The morphology of public open spaces as visual opportunity fields: a space syntax approach based on revelation and VGA maps customization with SalaScript

Abstract

This paper explores the visual dynamics of the morphology of public open spaces. Resorting to space syntax concepts, visual graph analysis (VGA), and the innovative use of its standard tool Depthmap, a set of case studies is analysed under the perspective of visual opportunity fields and building upon the established concept and metrics of Revelation. A series of related novel measures and visualizations are developed, which are only possible, in Depthmap environment, by the advanced use of its scripting language: SalaScript. Despite Depthmap being the standard tool among the space syntax community, there is a lack of references to the explicit use of SalaScript. One major objective of this paper is to illustrate, and document, its possibilities to a broad audience by extending, customizing and introducing a more interactive approach in handling VGA maps. We present SalaScript functionalities and its use in the development of visual analysis scripts that allow the study of revelation, which we then apply to a set of real public open spaces case studies.