Evidence-based planning and design: integrating centrality and accessibility analysis into urban design at early stages

Course Description: 

Designed to streamline planning procedures, Urban Calculator offers an intuitive interface accessible to planners, irrespective of their GIS proficiency. This tool empowers planners to conduct spatial analyses interactively, enabling informed decision-making supported by robust evidence. In its implementation, Urban Calculator focuses on assessing street centrality, encompassing pedestrian and vehicular street networks. Additionally, it examines accessibility to various destinations, such as social services and bustling urban hubs. The aim of the half day workshop is to introduce the tool to a wider audience, specifically practitioners. 

The mini-course objective is to demonstrate to participants how centrality and accessibility analyses can be used as a part of a design loop to quickly measure potential effects of their spatial interventions and to compare different design alternatives.

Keywords: Evidence-base design, spatial analysis, integration, space syntax, centrality, accessibility, accessible density

Course structure: 

• Lecture on  basic concepts of spatial analysis, when it comes to street centrality and accessibility, with the focus on interpretation and understanding analysis results
• Summary of the research background behind selected spatial analyses, in connection to pedestrian movement in cities and socio-economic process
• Demonstration of the tool in connection to evidence-based urban design
• Learning-by-doing design exercise, where participants are asked to test the tool themselves in order to understand the relevance of spatial analysis for early stages of design process

Learning outcomes: 

• Being able to interpret space syntax centrality and accessibility analysis in connection to applied urban design,
• Integrating spatial analysis into evidence-based urban design

Who is this course for:

This course is suitable for:

• Students with an interest in EBDP (PhD Candidates, researchers etc.)
• Professionals and experts such as urban planners who participate in the design process of city’s public spaces, public buildings, etc.

Specific Requirements, if any: Windows computers (UC is not supported by Mac), GIS expertise is not needed.

Information about the course instructors and partner involved: 

This mini-course is led by Urban calculator which is a research-based start-up and a spin-off from Spatial Morphology research group at Chalmers University, Sweden. Urban Calculator, develops and disseminates Urban Calculator (UC); a design-support software that makes advanced spatial analyses accessible for everyone active in urban development. Urban Calculator allows urban practitioners without prior knowledge of spatial analysis digital tools or GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to learn and integrate spatial analysis to their daily practice, making it part of their design process. Targeting main reasons why practitioners do not use analysis tools and analytic evidence in the design and decision-making process (i.e., no prior knowledge, limited data, time, and resources) the software aims to promote and facilitate evidence-based design and planning in practice, with a specific focus on planning walkable and livable cities in line with Goal 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) of the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.

Instructor´s Name: Ioanna (Gianna) Stavroulaki, Meta Berghauser Pont, Evgeniya (Jane) Bobkova
Instructor´s Institution: Urban Calculator