{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T21:17:46Z","timestamp":1779916666123,"version":"3.53.1"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]],"date-time":"2019-01-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1548288000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur F\u00f6rderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["10 0 013L_149552"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["10 0 013L_149552"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001659","name":"Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DO551\/21-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DO551\/21-01"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001659","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJGI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Urban planners are often challenged with the task of developing design solutions which must meet multiple, and often contradictory, criteria. In this paper, we investigated the trade-offs between social, psychological, and energy potential of the fundamental elements of urban form: the street network and the building massing. Since formal methods to evaluate urban form from the psychological and social point of view are not readily available, we developed a methodological framework to quantify these criteria as the first contribution in this paper. To evaluate the psychological potential, we conducted a three-tiered empirical study starting from real world environments and then abstracting them to virtual environments. In each context, the implicit (physiological) response and explicit (subjective) response of pedestrians were measured. To quantify the social potential, we developed a street network centrality-based measure of social accessibility. For the energy potential, we created an energy model to analyze the impact of pure geometric form on the energy demand of the building stock. The second contribution of this work is a method to identify distinct clusters of urban form and, for each, explore the trade-offs between the select design criteria. We applied this method to two case studies identifying nine types of urban form and their respective potential trade-offs, which are directly applicable for the assessment of strategic decisions regarding urban form during the early planning stages.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi8020052","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]],"date-time":"2019-01-24T11:12:48Z","timestamp":1548328368000},"page":"52","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Examining Trade-Offs between Social, Psychological, and Energy Potential of Urban Form"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7021-3317","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Martin","family":"Bielik","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"InfAR, Faculty of Architecture and Urban planning, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sven","family":"Schneider","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InfAR, Faculty of Architecture and Urban planning, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Saskia","family":"Kuliga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InfAR, Faculty of Architecture and Urban planning, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2887-3386","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle","family":"Griego","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IA, Department of Architecture, ETH-Z\u00fcrich, 8093 Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Varun","family":"Ojha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IA, Department of Architecture, ETH-Z\u00fcrich, 8093 Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3579-8855","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Reinhard","family":"K\u00f6nig","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InfAR, Faculty of Architecture and Urban planning, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany"},{"name":"Smart and Resilient Cities, Austrian Institute of Technology, 1210 Vienna, Austria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerhard","family":"Schmitt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IA, Department of Architecture, ETH-Z\u00fcrich, 8093 Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dirk","family":"Donath","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"InfAR, Faculty of Architecture and Urban planning, Bauhaus-Universit\u00e4t Weimar, 99423 Weimar, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1007\/BF01405730","article-title":"Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning","volume":"4","author":"Rittel","year":"1973","journal-title":"Policy Sci."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/0004-3702(73)90011-8","article-title":"The structure of ill structured problems","volume":"4","author":"Simon","year":"1973","journal-title":"Artif. Intell."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1016\/0360-1323(80)90011-6","article-title":"On optimization in computer aided architectural design","volume":"15","author":"Radford","year":"1980","journal-title":"Build. Environ."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"Karimi, K., and Vaughan, L. (2014). An evidence-based approach to designing new cities: The English new towns revisited. Explorations in Urban Design: An Urban Design Research Primer, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Blake, P. (1977). Form Follows Fiasco: Why Modern Architecture Hasn\u2019t Worked, Little, Brown."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Lawson, B. (2001). Language of Space, Architectural Press."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Gehl, J. (1987). Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, Van Nostrand Reinhold."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Conzen, M.R.G. (1960). Alnwick, Northumberland: A Study in Town-Plan Analysis. Trans. Pap. Inst. Br. Geogr.","DOI":"10.2307\/621094"},{"key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Oliveira, V. (2016). Urban Morphology: An Introduction to the Study of the Physical Form of Cities, Springer."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ins.2018.09.061","article-title":"Machine learning approaches to understand the influence of urban environments on humans physiological response","volume":"474","author":"Ojha","year":"2019","journal-title":"Inf. Sci."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"30","article-title":"Spatial Capital","volume":"1","author":"Marcus","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Space Syntax"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1016\/j.progress.2007.03.001","article-title":"The spatial syntax of urban segregation","volume":"67","author":"Vaughan","year":"2007","journal-title":"Prog. Plan."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Nubani, L., and Wineman, J. (2005, January 13\u201317). The role of space syntax in identifying the relationship between space and crime. Proceedings of the 5th Space Syntax Symposium on Space Syntax, Delft, The Netherlands."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"88","article-title":"The relationship between physical segregation and social marginalisation in the urban environment","volume":"185","author":"Vaughan","year":"2005","journal-title":"World Archit."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"450","DOI":"10.1068\/b34098","article-title":"Street Centrality and Densities of Retail and Services in Bologna, Italy","volume":"36","author":"Porta","year":"2009","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"5","article-title":"Property Crimes and Violence in United States: An Analysis of the influence of Population density","volume":"1","author":"Harries","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Crim. Justice Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"389","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jue.2006.08.003","article-title":"Urban density and the rate of invention","volume":"61","author":"Carlino","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Urban Econ."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Weber, M. (1991). The Nature of Social Action in Runciman, WG Weber: Selections in Translation, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bielik, M., K\u00f6nig, R., Schneider, S., and Varoudis, T. (2018). Measuring the Impact of Street Network Configuration on the Accessibility to People and Walking Attractors. Netw. Spat. Econ., 1\u201320.","DOI":"10.1007\/s11067-018-9426-x"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/srep00296","article-title":"Elementary processes governing the evolution of road networks","volume":"2","author":"Strano","year":"2012","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.2307\/3033543","article-title":"A set of measures of centrality based on betweenness","volume":"40","author":"Freeman","year":"1977","journal-title":"Sociometry"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hillier, B., and Hanson, J. (1984). The Social Logic of Space, Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511597237"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Turner, A. (2001, January 7\u201311). Angular Analysis. Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Space Syntax, Atlanta, GA, USA."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hillier, B., and Iida, S. (2005). Network and Psychological Effects: A Theory of Urban Movement, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/11556114_30"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Turner, A., and Dalton, R.C. (August, January 31). A simplified route choice model using the shortest angular path assumption. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on GeoCompuation, Ann Arbor, MI, USA."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"Varoudis, T., Law, S., Karimi, K., Hillier, B., and Penn, A. (November, January 31). Space syntax angular betweenness centrality revisited. Proceedings of the 2013 International Space Syntax Symposium; Seoul, South Korea."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Bielik, M., Emo, B., Schneider, S., and H\u00f6lscher, C. (2017, January 3\u20137). Does urban density follow centrality? Empirical study on the influence of street network centrality on urban density and its implications for the prediction of pedestrian flows. Proceedings of the 11th International Space Syntax Symposium, Lisbon, Portugal."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Okabe, A., and Sugihara, K. (2012). Spatial Analysis along Networks: Statistical and Computational Methods, John Wiley & Sons.","DOI":"10.1002\/9781119967101"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1068\/b4125","article-title":"The hidden geometry of deformed grids: Or, why space syntax works, when it looks as though it shouldn\u2019t","volume":"26","author":"Hillier","year":"1999","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1068\/b3019","article-title":"Space syntax: Some inconsistencies","volume":"31","author":"Ratti","year":"2004","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"191","DOI":"10.1068\/b3602ed","article-title":"Accessibility: In search of a unified theory","volume":"36","author":"Batty","year":"2009","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.1080\/01944365908978307","article-title":"How Accessibility Shapes Land Use","volume":"25","author":"Hansen","year":"1959","journal-title":"J. Am. Inst. Plan."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1175","DOI":"10.1068\/a291175","article-title":"Measuring accessibility: An exploration of issues and alternatives","volume":"29","author":"Handy","year":"1997","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. A"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"155","article-title":"Normalising least angle choice in Depthmap and it opens up new perspectives on the global and local analysis of city space","volume":"3","author":"Hillier","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Space Syntax"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Appleton, J. (1975). Landscape evaluation: The theoretical vacuum. Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr., 120\u2013123.","DOI":"10.2307\/621625"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1016\/S0272-4944(05)80138-0","article-title":"A cognitive analysis of preference for urban spaces","volume":"12","author":"Herzog","year":"1992","journal-title":"J. Environ. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City, MIT Press."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1068\/b060047","article-title":"To take hold of space: Isovists and isovist fields","volume":"6","author":"Benedikt","year":"1979","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1080\/13574800802451155","article-title":"Measuring the unmeasurable: Urban design qualities related to walkability","volume":"14","author":"Ewing","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Urban Des."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Kn\u00f6ll, M., Li, Y., Neuheuser, K., and Rudolph-Cleff, A. (2015, January 13\u201317). Using space syntax to analyse stress ratings of open public spaces. Proceedings of the 10th International Space Syntax Symposium, London, UK."},{"key":"ref_42","first-page":"84","article-title":"Einflussfaktoren der gebauten Umwelt auf wahrgenommene Aufenthaltsqualit\u00e4t w\u00e4hrend der Nutzung st\u00e4dtischer R\u00e4ume","volume":"35","author":"Neuheuser","year":"2014","journal-title":"Umw. Psychol. Ger."},{"key":"ref_43","first-page":"93","article-title":"Engaging the brain: The impact of natural versus urban scenes using novel EEG methods in an experimental setting","volume":"1","author":"Roe","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"869","DOI":"10.1007\/s11524-017-0191-9","article-title":"The Aging Urban Brain: Analyzing Outdoor Physical Activity Using the Emotiv Affectiv Suite in Older People","volume":"94","author":"Neale","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Urban Health"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Emo, B., Treyer, L., Schmitt, G., and Hoelscher, C. (2017, January 22). Towards defining perceived urban density. Proceedings of the 35th International Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe: ShoCK! Sharing of Computable Knowledge; Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe), Rome, Italy.","DOI":"10.52842\/conf.ecaade.2017.2.637"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4018\/IJEPR.2016010101","article-title":"Geostatistical analysis for the study of relationships between the emotional responses of urban walkers to urban spaces","volume":"5","author":"Hijazi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Int. J. E Plan. Res."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Evans, G.W. (1984). Environmental Stress, CUP Archive."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1007\/s10707-017-0294-1","article-title":"Towards pervasive geospatial affect perception","volume":"22","author":"Raja","year":"2018","journal-title":"GeoInformatica"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1243","DOI":"10.1109\/TBME.2009.2038487","article-title":"A wearable sensor for unobtrusive, long-term assessment of electrodermal activity","volume":"57","author":"Poh","year":"2010","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jneumeth.2010.04.028","article-title":"A continuous measure of phasic electrodermal activity","volume":"190","author":"Benedek","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Neurosci. Methods"},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Boucsein, W. (2012). Electrodermal Activity, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4614-1126-0"},{"key":"ref_52","first-page":"1017","article-title":"A guide for analysing electrodermal activity (EDA) & skin conductance responses (SCRs) for psychological experiments","volume":"49","author":"Braithwaite","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychophysiology"},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Figner, B., Murphy, R., Schulte-Mecklenbeck, M., Kuehberger, A., and Ranyard, R. (2010). A Handbook of Process Tracing Methods for Decision Research: A Critical Review and User\u2019s Guide, Psychology Press.","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203875292"},{"key":"ref_54","unstructured":"Bielik, M., Schneider, S., Kuliga, S., Val\u00e1\u0161ek, M., and Donath, D. (2015, January 13\u201317). Investigating the effect of urban form on the environmental appraisal of streetscapes. Proceedings of the 10th International Space Syntax Symposium, London, UK."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2012-091877","article-title":"The urban brain: Analysing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG","volume":"49","author":"Aspinall","year":"2015","journal-title":"Br. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_56","unstructured":"Franz, G., and Wiener, J.M. (2005, January 13\u201317). Exploring isovist-based correlates of spatial behavior and experience. Proceedings of the 5th International Space Syntax Symposium, Delft, The Netherlands."},{"key":"ref_57","unstructured":"Kuliga, S., Dalton, R.C., and H\u00f6lscher, C. (November, January 31). Aesthetic and Emotional Appraisal of the Seattle Public Library and its relation to spatial configuration. Proceedings of the Ninth International Space Syntax Symposium, Seoul, Korea."},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"735","DOI":"10.1068\/b31138","article-title":"Isovists, enclosure, and permeability theory","volume":"32","author":"Stamps","year":"2005","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B Plan. Des."},{"key":"ref_59","unstructured":"Griego, D., Kuliga, S., Bielik, M., Standfest, M., Ojha, V.K., Schneider, S., K\u00f6nig, R., Donath, D., Schmitt, G., and Miltiadis, C. (2017). ESUM Urban Sensing Handbook: Component, Assembly and Operational Guide: Sensor Backpack & 360 Videos, ETH Zurich."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"363","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compenvurbsys.2015.09.006","article-title":"Virtual reality as an empirical research tool\u2014Exploring user experience in a real building and a corresponding virtual model","volume":"54","author":"Kuliga","year":"2015","journal-title":"Comput. Environ. Urban Syst."},{"key":"ref_61","unstructured":"K\u00f6nig, R., Scheider, S., Hamzi, I., Bielik, M., Schmitt, G., and Donath, D. (, January 23\u201325). Using geo statistical analysis to detect similarities in emotional responses of urban walkers to urban space. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC14), London, UK."},{"key":"ref_62","unstructured":"Kaplan, R., and Kaplan, S. (1989). The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective, CUP Archive."},{"key":"ref_63","first-page":"124","article-title":"Shape of buildings and energy consumption","volume":"109","author":"Geletka","year":"2012","journal-title":"Czas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"561","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enconman.2015.06.011","article-title":"How reliable are geometry-based building indices as thermal performance indicators?","volume":"101","author":"Rodrigues","year":"2015","journal-title":"Energy Convers. Manag."},{"key":"ref_65","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"526","DOI":"10.1016\/j.renene.2014.11.044","article-title":"Sensitivity analysis evaluating basic building geometry\u2019s effect on energy use","volume":"76","author":"Hemsath","year":"2015","journal-title":"Renew. Energy"},{"key":"ref_66","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"807","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enbuild.2009.11.019","article-title":"Optimisation of building form for solar energy utilisation using constrained evolutionary algorithms","volume":"42","author":"Robinson","year":"2010","journal-title":"Energy Build."},{"key":"ref_67","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1391","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2015.07.123","article-title":"A review of modelling approaches and tools for the simulation of district-scale energy systems","volume":"52","author":"Allegrini","year":"2015","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_68","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"581","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02289527","article-title":"The centrality index of a graph","volume":"31","author":"Sabidussi","year":"1966","journal-title":"Psychometrika"}],"container-title":["ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2220-9964\/8\/2\/52\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T12:28:22Z","timestamp":1760185702000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2220-9964\/8\/2\/52"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]]},"references-count":68,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2019,2]]}},"alternative-id":["ijgi8020052"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijgi8020052","relation":{},"ISSN":["2220-9964"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2220-9964","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2019,1,24]]}}}