Urban Space Analysis Laboratory
The activity of our lab is concentrated on the spatial behavior of people in the urban environment. We investigate how spatial behaviors of people such as movement/mobility, wayfinding and functional-social activities, relate to the characteristics and structure of the urban environment. For that aim, we use spatial, topological and visual analytic tools as well as geographic Information technology for analyzing the morphological and functional-social aspects of the city (e.g. street network and land use distribution). We also develop agent-based models for simulating and modeling motorized and non-motorized movements in planned or in existing urban environments. Our researches and models are applied in planning of efficient, sustainable and safe urban environment, including the creation and maintenance of livable city centers.
The lab research concentrates on three domains:
Urban Morphology: To identify the spatial configuration and land use patterns of Israeli cities, and to investigate the implications of these morphological characteristics on the formation of social and functional urban areas.
Spatial Cognition and Behaver: Our studies concentrate on (i) the individuals' spatial cognition during urban movement: how perception and cognitive presentation of distances effect the selection of movement routes in the urban street network; (ii) the relations between cognitive mapping and the conditions of the environments, e.g., regional categories, socio-spatial divisions and the city’s form.
Urban Movement Modeling: We construct pedestrian volume models and movement simulation with respect to Urban Morphology characteristics and Spatial Cognition and Behaver of people in various urban areas. The model are used for planning of not-motorized movement network; creation and maintenance of livable functional areas; transportation planning and for evaluating crash risk. We also developed an agent-based pedestrian volume model at the urban scale.
