Connectivity, Integration, and Entropy measurements to assess: Visual perception of city users, urban quality, and growth

KGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Batna city's road network has evolved due to various factors, particularly residents’ practices and movements, which have shaped the city’s routes and spatial hierarchies. However, the logic of urban production has been unexplored through the prism of user experience. This study aimed to analyze the spatial configuration of the city’s road network, to identify the mechanisms driving the city’s evolution, highlighting the users’ contribution, providing guidelines for future, thoughtful urban planning, and enhancing the quality of urban space by reconciling city users' perception with different approaches to planning.METHODS: The study applied space syntax Analysis, using depthmap ۱۰ software. It calculated the following parameters: Connectivity, integration, and entropy, and analyzed ۲۵۷۵۳ axes of Batna’s road network. These measures allowed understanding users’ perception of accessibility, movement, and route choices. This analysis was complemented by a sociological study and field observations. To assess the robustness of the relationship between these parameters, statistical tests were performed, including Pearson and Spearman correlations, as well as a linear regression test analyzed through the ANOVA table, to examine the relationships between two dualities: connectivity/ integration and connectivity/ entropy.FINDINGS: Connectivity values in Batna city ranged from ۰ to ۷, with higher values (۴-۷) found in formal districts. The average integration value was ۱.۱۷, peaking at ۲.۶۳. Pearson and Spearman confirmed strong correlations between these attributes (p-value less than ۰.۰۰۱), while the ANOVA table from linear regression predicted ۱۴% of the variance in Integration. These values revealed areas with high centrality and accessibility, aligning with the questionnaire responses on urban dynamics and frequency. The analysis also recorded high spatial choice and complexity, revealed by a maximum entropy value of ۱.۰۵۷, observed in more than ۲۵۷۵۳ spatial units analyzed in this study.CONCLUSION: The study was distinguished by the inclusive approach, based on the exhaustive analysis of the road structure of Batna city. It highlighted that urban quality and perception, although immaterial and subjective concepts, can be objectified and analyzed rigorously. It advocated for urban planning that is more sensitive to spatial configuration. This study was unique in that it analyzed the entire road network of the city, thus providing a solid basis for testing, in future research, other parameters derived from the Space Syntax method.

کلیدواژه ها:

Batna city ، connectivity ، Entropy ، Integration ، Quality of urban space ، Space syntax analysis ، Urban production