A Study on the Correlation between Urban Street Network and Commercial Distribution Patterns through Space Syntax Methodology–A Case Study in Taichung

• Main Authors: Lin, Ching-Kai, 林敬凱
• Other Authors: Shu, Chih-feng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/6g4ct7

碩士 === 東海大學 === 建築學系 === 103 === Urban development is closely associated with human society and living habits, while commercial activities in cities are tightly linked to the characteristics and patterns of the street network at that specific period of time. Results from the literature review on urban history as well as the observation of modern urban development show that the continuous expansion and development of urban street networks is a result of increasing land demands due to population growth. As street networks become more complicated and developed, it also contributes to the urban industrial distribution to evolve non-stop. Ongoing urban expansion influences urban street network patterns and characteristics, which in turn create era-specific structural characteristics of street network of commercial cores. A commercial center of a single-core street network in the earlier stage was first converted into a metropolitan, multi-core commercial circle-oriented street network, which was then gradually developed into a type of community-based, micro-commercial streets network characterized with features of transpatial internet network connections among cities. In fact, how the patterns and characteristics of a street network evolve is substantially influenced by the distinctive consumption and life style of each era. The aim of the study is to explore how urban street network development is closely associated with commercial distribution as time goes by. The study also validated if industrial distribution is affected by urban street network development, and this is done by using the space syntax method for examining the interaction between the above-mentioned industrial distribution and changes in structural patterns and characteristics of urban street network. The study examined the development of Taichung City across more than 100 years, from 1895, the end of the Qing Dynasty, to the present time of 2014. The association between urban industrial activity distribution and changes in the urban street network was discussed based on results from the literature review and map data. This research intends to reconstruct the industrial distribution map of various eras and to deploy space syntax to analyze the relationship between changes in industrial distribution and the transformation and development of street network’s structural patterns. Meanwhile, the study also explored if any space syntax parameters, such as integration and relative choice, are effective for interpreting the logical relation between industrial distribution and street network’s structural patterns. A preliminary finding here is that over the hundred years, the association between street spatial network and industrial distribution of Taichung City has changed from the original single-core, small commercial and daily living oriented streets in the Japanese colonial era at the end of the Qing Dynasty to a regional larger single-core, centralized commercial circle after Kuomintang Party’s recovery of Taiwan. The old city center is declining and replaced by the emerging of multi-core commercial circles on the outskirt of the city. As the city expands toward the west, the Seatwen District of Taichung City has become the most vibrant commercial area nowadays. In turns of industrial distribution, it is affected by changes in the urban street spatial network and has spread from the old city center to Taichung City overall, forming a multi-core commercial circle. In recent years, the booming of the Internet has also driven the formation of the street patterns and characteristics of small community-based, micro-commercial (e.g., convenient stores) cores in cities. The study finds that the metropolitan street network’s structure pattern of a multi-core commercial circle can be accurately identified by parameters of relative choice (a choice of 700m by walk and a vehicular traffic flow of 6000m). Moreover, high-profit commercial venues, such as banks, shopping malls and department stores, at the core of a city commercial center can be accurately predicted by the measure of global integration level (Rn, vehicular traffic flow). As for convenient stores, a community type of consumption, they have gradually substituted the traditional grocery stores, and their distribution pattern can be accurately predicted by parameters of the local integration value (R3, pedestrian flow). The study further revealed that the booming of the Internet has driven the spread of convenient stores, a small community-based, micro-commercial core, toward deeper local areas. Convenient stores can now be found at many local community streets in various larger commercial circles and have become the main industrial force sustaining the declined old city center of Taichung.