Positive Effects of Morphological and Perceptual Boundary Factors on Vitality in the Static Activity Streets: Syntactic and Fractal Approaches

Abstract

Street vitality is a concept that makes the city more liveable with its economic and sociological gains. Static activities on the street contribute to vitality by supporting social interaction. This study investigates the positive effects of the perceptual and morphological boundary characteristics of static activity streets on the user. Using Space Syntax and fractal method, this research consists of two phases and the use of two different scales. The first step involves analysing the connectivity and enclosure factors of 13 static activity streets in Bal & imath;kesir city center at the street scale. By correlating the analysis results with the number of users determined by the observation method, the effect of street-scale boundary factors on user behaviour was determined. As a result of the first step, Ayg & imath;t Street, which has the highest boundary factor value at the street scale, was selected for the second step of the research, which is the building-scale analysis. The surrounding and permeability factors that create boundary effects at the building scale were analysed through street facades and sections, and the value was evaluated together with the areas preferred by people engaged in static activities. As a result of the correlation analysis between the boundary factor value and user behaviour, it has been determined that the connectivity, which creates a morphological boundary effect at the street scale, and the enclosure factor, which creates a perceptual boundary effect, positively affect the users. It was determined that elements such as awnings, eaves, flower beds, and signboards, which determine building scale, increase the number of users. It is concluded that the wall surfaces