This thesis examines the urban morphology of fifty cities using spatial syntax analysis. The analysis compares the urban street networks of European, USA, Islamic and East Asian cities. Street connectivity was the main metric and natural roads were the basis for the analysis. The aim of the study was to analyze determine how sensitive space syntax methods are for uncovering the hierarchical patterns of urban street networks and examining their scale-free and small-world properties. Street data was collected from OpenStreetMap. ArcGIS 10 with the Axwoman extension was used to study the hierarchical levels of street networks. Matlab provided the platform to examine the scale-free property of street data. Pajek software was used to measure the small-world behavior. Based on the hierarchical representation, the fifty sample cities were classified into different groups and their scale-free and small-world properties were studied. From a traditionally morphological perspective, it was found that some cities in Europe have a close-knit cellular and organic urban morphology. Cities in the USA exhibit gridiron patterns on the whole. Some Islamic cities have special urban structure with houses grouped around the cul-de-sac lanes. Several of the East Asian cities studied also have grid forms. According to the space syntax analysis, urban street networks that have a connectivity value greater than the average value were less than 40%. The results showed that for most cities, the street connectivity distribution follows a power-law distribution and exhibits scale-free properties. Urban street networks of all sample cities were found to have a small-world property. Space syntax cannot detect all of the morphological patterns recognized in traditional morphological studies. The method can, however, efficiently quantify the spatial configuration of a large sample. Space syntax’s topological and scaling metrics thus provide a way to compare urban street networks. These metrics can thus help classify cities according to their street patterns but also contribute to an understanding of human behavior within and thus the design of urban spaces. For example, an urban street network with a small-world property could have high efficiency for traffic flows at local and global levels and should be considered in further study.

The dissertation explores the roles of buildings in urban social life. Buildings, as both a methodological tool and a research site, are valuable for understanding society. As a method, buildings allow access to various urban contexts. As a research site, the material and the social are integrated, where buildings and society are shown in continual construction. The overarching case shows how a new building type is born in a society and what buildings do, as both materiality and meaning, to help bring about outcomes. The study follows a single building type through history and analytical levels in the city of Santiago, Chile where three empirical studies emerge. The first traces a process of late 19th century urbanization to show the entrance of new residential building types into a city and how the physical and social landscape is reshaped in the process, emphasizing how one urban form emerges and is defined. Intercontinental connections bring new architecture and new language, stabilizing the link between form and name in the city. The resulting spectrum of buildings within the type shows how the diversity of residents shapes material outcomes. As the new buildings become fixed in the urban landscape, so too do social categories. How buildings change definitions both between and within societies, as well as start to take on meanings, is explored. Once definitions and form are established, the following studies explore the roles of the buildings in contemporary urban life. Photos analysis is employed to examine uses of shared space (a patio) in a residential building where buildings are theorized as material structures that contribute to patterned activities. It addresses how the building creates opportunities for observed everyday uses of private collective space. Using published comparison cases demonstrates that practices appear to differ between buildings of the same type when income of residents differs. It is hypothesized that opportunity is created not by the existence of the space per se, but by its gated enclosure, which separates the public street from the private space. The building is understood as a bound that simultaneously fosters interaction and exclusion. In addition, activities in these spaces, over time, contribute to new cultural understandings of the building type, showing how use can generate meaning. The last empirical study examines the reuse of residential buildings for commercial purposes in one neighborhood. The goal is to illuminate roles buildings play in contemporary neighborhood transformations. Rather than understanding transformation through reuse itself, modes of material conversions are examined. The differences between older conversions and newer ones in the area highlight the role of visible characteristics in the newly reused buildings. The material maintenance of residential facades on new conversions locks in the visual of a residential neighborhood, where intended function is built into form, even under commercial reuse. This is valuable in line with a constructed narrative about the place that focuses on the past. The building type under investigation is further redefined as reused buildings take on visual and spatial similarities to housing models from a past era that were not involved in changes in the neighborhood, but appear as if they were. This study relies on participant observation and analysis of marketing materials, as well as other documentary sources.

La densification de la ville est l’un des principaux objectifs de l’action publique pour bâtir des milieux de vie de qualité. Mais la densité est un concept polysémique et relatif : on constate un écart entre la densité telle qu’elle est préconisée en aménagement et celle vécue par les populations. Parallèlement, on observe l’exode des jeunes familles montréalaises vers les territoires périurbains de faible densité. Enfin, la littérature souligne une relation positive entre densité, mixité et pratique de la marche. Cette recherche explore les perceptions des parents de jeunes enfants à l’égard de leur environnement bâti, en particulier de sa densité, et en identifie les facteurs qui influencent positivement leur pratique de la marche. Après avoir caractérisé les formes urbaines de deux quartiers montréalais aux densités différentes, nous avons interrogé des parents de jeunes enfants sur leur expérience lors de 16 entrevues semi-dirigées et d’un groupe de discussion. Puis nous avons étudié la relation entre les variables personnelles des participants, leurs perceptions de la densité et leurs pratiques de la marche. Nos résultats mettent en évidence la quête d’un équilibre entre les avantages et inconvénients de la densité, dont les principales variables sont les formes urbaines, les services de proximité et la présence d’animation, la végétation étant un paramètre incontournable pour tous les parents. Caractéristiques clés d’une ville intense, ces paramètres corroborent la littérature existante à ce sujet, en mettant en évidence leur importance dans la création de milieux de vie plus denses pour les jeunes familles et leur influence positive sur la marche. / City densification is a central concern of public planning in order to build healthy living environments. Yet, density is polysemous and a relative concept: we note a difference between a city’s recommended density and density as experienced by citizens. Meanwhile, an urban exodus of families with young children to low density suburban neighbourhoods is ongoing. Finally, studies emphasize a positive link between density, mixity and walking behaviour. The aim of this research is to explore the perceptions of parents with young children in relation to their built environment - and its density in particular - in order to identify factors that positively influence their walking behaviours. We address this case by studying two Montreal neighbourhoods that present different densities. After analysing the urban forms of each neighbourhood, we organised 16 semi-directed interviews and a focus group with parents of young children about their experiences. We analysed the relationship between participants’ individual variables, their perceptions of density and their walking behaviours. Our results highlight the parents’ desire for a balance between the advantages and the disadvantages of density, of which main variables are urban form, community services and street life. The presence of vegetation is considered as a must-to-have for all parents. Key features of an intensive city, those parameters support the existing literature by emphasizing their great significance in the creation of denser living environments for young families and their positive influence over walking behaviour.

L’accélération de la globalisation des échanges et le constat d’une certaine banalisation des formes urbaines depuis une trentaine d’années ont fait émerger un questionnement sur le devenir patrimonial et l’urbanité des métropoles portuaires.Qu’il s’agisse d’un héritage industriel ou technique lié à leur activité, de bâtiments historiques protégés ou d’édifices réalisés sur des sites libérés par la délocalisation des activités portuaires sous l’effet de la massification des marchandises, la morphologie des métropoles portuaires interroge les configurations résultant de cette phase intense de mondialisation urbaine. Elle constitue de ce fait un « laboratoire » permettant d’observer à quel point, en réalité, cette évolution est protéiforme et contrastée. Les villes portuaires de Gênes, du Havre et de New York – choisies pour les décalages qu’elles proposent, tant en termes d’échelle que les formes urbaines – permettent d’approcher de façon critique l’évolution de l’urbanité de ces métropoles depuis près d’un demi-siècle, au-delà des formules convenues de la production d’une architecture standardisée et de la mise en œuvre de « grands récits » homogénéisateurs sur ces territoires urbains en mutation. / The acceleration of the exchanges at a worldwide scale and the observation of a kind of globalization of urban forms over the past three decades have raised issues about the future of heritage and the urbanity of the port cities. Whether it concerns the industrial or technical heritage linked to their initial activity, protected historic buildings or buildings erected on urban sites liberated by the relocation of port activities due to the massive containerization of goods, the morphology of port metropolises questions the configurations resulting from this phase of urban globalization. It constitutes a true "laboratory", allowing to observe to what extent this evolution is quite protean and contrasted. The port cities of Genoa, Le Havre andNew York - chosen for the discrepancies they offer, both in terms of scales and urban forms - make it possible a critical approach of the evolution of the urbanity of these metropolises for half a century, so far from the agreed formulas of banalization, production of a standardized architecture and implementation of "great stories" homogenizing on these metropolitan areasin mutation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:37:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Paulo Cesar da Costa.pdf: 4253113 bytes, checksum: 8fe9dda35243a879336e5fa6037d55cb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-18 / The concepts of fractal geometry, which were developed in 1975 by Mandelbrot, complement Euclidean geometry as they provide theoretical dimensional fundamentals for shapes whose irregularities cannot be properly interpreted by classical topological definitions. The standards of this irregular morphology, found in abundance in nature, can be recognized in the construction processes of various fractals anthropic figures, mainly when combined with computational technology. Professionals and researchers from several knowledge fields are exploring these concepts to simulate or create models of irregular shapes, with detail levels hitherto inconceivable. Earth sciences supported by geotechnologies have great potential for applying Mandelbrot s theories as a conceptual reference for analyzing phenomena presenting fractal behaviors, belonging to different application areas as geomorphology, climatology and urban and landscapes studies. In this approach, the fractal dimension of the territorial space occupied by cities is considered an indicator for understanding occupation patterns as one of the factors to be considered in urban planning policies, e.g., to propose projects for more appropriate investments distribution and development of infrastructure. In this work, these concepts were applied by using the box-counting method to calculate the fractal dimension of urban forms from eight Brazilian state capitals by using the Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) as the selection criteria: four cities ranked among the top of the list and four cities classified among the last positions of the state capitals. The results were analyzed in order to identify possible relationships or trends among these indicators, namely, fractal dimension and MHDI, that may support future studies and urban planning. These relationships were not confirmed: the eight studied cities presented heterogeneous fractal dimension values and no trends were verified. However, it was concluded that the fractal dimension of urban form is related to its scattering pattern and occupation over the geographical territorial space and may be an indicator of the occupation density from the urban area. / Os conceitos da geometria fractal, desenvolvida em 1975 por Mandelbrot, complementam os da geometria euclidiana à medida que fornecem um arcabouço teórico de cálculo dimensional para diversas formas cujas irregularidades apresentam características que não podem ser interpretadas adequadamente pelas definições topológicas clássicas. Os padrões dessa morfologia irregular, encontrada em abundância na natureza, podem ser reproduzidos em processos de construção de figuras fractais desenvolvidas pelo homem, especialmente quando combinadas com a tecnologia computacional. Profissionais e pesquisadores de diversas áreas de conhecimento passaram a explorar esses conceitos a fim de simular ou criar modelos de formas irregulares, com níveis de detalhe até então inconcebíveis. As ciências da Terra, com o apoio de ferramentas de geotecnologia, apresentam grande potencial de se apropriar das teorias da geometria de Mandelbrot, como referência conceitual aos estudos de fenômenos que apresentam comportamento fractal, pertencentes a várias áreas de aplicação como a geomorfologia, climatologia e os estudos urbanos e de paisagens. Nessa abordagem, a dimensão fractal do espaço territorial ocupado pelas cidades vem sendo considerada indicador importante para entendimento desse padrão de ocupação, contribuindo como um dos fatores a ser considerados nas políticas de planejamento urbano e, por exemplo, propor projetos de distribuição de investimentos e desenvolvimento de infraestrutura mais adequados. Neste trabalho, esses conceitos foram aplicados por meio da utilização do método da contagem de quadrados para calcular a dimensão fractal das formas urbanas de oito capitais brasileiras, utilizando o Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IDHM) de 2010, publicado em julho de 2013, como critério de seleção. Foram escolhidas quatro cidades classificadas entre as primeiras da lista e outras quatro que ocupam as últimas posições entre as capitais estaduais, com o objetivo de encontrar possíveis relações ou tendências entre esses indicadores dimensão fractal e IDHM que pudessem subsidiar futuros estudos e planejamentos urbanos. Os resultados obtidos não revelaram a existência de tais relações: as oito cidades estudadas apresentaram valores dimensionais heterogêneos, sem registro de tendências. No entanto, foi possível concluir que a dimensão fractal de uma forma urbana está relacionada ao seu padrão de espalhamento e ocupação do espaço territorial geográfico e pode ser considerada um indicador da densidade de ocupação da área urbana.

En Algérie, depuis 2001, la notion de développement durable devient l'un des référentiels essentiel des nouvelles orientations politiques et du cadre législatif. de nombreux projets d'amélioration urbaine, d'habitat et d'équipements, ainsi que de grands projets structurants sont lancés, semblant prouver que la volonté des pouvoirs publics d'améliorer les conditions de vie des citoyens est bien réelle.cependant, la question reste posée quant à la pertinence et la cohérence des choix, particulièrement en matière d'aménagement urbain et de gestion du cadre bâti, avec la mise en pratique des objectifs du développement durable qui passe par une prise en compte non seulement de la dimension économique, mais également des dimensions environnementale et sociale.ce projet propose de mettre en lumière les conditions d'élaboration et de production des aménagements urbains en Algérie, en particulier, à travers deux axes de recherche:-le premier porte sur l'harmonisation entre les milieux urbain et naturel, en analysant la ville à partir de sa situation écologique, angle de compréhension et d'étude peu exploré, pouvant offrir des possibilités d'innovation et d'amélioration en matière de développement urbain.-le second préconise la recherche de processus d'habitat et d'aménagement incluant une vision plus large de la signification du terme social, qui dépasserait le modèle standard d''habitat pour catégories sociales démunies pour s'orienter vers un concept améliorant la prise en compte des aspirations et des spécificités sociales des populations, en promouvant des notions telles que bien-être, qualité de l'espace vécu, satisfaction résidentielle. / Since 2001, the notion of sustainable development becomes one of the essential reference table in new political orientations and legislative framework in Algeria. Many urban improvement projects, housing and equipments, as well as important projects are launched, seeming to prove that the will of public authorities to improve living conditions of citizens isreal. However, the question remains as to the relevance and the coherence of choices, particulary regarding urban planning and built frame management, with the objectives of sustainable development witch taking into account not only the economic dimension, but also environmental and social ones. This work proposes, based on the observation of three cities contexts representing the three major geographical areas of the country (the coast, the highlands and the Sahara) to highlight the conditions of elaboration and production of urban planning in Algeria, particularly through two research areas: - The first one concerns harmonization between urban and natural environments, by analyzing the citie from its ecological situation, angle of understanding and study not really explored, which could provide opportunities for innovation and improvement in urban development. – The second one advocates research of housing and urban planning process including broader view ofmeaning for the term social, which can overtake standard model of housing for deprived social group, and move towards a concept improving the recognition of aspirations and social specifities of populations by promoting notions such as well-being, quality of lived spaces, or residential satisfaction.