Frontiers of Architectural Research >

2021 , Vol. 10 >Issue 1: 33 - 49

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2020.11.003

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Modeling urban intersection form: Measurements, patterns, and distributions

  • Jun Cao , 1,3 ,
  • Junkai Zhu 2 ,
  • Qingyao Zhang 1 ,
  • Ke Wang 2 ,
  • Junyan Yang , 1 ,
  • Qiao Wang 2
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  • 1. School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
  • 2. School of Information Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
  • 3. Institute for Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA

Received date: 02 Aug 2020

Accepted date: 10 Oct 2020

Published date: 15 Mar 2021

Copyright

2021 2021 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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Abstract

Intersections appear where one street crosses another, acting as fundamental nodes embedded in the network of urban public space. Though discussed in configurational and perceptive studies, limited attention has been paid to the morphological aspects of intersections. This study proposes and tested a new approach to modeling the urban intersection form. First, effective cylinder was introduced to define the related space for each intersection based on its scale. Second, a set of morphological indicators were presented to measure the physical properties of the intersection form. Third, the affinity propagation algorithm was used to examine the patterns of intersection form.

Using the Old City of Nanjing, China as the study area, 844 intersections were analyzed to test this new method. As a result, we were able to classify the intersections into eight types. This study shows that the intersection can be modelled as a volumetric and integral spatial unit of urban form, which may demand more attention from urban designers and architects in the future for shaping the built environment. The quantitative nature of our method could also open more possibilities for intersection-based studies.

Key words： Urban intersections; Urban morphology; Intersection pattern; Urban modeling; Built environment; Urban design

Cite this article

Jun Cao , Junkai Zhu , Qingyao Zhang , Ke Wang , Junyan Yang , Qiao Wang . Modeling urban intersection form: Measurements, patterns, and distributions[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2021 , 10(1) : 33 -49 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2020.11.003

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