Oxford: People and townscape
The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the role of the urban configuration in bringing Residents and Visitors into 'common space' and interface. The study focuses on the city centre of Oxford, in South East England, which is a thriving hub of students, tourists and local inhabitant...
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| Format: | Dissertation |
| Language: | English |
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
01-01-2006
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| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the role of the urban configuration in bringing Residents and Visitors into 'common space' and interface. The study focuses on the city centre of Oxford, in South East England, which is a thriving hub of students, tourists and local inhabitants. Through a historic review of Oxford, the report provides a context for understanding the spatial aspects of the socio-economic processes prevalent through centuries illustrating the emergent spatial pattern contributing to the city's socio-spatial organisation that we witness today. Space Syntax theories and methodology coupled with on-site observations are implemented to evaluate the performance and social implication embedded in the urban spaces. The thesis discusses the urban configuration in the light of Hillier's notion of 'Centrality as a process' analysing the significance of the city's growth in preserving life of Heritage and in playing an active role in the city's urban life. The spatio-functional analysis of the urban framework supported by empirical data provides insights into the movement patterns of the Resident group. The thesis also focuses in particular on the observation and analysis of the movement pattern of the Tourist in conjunction with the street character and the afforded visual fields. The analysis of co-presence follows the analysis of movement patterns as the public urban spaces, from the convex spaces of transition to the convex spaces of stasis, are studied and presented with respect to their roles in the construction of interfaces. The report concludes that the spatial pattern of the city emergent from a prevailing trade route, has systematically oriented itself to the micro-economic activity at the historic core in effect bringing the city's inhabitants into an interface. Further, the analysis of movement patterns of tourists suggests that the visual fields afforded by the layout of the street structure has a significant effect on tourist movement and behaviour whilst the spatial layout of the city centre brings them into an interface with the Resident population. |
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| ISBN: | 1303418460 9781303418464 |