A Comparison Study on Space Syntax as a Computer Model of Space B. Jiang† and C. Claramunt‡ † Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis University College London 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK Tel: +44 171 391 1255, Fax: +44 171 813 2843 Email: b.jiang@ucl.ac.uk ‡ Department of Computing The Nottingham Trent University Nottingham, NG1 4BU, UK Tel: +44 115 848 4289, Fax: +44 115 948 6518 Email: clac@doc.ntu.ac.uk Abstract Over the past two decades, space syntax has been extensively researched with a considerable amount of empirical case studies (Hillier and Hanson 1984, Hillier 1996). It has been found that space syntax can be a valuable tool for the prediction of people’s movement in urban environments. Basic to this finding is the relationship between human spatial behaviour and urban morphological structure, i.e. how people’s movement is affected by spatial perception. This paper intends to provide an analysis, based a comparison study, of space syntax as a computer model of space, i.e. a unique vision of space syntax in spatial modelling from the point of views of spatial perception and cognition. In this context, space syntax is examined in details in terms of representation and analysis capabilities, in comparison to the human and computer models of space in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We believe that such a discussion can benefit to the space syntax research community by providing more evidence to support space syntax as a valuable tool for many disciplines and application areas. Keywords: Space syntax, spatial behaviour, urban configuration, GIS. 1. Introduction Conceptualisations of geographical spaces are based on the application of different paradigms, for example, from cognitive to symbolic spaces, and from physical to experiential spaces. Over the past two decades, space syntax has appeared as a new language to describe space in the study of the complexity and spatial patterns of modern cities. From its origin in urban research, space syntax proposes a language of space that could be of interest for many research and application areas involved in the description and analysis of spatial patterns. We believe that space syntax could provide a new vision of space for the representation of urban systems within GIS, and more generally for systems dealing with spatial configurations. However, to achieve such an objective some further theoretical developments are still required. As stated in (Hillier 1998), “Space syntax analysis turned attention away from geometrical notions of spatial order and pointed to spatial-functional patterns which are formally speaking