The first question that makes this research extremely useful or meaningful is based on the movement of people and cars in the older eastern areas and newer western areas of the Old City of Jeddah. The question revolves around the main forces behind the disappearance of traditional cities. The two regions have different following the forms of buildings in the area, as well as functions. This is because, excessive movement densities for cars and people can heighten the process of deterioration of the Old City.
The second question that the researcher seeks to address in this research is on the effects of the configuration of street systems on movements of people and cars in the old city. The researcher has been extensively keen to ensure that this question is relevant. He analyzes previous studies on the topic as done by authors such as Baran, Rogriguez, & Khattak, 2008, as well as Hillier 1993, 1996, and 2005. The previous researches have indicated that the configuration of street systems have exclusively brawny effects on movement patterns in cities.
The third question that has been extensively discussed in this paper is on the relationship between space and movement in cities. The researcher identifies multi-functionality and structural development of a region as the two most significant issues of urbanity. However, the two factors depend on the spatial configuration that determine how individuals find the city intelligible, as well as how people move around it. These results depend on the empirical studies’ findings that were conducted in different parts of the world using the space syntax method.
The three questions named above are representation of the main elements that the research aims to identify. However, they revolve around exclusive question concerning the status of traditional cities in the Islam region. The three questions may be termed as sub questions as they seek to answer the main question on the status of traditional cities after exclusive consideration of several factors that may influence the development of the cities.
Hypotheses
These research paper is built around a series of hypotheses. These are supposed to be facts that have been pronounced concerning the activities or processes that take place in traditional cities. They are supposed to paint a picture of the cities into the mind of the reader so that he or she may be keen to analyze the results. After critical evaluation of the article it shows exclusive connection between the research questions and the hypotheses that have been defined as the central points of the research. The connection to the research questions shows that there is extremely huge connection of the hypotheses to the research methods that have been used in the research. The density data obtained in the research is extremely useful in attesting the hypotheses.
The first hypothesis dictates that if movement and its relationships with space are significant for cities as many people think then they must be extremely significant for existing historic cities. Although, movements of people and cars on the cities’ streets may be proper indicators of liveliness and vitality, the physical and social environments of these cities may be destroyed, and it would make the traditional dwellers vacate the traditional cities for newer places. Following the significance of the traditional places, the houses that the traditional dwellers live behind are taken for commercial purposes. Also, the poor and the less knowledgeable individuals on the traditional activities of the cities take control of the vacated cities.
When commercial activities take control of the historic cities, by reducing the traditional functions of the cities they cause extensively strong business establishments like banks, supermarket, luxury shops, as well as large hotel chains, that lead to economically weaker shops as well as crafts in social and cultural institutions. In addition, they cause existence of more cars. Following these, destruction, modernization, and refurbishment of historic buildings become the critical activities in the cities.
The third hypothesis that may be identified form this research paper is that when poor people take control of historic cities, transformation of the regions becomes extremely slow and leads to destruction of the cities. Since the people cannot afford proper maintenance of the houses, the buildings and fabric, which were already fragile, become weaker and they may scramble. The low the level of development in a city the more it will attract poor people. Hence, development will take extensively long time before it becomes a reality in the cities. This is the main cause of traditional cities turning into slums, which are overcrowded and countered with crimes. No individual would wish to make investments in such regions. Therefore, it becomes hard to maintain and preserve historic cities heritage.
Based on the above analysis concerning the significance of how people and cars move for street life and urbanity, it may be viewed that learning and understanding spatial configuration, as well as its effects of movement of people and vehicles in historic cities could be extensively fundamental in assisting on the heritage planning of these cities.
Research analysis
In the case study, a pilot study was done in the Old City of Jeddah concerning the movement of people and cars in relation to spatial configuration. The process of the study was described using space syntax. This was supposed to show how the density of people, as well as their activities could have been used to retain viability and vitality of the Jeddah City as a representative of the traditional cities. There is extremely sensitive connection between the questions defined in this research with the research methods that have been chosen as well as the obtained data.
In the research, the term space as used in the term movement and space research questions, define the connectivity patterns in the streets. The movement of people defines the number of people who are sitting in the region, moving cars, parking among other elements observable in streets when one is walking around. The variables used in this research are clear definition of the connection that exists between the research questions and the research methods. The most outstanding method must be a representation of the extensive connection that exists between the research methods and the research questions.
The four cities that are to be investigated in the research are Jeddah, Riyadh, Yanbu, and Hofuof in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After critical analyses of the cities, the researcher moves to the next level where he determines the connectivity patterns. This is because he is interested in understanding the configuration of the space connecting different streets, as well as the patterns that may be useful in defining the movement density of an area.
The historical cities were divided into either historical area (HC)or embedded area (Embed). Since the cities are located at the same geographical area, a route that covers both areas had to be defined and the researcher would start counting the number of people who were walking, and sitting, as well as the number of cars, which were moving and parking. There had to be unique ways that show how movement of people in the streets would be significant in either the HC or the Embed areas.
There was motivation that if the movement patterns are variant then the functional significance also differs. The space syntax maps that were used in the research were extremely fundamental in defining movement patterns. The technique has been used in defining layouts of cities, districts, neighborhoods, as well as individual buildings to show the influence of spatial configuration on the flow of pedestrians and vehicles in different streets. The tool has been exclusively useful in defining how people, objects, and functions define the social and cultural set up of space. However, most linear map analyses such as axial map analysis are extremely fundamental in defining syntax studies for urban areas, as well as cities. Current times have become easier to sail with the map analysis since there are software that have been developed for that purpose.
As used in the research, space syntax is an extremely useful measure of integration. The integration value of lines indicates how the lines are closely connected to each other in a liner map. High integration of a line dictates stronger connection of a line to the network. The integration value is also enhanced to ensure existence of direct comparison between different sizes of networks. Further, the high integration value in the system defines exclusive connectivity of the lines within the system.
Through the space syntax techniques it is highly possible calculate the lines’ integration values at various radii. For example, the integration value at radius-n of a line would consider n-steps that would be significant in covering all lines in the system. Thus, the integration value defined under lower radius would be more significant in the description of syntactic property than the one computed at a higher radius.
Correlation coefficient is the other extremely fundamental tool in the analysis of the results of space syntax. Strong correlation is proper definition of intelligibility. This is following the exclusively easier sensitivity of the ability to infer global syntactic properties than using local syntactic systems’ properties.
There are different scenarios that may be imagined on the effects of spatial configuration on movements of people and cars. In one scenario, street configuration would execute extensive explanation of any variations in movements of both people and cars in the old city. In another instance, some variances would be present in the manner which street configuration influences people and cars in the Old City of Jeddah. Also, there would be extra differences on how street configuration influences people, as well as cars in the newer and older areas of the Old City.
Data support
There are findings that have been defined the research representing the picture of the flow of people as well as cars in the traditional cities. This data is supposed to indicate the truth cited by the hypotheses indicated in the test for the findings that would be indicated in the results of the research question. Proper statistical analysis of the performance of the statistics would be extremely significant in defining how the cities operate and the rate at which certain duties or roles are executed. Different programs have been used in execution of movement densities and syntactic values. The analysis has been in multiple stages including descriptive and correlation analyses. The data that has been obtained in this research forms an extremely critical section of the research as it acts as the backbone to answering the outlined questions, affirming hypotheses, as well as testing the validity of the research methods that have been used. However, the different densities succeed as representation of the of the relevance of the research questions involved in the research.
Like to any other hypothesis, meaning is attached to the findings of the research. The data must be supportive to the hypotheses cited, if meaning was to be attached to the hypotheses. To test the first hypothesis it is wise to analyze the data shown by the table comparing functional of cities in newer areas and those of older areas. In the first section of the analysis, movement densities of people and cars in all the route-segments in comparison with the individuals in the route segments of the newer and older areas of the Old City. The analysis was done on the bases of different days of the week, which included weekdays and weekends, types of functions, as well as types of streets. The second section of the analysis defines comparison of the mean syntactic values that were compared with the route segments in the newer and older areas of the Old City. Syntactic values were compared in two ways. First, they were calculated for the Old City in an independent system. Then, they were calculated as a section of the bigger urban system. The third stage was carried out through the correlation analyses that was meant to understand the connection between syntactic properties and movement densities in the route segments. Carrying out the analysis in different days of the week, functional types, as well as street types of all the route-segments in newer and older areas makes it extremely reliable.
The research revolves around extremely significant elements of research. The first issue is testing for the validity of the questions used in the definition of the research. The research revolves around extremely critical questions. Although, the questions are confined to analyzing and understanding movement patterns in the cities, they have been extensively exhaustive on density of people and activities that they engage in different activities. If the questions have been critical on the relationships in space and movements in a given route then it could be extensively useful for living historic cities. While movements of people and cars in the cities are good indicators for liveliness and vitality, high-density movements that go against the traditional social logic of pace can easily ruin the physical, as well as social environments in these cities. The research questions are significant since the movement and relationships within the defined space of the research are in exclusive relationship. The second question was about the validity of technique of collecting data. The impact of urban life may be identified through observation of people in different public spaces.
The questions have been extensively useful in defining the meaning of the hypotheses that have been used in this research. It is true that the movements and activities in traditional cities would be influential on how the areas make activities flow. People are major determinants of the activities that are likely to occur in the cities. The researches methods have been extremely critical in defining what the questions defined in the case represent.
