A pilot study of space syntax applied to historical cities: studying Seville and Lisbon in the 16th-17th Centuries

Abstract

During the transition to the Modern Age, the “Reconquista” influenced the territorial consolidation. In this framework, two cities were considered the main “capitals” of the Iberian Peninsula and one of the principal axes for the transfer of materials, people and ideas: Seville and Lisbon. Over the years, many methods and tools of spatial analysis have been developed for modelling real-world phenomena. Space Syntax models the morphology of urban spaces by using a graph representation. Although its application is extended in urban analysis, there is still a need for exploration of these tools for analysing historical urban spaces. The main methodological phases in the present research were: 1) historical source acquisition and digitization; geo-processing of data sources; 2) network model preparation and analysis; 3) statistical study and analysis; 4) maps visualizations. In this paper, we present the results of the parameters of connectivity, global integration, local integration [R3] and intelligibility.