SPACE SYNTAX AS AN EVALUATIVE AND PREDICTIVE TOOL TO EXPLORE URBANITY LEVELS IN NEW DAMIETTA CITY

Abstract

In New Damietta city, many residential neighborhoods have the appearance of empty, dull, and monotonous places. These neighborhoods have low levels of urbanity in terms of vital and flourishing street life. Some researchers attribute the low levels of urbanity in new cities to the urban planning approaches undertaken (the neighborhood unit). To conduct this research, we used space syntax analysis as a key method to study urbanity in New Damietta city. In addition to other methods such as direct field observations through which we observed land use patterns and activities occurred in the study area. Observed land use patterns and activities were mapped in Geographical Information System (GIS). This study finds out how space syntax is an effective tool that can evaluate the current situation of urbanity and how it can be used as a predictive tool in the planning processes in the forthcoming generations of new cities.