A configurational approach to analytical urban design: ‘Space syntax’ methodology

Urban design has always been a challenging task and will remain one because of its inherent complexities and the diversity of the issues that are associated with it. A competent, experienced urban designer can use intuitive methods to deal with these complexities and still achieve a good design, but when projects become more complicated and multifaceted the intuition of the designer is not always adequate to ensure a successful design. This article argues that urban design process can be enhanced effectively by analytical methods that are applied at the specific stages of a design process. These methods can impact the inception of the design ideas, evaluate objectively the design outputs at different stages, assist the further development of the design solutions and reduce the risk of failure during the design process or project implementation. The article argues that for these methods to engage with the design process they have to be spatial in nature, as urban design is eventually manifested in a spatial entity. It is further argued that the analysis of space could bridge between space and the ultimate users of the design – or the people – if space is understood through an analysis of its ‘configurational’ properties. Finally, a configurational approach to analytical urban design is introduced, which is based on the theoretical foundations, analytical methods and modelling techniques of space syntax. The application of the methods, their role in urban design process and their contribution to urban design projects are all discussed through the review of a selected number of real-life projects.