Public urban spaces are vital settings for fostering social interaction among people. However, understanding how spatial layouts can promote positive social behaviors remains a critical and debated challenge for urban designers and planners aiming to create socially sustainable environments. Space syntax, a well-established theory and research method, explores the influence of spatial configurations on social aspects. Despite its significant contributions, there is a lack of comprehensive systematic reviews evaluating its effectiveness in enhancing social interaction within urban public spaces. This study aims to identify the existing scientific gaps in the domain of space syntax studies, with a primary focus on sociability in public urban spaces. Following the PRISMA framework, a thorough literature search was conducted in the Scopus database, yielding 1107 relevant articles. After applying screening and eligibility criteria, 26 articles were selected for in-depth review. This review adopted a novel approach to synthesizing and analyzing the findings for identifying underexplored scientific gaps. The findings suggested a wide variety of research gaps to address, encompassing evidence, knowledge, practical, methodological, empirical, theoretical, and target populations to provide a thorough overview of the current state of knowledge in this field. In conclusion, by exploring the interplay between space syntax and design elements such as the urban infrastructure, landscaping, and microclimate in these areas, future research can bridge this gap, particularly when considering a cross-cultural lens. This study underscores the importance of space syntax in promoting social interaction in urban public spaces, offering a robust foundation for future research and practical applications to create more socially engaging environments.

The hypothesis of this paper is that some features of the built environment, particularly those concerned with the accessibility of the street network, could be associated with the proportion of pedestrians on all trips (modal split) found in different parts of a city. Quantitative analysis (bi-variate correlation and a multiple regression model) was used to establish the association between variables. The study area covered a substantial part of the metropolitan area in Madrid, Spain. Results showed a consistent influence of five particular indexes in the multi-variate model. Not surprisingly for this kind of research, four of them described density and mix of land uses. But perhaps more interestingly, the first one was a measure of the accessibility of the public space network, a less prominent variable in literature to date. This variable is called herein configurational accessibility, calculated using Space Syntax, an urban morphology theory. The relevance of configurational accessibility is probably related to its surprising ability to synthesize global and perceived properties of street networks at the same time. The findings introduce the idea that the configuration of the urban grid can influence the proportion of pedestrians (as a part of total trips in any transport mode) who choose to walk on single-journey trips. The discussion links with the current debate about walkability indexes and the need of empirical support for the chosen variables and also with transport planning. Because the relevance of the street network?s role is not so easy to grasp, inputs from configurational theory and the pedestrian potential underlying this fact are also discussed at the end of the paper

Land use mix is one of the cornerstones for urban sustainability, in opposition to functional segregation and zoning policies. Land use mix is a prerequisite for urban proximity dynamics, healthier lifestyles and public space vitality. However, methodological shortcomings to its measurement remain and are responsible for the unexpected weak association with pedestrian activity. This study puts forward a novel method to reframe, measure and map land use mix as ‘walkable trips’, a closer approach to its benefits based on functional and spatial complementarity. The method draws on newly available cadastral microdata at the parcel-level that, combined with trip generation rates and network analysis tools, enable a detailed assessment and mapping of potential for walkable trips, as well as a proxy to the spatial patterns of urban vitality, in line with the principle of the 15-minute city. The method is applied to the case of the Madrid metropolitan area.

This study seeks to systematically identify the most significant challenges for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) in Developing Countries (DCs). At the same time, it attempts to analyze whether these are different from challenges in developed countries. For this purpose, relevant qualitative research was systematically reviewed through a Qualitative Meta-Synthesis study. The method included peer-reviewed studies since 1990, focused on the challenges of DCs when planning TOD projects written in English. A search in 12 databases identified 44 records, of which 34 met the eligibility criteria and the quality appraisal for the final list. Using Thematic Synthesis, these results were interpreted and a set of clustered challenges was drawn up, containing general themes, classified as follows: Contextual challenges, Policy and Planning challenges, Implementation challenges, and Actors. Regarding the study findings, eight problematic sub-themes pertinent to the delivery of transit-oriented strategies were listed, analyzed, and interrelated. The results enabled us to retrieve and amass an updated and well-structured set of challenges, whose relationships in the literature show both the complexity of the barriers to be surmounted as well as some key gaps in the research.

With the aim of shifting towards a more sustainable urban transport model, cycling mobility is being promoted in many cities and, in consequence, Bike Share Systems have been the focus of attention in an increasing number of studies over the past years. However, we know very little about the impact of these BSS in cities beyond the station level. What paths do cyclists follow? What are the most important urban arteries in terms of cycling flow? These are important questions to be addressed in order to implement policies and infrastructure where they are really needed. The main goal of this study is to visualise the cycling flow derived from Madrid BSS activity, obtained by processing over 250,000 GPS routes, and to provide an analysis of how this flow is distributed across the urban street network at different moments. We explore the diverse levels of use over the course of the day, and during the weekdays, weekends or holidays, as well as the different cycling patterns of frequent and occasional users.