
ENVIRONMENT
AUTHOR:
AbdelbaseerA.MOHAMED
CologneUniversityofAppliedSciences,Germany
email:abdo9631@yahoo.com
KEYWORDS:
Legibility,MentalMap,SpatialConfiguration,Intelligibility,Synergy
THEME:
SpatialCognition
Abstract
Thispaperdiscussesattemptstounderstandhowwefindourwaythroughtherealworld,dependingonboth
of spatial configuration andvisual formofthe city. It presents twodifferent theories: First,the concept of
legibility, coined by Kevin Lynch (1960), which states that wayfinding is related to the process of forming
mental maps of our environmental surroundings based on sensation and memory. Second, the concept of
intelligibility coined by Bill Hillier, the father of Space Syntax theory which holds that an urban
environmentcanbebetterunderstoodthroughitsspatialconfiguration.Thepaperexplorestherelationship
betweenthetwoconceptsinaseriousattempttobridgethegapbetweenthem.Heliopolis,Maadi,andCairo
CBDwereinvestigatedindetail.Thereasonfortheselectionofthecasestudiesisthattheyhavearelative
similarity in their morphological structure. Moreover, each case has distinct individual characteristics and
richhistoricalandculturalbackground.Methodologicalproceduresconsistedofinterviews,questionnaires,
sketchmaps,andresearcherssiteobservationofphysicalenvironment;andspatialconfigurationanalyses
measuring global and local integration values using UCL Depthmap software. Analyzing the case studies
according space syntax technique helped in growing the body of data on them, and gave a numerical
interpretation for such cases. The results showed that spatial configuration of an environment and spatial
cognitionarecloselyrelated,andthatthereisajuxtapositionbetweenlegibilityandintelligibility.Inother
words, space syntax technique is a good predictor of wayfinding ability. But in a special case like Maadi
wherelongerandshorteraxiallineshavethesamewidth,theresultsofspatialconfigurationanalysiswon't
be accurate and therefore space syntax methodology won't be appropriate for analyzing this kind of axial
maps.Thefindingsalsodemonstratedthatspatialconfigurationandvisualformarecloselylinked.Assuch,
citiesshouldbevisuallyandstructurallylegibleforbetterwayfindingabilities.
8204:1
SantiagodeChile:PUC,2012.
1.INTRODUCTION
Wayfinding is a vital and intuitive process within which the observer can perceive and organize his
environment.Tolman(1948)usedthetermcognitivemaptostudythebehaviorofratsinamaze.Afterthat,
manystudiesonthenatureofcognitiverepresentationshavebeencarriedout.Twopublicationswerereally
influentialinpayingattentiontocognitivemappingstudies,thefirstistheimagebyBouldingin1958,and
thesecondisTheImageoftheCitybyKevinLynchin1960.Bouldingemphasizedthatunderstandingwhat
peopledorequiresunderstandingwhattheyknow,andthatunderstandingtheimageinpeoplesmindsis
essentialinunderstandinghumanbehavior.GyorgyKepes(1944)urgedthatwecreatesymbolsandimages
to understand environmental surroundings, individually in our personal images and socially in images we
sharewithothers.Lynchtriedtoexploretherelationbetweenanobserverandhisenvironmentandhow
the image is built up. He aimed to investigate people's feelings and knowledge about their environment.
Accordingtohim,findingone'swaydependingonenvironmentalknowledgerequires,first,toknowwhat
internally represented about his environment. Sketch maps and interviews can give us what's coded in
people'smindsabouttheirenvironment.Thedegreeofcompletenessofsketchmapsandthewaypeople
use in describing a way for strangers can predict the degree of urban legibility; and outline the actual
reasons behind wayfinding problems. Lynch (1960) defined legibility of a city as the ease with which its
partscanberecognizedandorganizedintoacoherentpattern(Lynch,1960:2).Thisdefinitionstatesthat
the degree of legibility depends upon the formation of cognitive maps within wayfarers minds (Arthur &
Passini,1992).Lynchidentifiedfiveelements(Paths,Edges,Nodes,DistrictsandLandmarks)peopletendto
pickupfromtheenvironmenttobuildtheirimages.Heurgedthattheseelementsarethedesigncriteriafor
a highly legible and imageable environment. Lynch's work is still used widely, it is the classic reference in
cognitive mapping. In it, Lynch constructed a methodology for studying cognitive maps depending on
questionnaireandfieldreconnaissanceanalysis(Belletal.,2005).
Spacesyntax,originatedanddevelopedinthe1970sattheBartlettUnitforArchitecturalstudies,University
College, London (Hillier et al., 1983; Hillier & Hanson 1984), is a robust technique that can be used to
describe and analyze patterns of architectural space both at the building and urban level. It attempts to
explainhumanbehaviorsandsocialactivitiesfromaspatialconfigurationpointofview(Hillier,1996).The
relationshipbetweenanytwospacestakingintoaccounttheirrelationshiptoatleastathirdspace,andat
mostallotherspacesinasystemwastermedasspatialconfiguration(Hillier,1996;Edwards,2006).Space
syntaxmeasuresthedistancebetweenspacestopologically,representingthespacethatcanbeaccessibleto
all other spaces with the fewest number of changes in direction as the most integrated. In other words,
integrationmeanscountinghowdeeporshalloweachlineinisfromalllinesuptonstepsaway.Thetypeof
integrationvariesaccordingtoradiusn.Thatis,ifnincludesalllevelsthentheintegrationobtainediscalled
global integration; if n is up to three steps then the integration obtained is radius3 integration etc.
Connectivity is integration when n equals one. Wayfinding ability, according to space syntax, can be
measuredrespectingtowhatHilliercalledintelligibility.Intelligibility,akeypropertyofthespatialstructure,
is defined as the degree to which what can be seen and experienced locally in the system allows the
largescalesystemtobelearntwithoutconsciousefforts(Hillier,1996:171).Itistherelationshipbetween
connectivity and global integration (Hillier et al, 1983). There is a different kind of intelligibility called
synergy,therelationbetweenlocalintegration(R3)andglobalintegration(Rn).
Many studies examined the juxtaposition between legibility and intelligibility, and confirmed the strong
relation between the two approaches. Dalton and Bafna (2003) studied the relationship between the
concepts of intelligibility and imageability. They tried to redefine the Lynchian elements from a syntactic
8204:2
perspective,usingspatialdescriptorslikeaxiallineandisovist1.Theyfoundarelationshipbetweenthetwo
approaches,assertingtheexistenceofanunderlyingcognitivebasistospacesyntax.KimandPenn(2004)
foundthatthespatialsyntaxofconfigurationinrealenvironmentsandspatialsyntaxofcognitivemapsin
spatial cognition are closely related. Long and Baran (2006) conducted a two staged research study in
Changsha,China,toexploretherelationshipbetweenspatialconfigurationandsketchmaps.Inotherwords,
they attempted to find if intelligible an environment results in a legible one. In addition, they tried to
exploretheeffectsofspatialconfigurationonurbanlegibility.Theyusedspacesyntaxtechniquetomeasure
syntactic properties of neighborhoods and sketch maps, cognitive mapping and interviews to measure
legibilityoftheenvironment.Theyfoundthatthereisapositiverelationbetweenlegibilityandintelligibility.
Turner (2007) tried to explore the relation between the perception and intelligibility of a spatial
configuration. He found a strong relation between the intelligibility of spatial configuration and spatial
cognition.Thatis,therouteswithhighintegrationvaluesarethemostperceivableandlegibleones.Onthe
other hand, Omer and Jiang (2008) used a multiperspective approach, combining the graph theory and
Qanalysis,tostudytheeffectsoftopologicalquantitiesofurbanstreetnetworkontheimageofthecityat
both local and global levels. They demonstrated the relevance of the multiperspective approach for
understandingthecorrelationbetweenconfigurationalqualitiesofthestreetnetworkandtheimageofthe
city. Nevertheless, they assured that the contribution of this approach to networks and cities different in
character,sizeandtopologyshouldbeevaluatedinfurtherstudy.Similartopreviousstudies,thispapertries
to explore the relation between legibility and intelligibility. But, it adopts a clear simulation for both of
Lynch'sandHillier'smappingmethods.Inotherwords,thispaperexaminesthecorrelationfromadifferent
point of view. It, also, examines the effect of the absence of road hierarchy on intelligibility results when
bothlongestandshortestaxiallineshavethesamewidth.Themainpremiseofthisresearchis:wayfinding
iscloselylinkedwiththeinteractionbetweenbothsides:spatialconfigurationandcognitivemapelements.
To our knowledge, to date, only two studies have explored the relationship between legibility and
intelligibility. In addition, this is the first study that addresses the correlation between legibility and in
intelligibilityinanEgyptianurbancontext.
2.HISTORICCONTEXTOFTHECASESTUDYAREAS
ForthepurposeofapplyingKevinLynchsmappingmethod,threeEgyptianareaswereselected:Heliopolis,
Maadi,andCairoCBD.TheareasselectedareuniqueintheircharactersamongCairodistricts,andvividand
similar in form. Here is a brief historic context of each area ordered according to the date of their
establishmentfromtheoldesttothelatest.
Isovistisdefinedasthesetofallpointsvisiblefromagivenvantagepointinspaceandwithrespecttoanenvironment(Benedikt,
1979:47).
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Figure1.MapofCasestudies(source:googleearth).
CairoCBD(1860s):CairoCBDstandsfortheareasandwichedbetweentheoldFatimidCairoandtheriver
Niletothewest.Itformsatriangle,itsthreefurthestpointssituatedatAlTahrirSquare,RamsisandAbdin
(Elshahed, 2007). The real drive to modernize Egypt was made by Mohamed Ali Pasha (18051848) who
established the history of modern Egypt. Khedive Ismail (18631879), Mohamed Alis ancestor, wanted to
Europeanize Cairo and make it Paris of the region. Grand Beck, a French planner and a student of
Haussmann, was commissioned by Khedive Ismail to prepare a new planning scheme for Cairo CBD. The
visionwastomakeCairoCBDasanopenairmuseum;wideandcleanstreetswithareasforpedestrianonly
and spacious gathering points for cultural discussions. The area has a French touch in its layout like
HaussmannplanningofParis.Ithasaradicalaxeswithsecondarylineslinkingthem.Moreover,itcontainsa
highartisticornamentationoffrontageslikethatestablishedinParis,onecanobservethedistinctiveFrench
touchesinbalconies:ironwork,ornatecantilevers,marblesstepsandentrances(Myntti,1999).Ofcourse,
over the decades much beauty has been tampered by both the hands of time and the absence of good
maintenance2.
Maadi(1905s):Maadi,Cairo'sgreenestsuburb,liesontheriverNileabout12kmupstreamfromCairoCBD,
ontheeastbank.Thesuburbtracksitsmodernhistoryto1904whentherailwaybetweenCairoandHelwan
was built. The whole area was laid out in the nineteenth century. It was planned in 1905 by a retired
Canadian officer Captain Alexander J. Adams. There were very strict rules associated with residential
developmentinMaadiwithregardstothesizeofhouses,howmuchofthepropertycouldbeoccupiedby
thehouseandhowmuchhadtobeleftforthegarden,andthesizeofthesidewalks(Raafat,1994).Even
windowshuttershadprescribedcolors(redorgreen)3.Maadiistheleastdenselypopulatedneighborhood
inGreaterCairo.ItisagreenparadisebuiltinEnglishcountrysidecottagestyle.Itsstreetsarelaidoutina
mostly grid pattern; nevertheless, there are several wide boulevards running at angles across the grid.
Maadis smart, lowrise apartments, and wide Villas line streets bristling with shady palms and
sweetlyscentedtrees(Beattie,2005).Maadisgreeneryandquietstreetsaredistinguishedbythekindof
flowers planted in them. For instance, some streets had roses while others had Jasmine. In fact, the
2
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/930/feature.htm.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maadi;http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/830/fe1.htm.
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landscape features of the suburb form its distinct character. Many of the houses have yards filled with
flowersandevengardenvegetables.Currently,thereisaseriesofuglyandhighbuildingsalongtheCorniche
by the river, as well as in the newer, eastern part of Maadi, known as Degla4. Maadi has geographical
boundariesmakeitsemiisolated.ThesuburbendsattheflashfloodlineMagraAlSeillocatedunderTura
bridge where a manmade duct separates it from Torah to the south5. The Autostrade and Wadi Degla
ProtectoratemarkMaadi'seasternborderandtothewestistheRiverNile6.
Heliopolis (1910s): The earliest records of Heliopolis date back to the firstdecade of 20th century when
Baron Edward Empain, the Belgain banker and business tycoon, bustled to Cairo in anticipation of the
economic boom (Elsheshtawy,2004). In 1905, Empain established the Cairo electric railway and Heliopolis
oasis company. Boughos Nubar, son of the country's first prime minister, assisted Baron Empain in
purchasing the 5,952 feddans (1 feddan = 4,200 square meters) of empty desert from the colonial
government at one pound each on which he built Heliopolis(Dobrowolska & Dobrowolski, 2006). Baron
effortsculminatedin1907withthebuildingofthenewtownofHeliopolis,inthedeserttenkilometersfrom
thecenterofCairo,situatedbetweentheairportandthecitycenter.Heliopolis,thecurrentseatofpower,
wasdesignedasaparadiseor"cityofluxuryandleisure".OnecanfeeltheinfluenceofHaussmann'sParisin
the plan of Heliopolis, as it was designed to have a garden type city: its master plan contained public
gardens,parksandplaygrounds;restrictbuildingruleswereset(nomorethanhalfoftheprivatelotscould
bebuiltup),andbuildingsheightswerealsoset.Inotherwords,thesuburb'soriginaldesignisrepresented
in grand avenues, spacious city squares linked by wide streets or arching boulevards; and a range of
landmark buildings carefully placed to impose grand views on thecityscape (Dobrowolska & Dobrowolski,
2006).TherewasanattempttogiveHeliopolisbuildingsanIslamiclook,despitethefactthatthesuburbhas
aWesternurbanlayout.Thesuburbisnolongersmallandluxurious,asithasexpandedtotakeinpartof
the growth of the metropolis7. Moreover, Heliopolis company allowed land owners to build all the entire
spacesofthelandsasaresultoftheriseinlandprices8.Consequently,manyshopsencroachedongreenery.
Modern Heliopolis has always been the glamorous residence for cosmopolitans and native aristocratic
Egyptians.Afterthe1952militarycoupd'tatledbyNasser,itbecamehometomuchofCairo'seducated
middleclass9.
3.METHOD
3.1.SitesSelection
Analyses were made of Maadi, Heliopolis, and Cairo CBD. Maadi is unique in its character, urban fabric,
greenareasalongitsstreets,anditsupperclasshousing.Nevertheless,ithasmanyproblemsinorientation,
andisfulloflocationaldifficulties;Heliopolis,likewise,wasselectedforitsuniquecharacter,landmarks,and
squares.Moreover,theinformaltalkswiththeintervieweesshowedthatHeliopolisiseasilytonavigate.As
forCairoCBD,itshowsanotherexampleofasuburbwithseveralhighdensityresidentialdistricts,ranging
fromslumtoupperclasshousing,anddistinctEuropeanstyle,specificallyFrench.
4
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Maadi.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/932/sc3.htm.
Ibid.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/741/feature.htm.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/742/fe1.htm.
http://www.search.com/reference/Heliopolis_(Cairo_Suburb).
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Heliopolisareaisabout7.2km;Maadiisabout5km;andCairoCBDisapproximately2.75km.10 Theouter
suburbsofMaadi,CairoCBD,andHeliopolisformedtheirfarflungcolonies.BothofMaadiandHeliopolis
were constructed in colonial epochs as imitations of garden suburbs. Maadi and Heliopolis are home to
wealthyEgyptiansandtolargeexpatriatecommunities,andareamongthemostwesternlookingpartsof
Cairo(Beattie,2005:183).
Area
Heliopolis
Maadi
CairoCBD
Counts
21
57
34
30
81
48
Table1.Resultsofaquestionnairedistributedamongst70subjects.Theywereaskedatwhatareastheyhadmostdifficultiesin
wayfinding.
3.2.KevinLynchsMappingMethod
InthispartwemakeaclearsimulationofLynchianthoughts.Cityelementsofeachcasestudyweredefined
andintegratedintotwokindsofmaps:
AThePhysicalFormMaps:Theywereproducedfromasystematicfieldreconnaissanceofeveryarea.This
started by finding out the existing potential by the site and its surroundings. Field reconnaissance was
madeonfootbytheresearcherwhomappedthethreeareasandexploredthevisibilityofthemdefining
their elements, recording any existing activities and forms that could be used to make the place more
legible, and dividing their elements into major and minor categories according to significance and strong
visibility. The maps resulted from this analysis are abstractions of true physical maps, since the mapping
processitselfissubjectiveanddoneindependentlyfromtheinterviewanalysis.Automobilesurveycanalso
predicttheprobablecompositeimage,assomeminorelementscouldbeneglectedinfootsurvey.
Lynch'schecklistsofelementsarehelpfulhereforstimulatingtheanalysis:
-
Paths:
Recordingroutesthatadjoinorcrossthearea,andclassifyingthemaccordingtotheir
significanceinthearea.
Edges:
Recordinganystronglinearbarriersandanydistinctlimitstoareaswithdifferentpatterns
ofuseorvisualcharacter.
Landmarks: Recordinganydistinctelementswitherinshape,meaningorlocation.
Nodes:
Recordingfocalpointslikesquares,intersections,andplazas;recordingbuildingsthat
attractpeopleandcreatemovementlikecinemasandshoppingmalls.
Districts: Recordingareasthatdifferfromeachotherincharacteranduse,andspecifyingthe
factorsthatoutlinethesedifferences,forexamplematerialandform.
10
Lynchhadtakeninhiscasestudiesanareaofapproximately2.5by1.5miles(mile=1.6093km).Meanwhile,theinfluenceofstrong
edgesthatdefinetheoutlineofeachcasestudy,andthepatternofurbanfabricweretakenintoaccount.Fortunately,theareasofthe
threecasestudiesarealsocomparableinsyntacticsize(numberofaxiallinesinaxialmap).
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BMentalMaps
SampleSelection
Threegroupsofpeoplewereinterviewed:(1)Thosewhovitallydependonthestudiedspaces(liveorwork
there);(2)Thosewhoarenotnecessaryindailyinteractionwithstudiedspacesbutusethemfrequentlyfor
different reasons; (3) Occasional visitors (tourists and alike) to uncover which are the most important
elementsofthecasestudy.Meanwhile,mostoftheintervieweesworkorresideinthecasestudyareasto
reduce the bias of familiarity. In addition, they were between 2040 years old, since in this age range
people'sabilitytodrawmapsreachesitsoptimumlevel(Shokouhi,2003).Thirtypersonswereinterviewed
in Heliopolis11, and twenty each in Maadi and Cairo CBD. They were selected equally between males and
females because of gender differences in cognitive mapping abilities (Kitchin, Freundschuh, 2000)12. The
selectedsamplewasmorenearlyrandominresidence,workplaceandclassdistributions.Inotherwords,
theparticipantswerewellbalancedastoage,sex,class,residenceandworkplace13.
SketchMappingandAnalysis
Mentalmapswereelicitedfromthesketchmapsthatweredrawnbyvolunteerswhowereaskedtodrawa
mapofHeliopolis,Maadi,andCairoCBDwithcharacteristicalelementsofthethreecasestudies.Drawing
mapswasnotlimitedbyaspecificperiodoftime.Eachsketchmaptook1520minutesonaveragetobe
drawn.Aftergatheringthedata,mapswereevaluatedtospecifywhichareawouldscorethehighestdegree
of legibility. The maps were evaluated according to their completeness and accuracy. Completeness was
measuredbytheamountofinformationanddetailsrepresentedinthesketchmaps(between0100%);the
number of identifiable elements included in them; and the completeness of the general structure, the
general organization of the sketch maps. Values of general structure were evaluated from one, for
sequential maps, to five, for complete patterns, i.e., the simplest form of the map has value of one, then
through two (for scattered maps), three (mosaic and linked), four (pattern incomplete) and five for the
completedpattern14.Theaccuracyofthesketchmapswasmeasuredbycomparingtheattributesofobjects,
size, and position on sketch maps with their realworld counterparts. Maps with few elements, little
information, and wrong positions were classified as poor maps. Likewise, maps with large number of
identifiable elements, and positions closed to the real world locations were classified as rich maps.
Eventually,thefrequencyofmentionofelementsinsketchmapswaspostedtoproducethementalmap.
The difference between the physical form map and the mental map indicated the gap between actual
visualformandtheforminpeople'smind.
11
ThesizeofsamplesissimilartoLynchssamplesizesof30intervieweesinBoston,15inJerseyand15inLosAngeles.Thesample
sizeinthispaperislimitedbytimeandresources,increasingthenumberofdatacollectionsitesmaygeneratemoreaccurateresults.
12
Males have been found to draw complete, extensive, and accurate cognitive maps. Women seem to focus on landmarks and
districts,whereasmenaremorelikelytoemphasispathdirectionsanddistanceestimates.Womenmayknowmoreinformationabout
adistrictthantheyincludeontheirsketchmaps.
13
FormoredetailsofresidencyanddemographyofparticipantsrefertoMohamedA.unpublishedM.Sc.Thesis,AinShamsUniversity,
2010.
14
IncompletenesstheShokouhi'sstudy(2000)inevaluatingmapswasconsidered.
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3.3.SpaceSyntaxsMappingMethod:
Theprocedureshaveconcludedthesesteps:
a)DrawingTheAxialMaps
Theaxialmapofanareaconsistsofthefewestandlongestsetsoflinestillallentirespacesarecovered.The
axial maps of the case studies were drawn by AutoCAD program and exported as dxf. Cad files to UCL
Depthmapsoftware15.TheaxialmapsofHeliopolis,Maadi,andCairoCBDarecomposedof501,443,and
523linesrespectively.
b)ProcessingTheAxialMaps
Processing the axial maps is to run UCL Depthmap on them in order to get values of integration (with
different radii), connectivity, control, mean depth, and intelligibility16. The greater the radius, the more
globaltheextentofthemeasure(Kim&Penn,2004).Theaxiallinesarerepresentedfromredtobluered
means the highest value of the parameter while blue means the lowest. For instance, for the integration
value, the red lines means the most integrated (i.e., the fewest changes of direction from others on
average);theblueonesmeanthemostsegregated(i.e.,theleastintegrated).
c) Predicting Intelligibility: Checking the correlations between local and global integration to predict
intelligibility.
ComparingtheresultsofLynchsandHilliersmethodshasindicatedtherelation
betweenvisualimageandspatialstructureofthecity.
4.FINDINGS
4.1.MappingCaseStudiesAccordingtoKevinLynchsMethod
Thefirststepofanalysiswastogetthephysicalformmapproducedfromthefieldreconnaissanceanalysis.
The second step was to get that mental maps created from the results of interviews. The difference
betweenthemapderivedfromfieldreconnaissanceandthatderivedfrominterviewsindicatedthedegree
of legibility, and outlined the visual problems of every area. Figures (27) below show the legibility and
problemsofthethreeurbanareas.
15
Depthmap,createdbyAlasdairTurneratUniversityCollegeLondon,isanapplicationusedinvisibilityanalysisofarchitecturaland
urbansystems.
16
Theintegrationanalysisshouldbemadewithinmuchlargersystemthantherealstudyareatominimizetheedgeeffect.Theedge
effectstatesthattheresultsofaxialmapsanalysisareinfluencedbytheextentoftheurbansystemthatisbeingconsidered(Ratti,
2004).Inotherwords,integrationvaluesforthelinesontheedgeoftheaxialmapswillbeincorrect,astheywillappearnotconnected
onwards.Theotherwaytominimizeedgeeffectistouselocalmeasuresthatconsiderlimitednumberofstepsinagraphanalysis,such
astheconnectivityofaline(Desyllas&Duxbury,2001).
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Figure2.CairoCBDimageasseeninthefield(Source:MScthesisbytheauthor).
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Figure3.CairoCBDimageasderivedfromsketchmaps(Source:MScthesisbytheauthor).
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Figure4.Maadiimageasseeninthefield(Source:MScthesisbytheauthor).
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Figure5.Maadiimageasderivedfromsketchmaps(Source:MScthesisbytheauthor).
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Figure6.Heliopolisimageasseeninthefield(Source:MScthesisbytheauthor).
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Figure7.Heliopolisimageasderivedfromsketchmaps (Source:MSc thesisbytheauthor).
Designelement
CairoCBD
Maadi
Heliopolis
Path
Moderate
Low
Low
Edge
Low
High
Moderate
Landmark
High
Low
Moderate
Node
High
Moderate
Moderate
District
Low
Low
Low
Table2.OverallLegibilityScoreforthecasestudyareas.
Legibilityofthefiveelementsforeachareaisderivedformmentalmapsandinterviewresponsesusingthe
following:
High: 50ormorerespondentsthoughttheelementhadhighlegibility.
Moderate: 50ormorerespondentsthoughttheelementhadmoderatelegibility.
Low: 50ormorerespondentsthoughttheelementhadlowlegibility.
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ComparingthethreeareasshowedthatHeliopolisisthemostlegible.Afterit,comeCairoCBDandMaadi
respectively.Thisisduetothestronginterrelation,coherence,betweentheLynchianelementsinHeliopolis
compared with Cairo CBD and Maadi. In Heliopolis, the districts are joined with paths, and paths are
connected with nodal points distinguished by landmarks. In contrast, Cairo CBD is rich of the Lynchian
elements, but the correlation between them is less strong than their counterparts in Heliopolis. It worth
mentioningthatCairoCBD'stoomanylandmarksunderminedtheirhelpfulness.Furthermore,manyofCairo
CBD nodal points are underutilized17. Nevertheless, the familiarity with the area increased by reasons of
workandvarietyofusesthatactivatetheareaand,thus,expandthepeople'sknowledge.Pathetically,the
beautifulsuburbMaadihasaverylowdegreeoflegibility18becauseofpaucityofrecognizedlandmarks,
underutilizationofnodalpointsasaresultofrestrictsecurity,absenceofroadhierarchy,andambiguityof
pathsystem19.Wesuspectedthattheremayalsobeaproblemofunderstandingglobalorientation,asthe
various angles at which the main grid and the diagonals run seem not to be related to very much in the
widerworld. Wetestedthisbyaskingpeopleonthestreetwhethertheyarelocalandknowtheareawell
ortheyarejustvisitors;then,topointinthedirectionofsomegloballandmarksthatcannotbeseendirectly
butarewellknownandquiteexplicit,weaskedpeopletosuggestwhichroadtheywouldtaketogetthere
fromwheretheyare.Wenotedtheactualdirectionspeoplepointfortheseontherealmap(butwedidn't
show them this). We did this with a number of people in each area and have got a good idea of how
disorientedpeopleareandhowmuchtheyareinfluencedbytheorientationofthestreetgridtheyhappen
tobestandingin.
Figure8.Abdeenpalace,CairoCBD:thepalacehasbeenfencedwithavisuallypermeablefencewhichallowsforvisualconnectionbut
blocksphysicalaccess.
17
ThisunderutilizationisduetotheunfriendlynatureofthebuildingsaroundsomenodeslikeTahrirsquare,andtheexistenceofstrict
securityaroundimportantbuildingslikeAbdeenpalace.Moreover,thereisacompletelackoftreesandhardlandscapeexceptvery
fewnodeslikeTahrirsquare.
18
The maps drawn by subjects were often fragmented, with large blank areas, concentrating most often on clear edges and few
unmistakablelandmarks.Mostintervieweesfounditdifficulttodraworimagethesuburbasawhole,andmostobtainedinformation
wasverbalmorethansketched.
19
MostofMaadi'sroadshavethesamecharactersliketracksinamaze.Furthermore,branchingofpathswithconfusingdirectionsisa
frequentfeatureinthesuburb.Consequently,Maadinevergivesaclearmessageforeitherpedestriansordrivers.
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Figure9.MidanVictoria,Maadi:Theplazahasbeenfenced
withavisuallypermeablefencewhichallowsforvisual
connectionbutblocksphysicalaccess.
Figure10.AnofflimitstreetinMaadibecauseofstrictsecurity.
(source:http://www.oldroads.org/pastblogs/archive_
2006_august.htm).
4.2.MappingCaseStudiesAccordingtoSpaceSyntaxTechnique
4.2.1.IntegrationValues
The integration maps of the three areas are shown in figures (822) below. The integration values were
calculated with much larger systems than the real study areas to overcome the edge effect. The most
integrated lines have red color (the fewest changes of direction from others on average), then through
orange,yellow,green,todeepblueforthemostsegregated(theleastintegrated).
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Figure11. CairoCBDGlobalintegration.
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Figure12. CairoCBDConnectivity.
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Figure13. CairoCBDLocalintegrationR3.
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Figure16.MaadiGlobalintegration
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Figure17.MaadiConnectivity.
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Figure18. MaadiLocalintegrationR3.
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Figure19.MaadiLocalintegrationR5.
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Figure20. MaadiLocalintegrationR7.
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Figure21. Heliopolisglobalintegration.
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Figure22. Heliopolisconnectivity.
8204:28
Figure23. LocalintegrationR3.
8204:29
8204:30
Attribute
CairoCBD
Maadi
Heliopolis
Globalintegration
1.34613
1.5835
1.99448
Connectivity
3.60911
4.88143
4.37126
LocalintegrationR3
1.95613
2.2452
2.46953
IntegrationR5
1.69724
1.8355
2.08381
IntegrationR7
1.5334
1.6703
1.99651
Table3.Confgurationalvaluesofthethreeurbanlayouts.
Ascanbeseen,
-
Heliopolis has a good global integration. The most integrated segments are the main streets in the
suburb.Themostsegregatedsegmentsaretheshortestones.Theassociationbetweentheintegration
valueandthefrequencyofrecallexists.Fortunately,themostintegratedaxesappearedinthemental
maps.Thesouthernpartofthesuburbshowedglobalintegrationvalueshigherthanthatlocatedinthe
northernside.Thisresultismatchedwiththerealobserveduseofspaces,asthesouthernpartcontains
thecoreofactivitiesandisrichofdistinctelementsratherthanthenorthernone.Thezonelocatedat
8204:31
thefarnorthwesternendofthesuburbshowedthemostsegregatedpatterncomparedtotheother
partsofthesuburb.
Theappearancedegreeofthestreetsinthesketchmapsissomewhatsignificantlycorrelatedwiththeir
degreeofimportanceinthearearegardingtothevaluesofmostintegratedaxes.Thismeansthatthe
spatialsyntaxofboththesketchmapsandtheenvironmentarecloselyrelated.
AsforCairoCBD,themajorstreetsshowedhighintegratedvalues,whereastheminoronesshowedlow
integrated values. The pathways between Cairo CBD buildings are the least integrated roads. These
resultsarematchedwithSpacesyntaxprinciplewhichindicatesthatlongeraxeswithfewerchangesof
directionsaremoreintegratedthantheshorterwithmanychangesofdirections.
Thesoutheasternpartoftheareatendstobesegregatedbecauseofsnaky,narrowstreetsanddead
endswhichrepresentapartoftheurbanfabricofFatimidCairo20.
The spatial configuration analysis indicates that Heliopolis has the highest integration (Rn) value at
1.9945.Afterit,comeMaadiat1.5835andCairoCBDat1.3461.Similarly,Maadihasthehighestvalue
ofconnectivityat4.8814.Afterit,comeHeliopolisandCairoCBDat4.3713,3.6091respectively(Table
3).Inotherwords,Heliopolisisthemostglobalised,whereasMaadiisthemostlocalised.Themapsof
Maadilocalandglobalintegrationcontainmanyaxiallineswithhighvaluesofintegration,whichmeans
thatthoselinesaregeneratorsofmovementandexpectedtoattractmorevisitorsandthereforehave
commercial uses. But the fact proves that most of these axes are used for residential purposes.
Moreover,thedailylifeinMaadiisfullofquietness,lowratesofmovement.Thismeansthattheresults
obtainedbyspatialconfigurationanalysisforMaadiarenotintherightplaceandneedtobediscussed.
Thisconflictwillbetackledinthenextstepofanalysis.
4.2.2.IntelligibilityandSynergyValues
Thedegreeofintelligibilitycanbereadbyascattergramthatshowstherelationbetweenglobalintegration
andconnectivity.ScattergramsofIntelligibilityandSynergyvaluesofthethreeareasareshowninfigures
(2631)below.
20
Fortunately,theresultsofCairoCBDanalysiswerematchedwiththeresultsofprofessorSalheendissertation:Salheen,M.,2001,A
comprehensiveanalysisofpedestrianenvironment:ThecasestudyofCairocitycenter,Ph.D.thesis,HeriotWattUniversity,Edinburgh
CollegeofArt,FacultyofEnvironmentalStudies,SchoolofArchitecture.
8204:32
R = 0.323105
Connectivity
28
1
0.333333
Integration [HH]
2.25373
Figure26. Intelligibilityscattergram,CairoCBD.
R = 0.833635
Integration [HH] R3
4.02504
0.333333
0.333333
Integration [HH]
2.25373
Figure27. Synergyscattergram,CairoCBD.
R = 0.418085
Connectivity
35
0
0
Integration [HH]
Figure28. Intelligibilityscattergram,Maadi.
8204:33
2.81804
R = 0.859836
Integration [HH] R3
4.11941
0
0
Integration [HH]
2.81804
Figure29. Synergyscattergram,Maadi.
R = 0.303577
Connectivity
65
1
1.21846
Integration [HH]
3.88606
Figure30. Intelligibilityscattergram,Heliopolis.
R = 0.881197
Integration [HH] R3
4.57272
0.916667
1.21846
Integration [HH]
Figure31. Synergyscattergram,Heliopolis.
8204:34
3.88606
Measure
Heliopolis
Maadi
CairoCBD
Correlation integrationn/
integration3(Synergy)
0.881197
0.859836
0.833635
Correlation integrationn/
Connectivity(Intelligibility)
0.303577
0.418085
0.323105
Table4.Comparingthesynergyandintelligibilityofthethreeurbanlayouts.
0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6
integrationn/
integration3
0,5
0,4
integrationn/
connectivity
0,3
0,2
0,1
0
CairoCBD
Maadi
Heliopolis
Figure32.Comparingtheintelligibilityofthethreeurbanlayouts.
Theresultsofthecomparisonbetweencasestudiesshowed,withhighdegreeofconfidence,thatthereare
differences between the three urban layouts. Maadi has showed the highest intelligibility at 0.42, while
HeliopolisandCairoCBDareapproximatelyhavingthesamedegreeofintelligibilityat0.3.
Theinitialinterpretationindicatesthat:Inthecasesweshowhere,theinterestingeffectisthattheorderof
synergyforHeliopolis,Maadi,andCairoCBDistheoppositeoftheorderofintelligibility.Thisis,ontheface
ofit,surprisingandveryinteres ng.Therearevariouspossibili esarewecomparinglikewithlike?Are
the case studies composed of more or less equal numbers of spaces (correlation coefficients are very
affectedbythenumberofdatapoints)?Oristhistellingussomethingmorefundamentaltheboulevards
of Maadi would seem locally wellconnected, but are they the same alignments that form the global
structureofthewholeofCairo?IstheresomethingmorelocalisedaboutthewayHeliopolisisstructured?
TheaxialmapsofHeliopolis,Maadi,andCairoCBDarecomposedof501,443,and523linesrespectively.
Furthermore,MaadiisphysicallyisolatedfromthewholeCairo,asitissurroundedbystrongedgesfromits
sides:theRiverNilefromthesouthwest;KobryShmalToraandaflashfloodfromthesoutheast;andDegla
desert from the east. Moreover, this beautiful suburb is adjacent to slum areas from the north. So the
syntactic sizes of case studies are comparable,21 and we would seem to have a genuine effect. Maadi is
morelocaliseditsboundariesarestronglydefined.Thismeansthatthesystemweareanalyzingiscloser
tothecompletesystem.Assuch,itisnotasurprisethatMaadihashigherintelligibilitythanHeliopolisand
CairoCBD.
21
Incaseswithdifferentsyntacticsizes,Hilliernormalizesthemeasure,toallowcomparison,bydividingtherelativeasymmetry(RA)
byaDvaluetocalculateadifferentkindofintegrationcalledrealrelativeasymmetry,areciprocalofintegration.
8204:35
4.3.TheJuxtapositionBetweenLegibilityAndIntelligibility
EvaluatingthelegibilityofthecasestudiesshowedthatHeliopolisisthemostlegible.Afterit,comesCairo
CBD, while Maadi has showed the lowest scores. On the contrary, measuring intelligibility showed that
Maadiisthemostintelligible,whileHeliopolisandCairoCBDareapproximatelyhavingthesamedegreeof
intelligibility. Definitely, intelligibility and synergy values for Maadi are away from reality, as they are
unmatchedwiththelegibilityinferredbymentalmaps.Sothequestionishowtosolvethisconflictbetween
legibility and intelligibility. In other words, how can we interpret people's wayfinding problems in Maadi:
space syntax analysis confirmed that Maadi has higher intelligibility, while sketch mapping and interviews
confirmedthatithaswayfindingproblemsandonecannotfindhisdestination.Wecansafelydeclarethat
theresultsofspatialanalysisforMaadilooksuperficialandmisleading.But,what'stherealreasonbehind
thiserrorinanalyzingitsmorphologicalstructure?Infact,thedeviationofMaadiresultsfromrealityliesin
theconstant,narrowwidthformostofMaadiroadsandsubways.Althoughnarrowerwidthandabsenceof
road hierarchy both of main streets and subways have the same width discourage trac flow and
decreasefamiliarityandwayfindingability,theerrorhereisrelatedtoaxialmapitself.Someonemayclaim
that space syntax has nothing to say about road width, especially the issue of road hierarchy. But this is
definitelynotright,astheaxialmapdoesnotneglectthisthewayinwhichanaxialmapisdrawnmeans
thatlongerandmoreconnectedlinesgetthroughwiderstreets. Maadiaxialmapdoesnotsubjecttothis
principle, as both of longer lines and shorter ones have the same width. This is absolutely abnormal, so
Maadiandthelikeareodds/specialcases.Toconclude,weliketosaythatspacesyntaxcannotpredictthe
degree of intelligibility andwayfinding ability in special cases, such as Maadi andthe like whichdefinitely
need methodsratherthanspacesyntaxtointerpretandpredictwayfindingdifficultieswithinthem.
5.CONCLUSION
ThispaperanalyzedlegibilityaccordingtotheLynchianmappingmethod.Thetwomapsoftheresearchers
siteobservationandthementalmapofeachareawerecomparedwitheachother.Thedifferencebetween
thetwotypesofmapspredictedthedegreeoflegibilityforthecasestudyareas.Afterthat,wecompared
legibilityofcasestudies.Thiscomparisoniscrucialtoreachtherealreasonsofwayfindingproblems.
Inthenextsection,weanalyzedthemorphologicalstructureofthecasestudiesaccordingtospacesyntax
techniquebyusingUCLDepthmapsoftware.ThevaluesofLocalandGlobalintegration,Depth,andControl
weremeasuredforeachcase.Inthenextpartofanalysis,thescattergramsofintelligibilityandsynergywere
drawnforeachcase.Lookingattheshapeofthescattergramsillustratedthedegreeofabilitytoreadthe
wholefromtheparts.
Inthelastsection,theresultsoflegibilityandintelligibilityforthethreeurbanlayoutswerecomparedwith
each other; the most surprising outcome is that when main roads and subways have the same width,
absenceofroadhierarchy,theresultsofanalysiswillbeunmatchedwiththerealworldandwillneedtobe
refined.ThismeansthatcasesofmorphologicalcharacteristicsresemblingMaadishouldbeexcludedfrom
the rule, and analyzed according to an appropriate technique rather than space syntax. It is worth
mentioning that cases like Maadi can conditionally be analyzed using space syntax measurement if we
providedtheroadwidthofthespatialpatterntothedatabase,thentheprinciplewhichadoptsthatlonger
linesarewiderthanshorteroneswillnotbeapplied.Consequently,theoutcomeswillbemoreaccurateand
closer to the real world. Finally, it is fair to say that in spite of the criticism obtained through this paper
discussion, space syntax is still a source of inspiration for architects and urban designers, especially in
8204:36
comparingdifferentconceptsofdesignwitheachother.
6.ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
AbdelbaseerAbdelraheem Mohamed graduated from Urban planningdepartment,Faculty of Engineering,
Azhar University. He has got M.Sc. in urban planning from faculty of engineering, Ain Shams University;
currently,heworksasassistantlectureratarchitecturedepartment,facultyofengineering,EgyptianRussian
University,Egypt.
ContactInformation:
AboHariz,KafrSakr,44681,Sharkiagovernrate,Egypt.
Mobile:020161160727
Phone:020553103013
email:abdo9631@yahoo.com,abdo121@windowslive.com
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Evaluating Way-Finding Ability Within Urban Environment

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Figure7.Heliopolisimageasderivedfromsketchmaps (Source:MSc thesisbytheauthor).

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