Framework for Analysing Urban Form by Using Historico-geographical and Configurational Approaches on the Case of Famagusta Commercial Street Network

Coordinating and comparing different approaches to urban morphology is recognized as one of the most important lines of research in urban form. This study places emphasis on two different analytical approaches to urban morphology: the historico geographical approach based on Conzenian tradition and the configurational approach based on space syntax theory. However, considerable efforts have been made to coordinate and combine different approaches to urban morphology. This thesis presents a complementary framework by applying the historico-geographical and configurational approaches, comparing them, and proposing a coordinated combined methodology to achieve a better comprehension of the evolution of the urban form, specifically, the street formation and transformation of Famagusta city. The results confirm that the combination of these two approaches is capable of providing an enhanced understanding of the historical transformation of urban form. Fundamentally, the historico-geographical character and configuration of the town are determined by socio-economic activities. Within this context, both approaches identify the historical patterns of urban form as the key element to comprehend the relationship between socio-economic activity and urban form, which are both configurational and historical. Also, this complementary framework is tested on Famagusta commercial street network in order to apprehend the framework with better understanding.