In the last decade the Indian subcontinent has seen unprecedented urbanization and a unique political situation. As cities often become models to project certain identities, one such case has been taken up here to understand this phenomenon through a recent urban intervention. The Sabarmati Riverfront development project has been a landmark in urban design in contemporary India as it is an instance where political agenda is furthered through an urban design project. The study analyses how this project altered the city’s relationship with its river by altering the spatial structure of the city itself. It then proceeds to examine how the project performs on its goals of creating inclusive public space for the city. The spatial structure of the city and the alternations to it by the project, are described using a spatial network analysis based in Space Syntax theories and methods. The shift in centralities (from before to after the SRFD)are observed in conjunction with what is known from other layers of geo-located data such as ward wise population densities, point of interest clusters, observed movement counts and public transportation network. Based on this information the study examines to what extent the riverfront is integrated into, and hence accessible to, the city of Ahmedabad. The analysis highlights the major difference in the performance of the 4 project at global(city wide)scale versus a local(walk able distance) scale, suggesting a need for better integration into the local context, this is corroborated by the network catchment from the nearest public transportation nodes. The findings also hint at a problematic private vehicle centric approach to urban design. These examinations of the riverfront’s accessibility specify where and how it underperforms socially as an inclusive and vibrant public centre. The attempt here is to identify the potentials for improving the performance of the riverfront as a public space in itself as well as its effect on the spatial structure of of the city. In this light some speculative design strategies are tested.

This research is to be seen as an initial step that brings analytical descriptions to aid the understanding of Indian cities that are widely perceived to be complex and chaotic, by taking the space first approach.

Access to public open spaces is supposed to be equitably distributed to all city inhabitants, especially in predominantly residential areas. If public open spaces are urban features that help to improve the social development of an area, then, why in big metropolises such as Mexico City the access to public space is many times perceived as a privilege instead of a right? Through space syntax spatial analyses, land use analyses, and the potential radius of influence specific public open spaces might have according to their size; this study investigates the diverse accessibility characteristics different public open spaces have.

The dissertation is a space syntax analysis on the spatial manifestations of collective memory, the case study is the city of Asuncion, Paraguay. The study has two sections: first, the spatial analysis of the historical growth of the city and centralities through time, the current spatial structure present in the city nowadays and centralities in different scales, as well as the concentration of elements of urban layers to define six local named areas. Second, a network-based study of the main elements of permanence - representatives of collective events and history- to reveal in this manner the place of collective memory in each area

The global pandemic of Coronavirus has led to a rethink of people’s interaction with public spaces. As the spreading of infection is still not controlled, it is the role of spatial designers to figure out proper approaches for keeping social distance between people through spatial modification of public buildings as well as urban spaces. This study focuses on the reopening strategy of art museums in post-COVID-19 time, asking: what are the strategies for reopening adopted by museums and which spatial factors affect the adaptation of their layout and curatorial organisation? The purpose is to provide not only practical solutions but also a theoretical model for the future evaluation of the capability of museums for doing so. Building on Hillier’s theory of spatial types and spatial structures (Hillier 2019), four British museums have been chosen for the investigation of the socio-spatial changes implicated in their reopening process. These are: The National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern and The Wallace Collection. The Museum of Modern Art in New York is also explored in terms of the changes in its spatial layout brought about by successive strategies of expansion. The study attempts to have a more in-depth understanding of the role the spatial structure plays in the organisation of movement in art museums, both spatial and transpatial, based on the analytical findings. The study suggests that the use of d-spaces in spatial layouts is the determinant factor for the capability of museums to successfully respond to specialists’ guidance for the reopening. It also proposes a model for a multilayered spatial system in relation to the global-local network. On each layer, d-spaces present the particularity for the spatial configuration and transpatial intention in the meantime.

With the rise of modernism and consumerist culture in contemporary Iran, the city of Tehran became the setting of social and spatial dichotomies. New spaces were introduced one after another to serve the modern lifestyle, and manifest distinction from the existing situation. Shemiran, a large historical area in north of Tehran, is tied with stereotypes asa socially and spatially heterogeneous hub of prosperous and modern lifestyle. However, considering the local centres within this region, the urban aspects of distinctive lifestyles create diverse patterns. Some local centres seem to be more open to modern consumption spaces, such as shopping centres, while some local centres hold live streets with several small traditional businesses. This diversity does not limit to socio-spatial aspects. Local centres of Shemiran tend to have sharp differences in the urban form too.All these distinctions raise a principal question of the relationship between the diverse urban forms of local centres and their distributionpattern of consumption spaces. Since the consumption spaces serve and promote distinctive lifestyles, the question could be restated as the relationship between urban form and spatial aspects of lifestyles.Eager to find an evidence-based answer, this research resorted to sociological theories as well as spatial. Sociological theories, mainly Bourdieu’s theory of distinction, suggest a relationship between capital combination, taste and lifestyle. On the other side, the spatial theory of Space Syntax, suggests analytical methods and tools for estimating the amount of capital generated and accumulated by the urban form. Thus, the concept of capital was chosen as a link or mediator to explore the assumed relationship between urban form and spatial aspects of lifestyle. The findings suggested the dependency of traditional consumption spaces on local capital and modern consumption spaces on global capitalof urban form.

A study analysing the effects of historical privatised enclosure and patterns of imposed colonial urbanism and the contemporary urban condition of Metro Manila, Philippines

The aim of this dissertation is to discover methodological tools and approaches to define a spatio-social classification system to understand the rivers as social interfaces in the city

An exploration of the effects of urban renewal, discriminatory lending practices, and large scale infrastructure on the New York City borough of the Bronx from the Great Depression to present day