DECHIPERING URBAN FORM: A GIS-BASED CLUSTER ANALYSIS

This paper contributes to the classification of urban form on the basis of variables arising from its morphology-buildings, plots, blocks and streets-, taking the case of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona as a case study. New density attributes regarding street alignment and party walls are introduced together with the most common floor and ground surface indexes. The algorithm k-means is used to perform a cluster analysis. The results reveal a clear mosaic of urban fabrics, composed of 12 dissimilar groups. The combination of the outcomes with other non-physical parameters-socio-economic indicators, energy and equity, among others-is suggested with a view to evaluate urban form effects.