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The municipality of Bergen in Norway aims to densify fifty per cent of new housing within the city’s central parts. The Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation ordered and financed an investigation to be carried out by the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the consulting firm Asplan Viak to give research-based input to the densification strategy debate in Bergen. This article demonstrates how the Space Syntax method can be applied to urban densification strategies in urban planning and policy making. The Geographical Information System (GIS) is used to obtain, select, and aggregate operational information. First, the spatial attributes that constitute an area’s attractiveness were registered. Then, this analysis was modelled after the Spacescape® method. Next, the Space Syntax methodology was applied to predict to-movement and through-movement flow potentials. Finally, through weighting the relevant parameters, including impediments such as land ownership, twelve areas were identified as having major potential for transformation based on their overall score. As it turns out, the spatial structure of the street and road network is the underlying driver for how and where to densify. Now, the challenge is how to apply this knowledge into current planning practice.
Remco Koning; Hans Roald; Akkelies Nes. A Scientific Approach to the Densification Debate in Bergen Centre in Norway. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9178 .
AMA StyleRemco Koning, Hans Roald, Akkelies Nes. A Scientific Approach to the Densification Debate in Bergen Centre in Norway. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):9178.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRemco Koning; Hans Roald; Akkelies Nes. 2020. "A Scientific Approach to the Densification Debate in Bergen Centre in Norway." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 9178.
Energy usage in cities is intertwined with its spatial configuration—the denser and more compact the city, the more concentrated and efficient the energy usage is to be expected. To achieve sustainable communities, cities (and their inhabitants) must reconsider its spatial configurations in the context of rapid urbanisation and growth in light of limited resources and conflicting spatial claims. This article seeks to understand how spatial configurations affect transport energy usage in cities and propose an integrated assessment approach factoring spatial configurational analysis in relation to transport energy usage at the micro- and macroscale. Comparing Bergen, Norway, and Zürich, Switzerland, findings showed that spatial configurations were positively correlated to transport energy usage. Street structures suitable for walking and less suitable for car traffic tended to exhibit lower amounts of energy usage. Following this, nine typologies of transport and land use patterns are described to support planning for more sustainable means of transport.
Remco Koning; Wendy Tan; Akkelies Van Nes. Assessing Spatial Configurations and Transport Energy Usage for Planning Sustainable Communities. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8146 .
AMA StyleRemco Koning, Wendy Tan, Akkelies Van Nes. Assessing Spatial Configurations and Transport Energy Usage for Planning Sustainable Communities. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (19):8146.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRemco Koning; Wendy Tan; Akkelies Van Nes. 2020. "Assessing Spatial Configurations and Transport Energy Usage for Planning Sustainable Communities." Sustainability 12, no. 19: 8146.