Urban Connectivity: Elements for an Identification of Bir El Bey’s Preferential Landscapes

Abstract

An urban landscape can be considered as a background environment that influences humans’ movements at various scales in the city. This research is oriented to the study of the interactions between urban forest patches and their degree of influence and attractions on humans’ behaviors and interactions. The objective is to evaluate the relations between individuals’ movements and the city space nearby natural landscapes, and also to question spatial practices in the city. Forest patches are modelled according to a structural approach at the city level, while Space syntax principles have been applied and compared to in situ movements as experimentally observed. A statistical analysis complements the configurational analysis by highlighting correlations between structural properties and human movements. The whole approach is applied to the Bir El Bey Forest of the Tunisian city of Hammam Chatt in order to explore the interaction between the built and natural landscapes at different levels of scale. The findings exhibit the respective effects of the urban network and natural landscape on the urban space, and how such spaces are appropriated by Hammam Chatt inhabitants and users. Finally, the results propose a generic framework analysis for the study of the relations between humans and urban structure and landscape preferences and that offers novel perspectives for urban planning.