Complex network, map generalization, urban design and planning, spatial cognition

Internalising the costs of fragmentation and nutrient deposition in spatial planning: Extending a decision support tool for the Netherlands

by Maarten Hilferink

Dragonfly: An Ecological Approach to Digital Architectural Design

by Michael J. Braund

Published in ACADIA 2011: Integration Through Computation, ed. by J.M. Taron, V. Parlac, B. Kolarevic and J.S. Johnson, pp.178-186. Stroughton, WI: The Printing House, 2011.

(Co-authored with Daniel Hambleton)

In his keynote address delivered to The American Society for Esthetics in 1976, James J. Gibson wrote, “Architecture... more In his keynote address delivered to The American Society for Esthetics in 1976, James J. Gibson wrote, “Architecture and design do not have a satisfactory theoretical basis.” He then asked, “Can an ecological approach to the psychology of perception and behavior provide it?” (1976, p. 413) We believe that it can, at least in part. In this paper, we expand upon Gibson’s insights into the nature of perceptual experience by applying the concept of “affordances” to the design of architectural objects in general, and to the domain of digital architectural design in particular. On our account, the affordance-concept supplies a useful theoretical basis for conceptualizing the relationship between environments and occupants with respect to the form and behavioral meaning of geometrically constructed layouts.

Donald Norman (1988) first introduced affordances to interaction design theorists, as a conceptual tool for predicting how agents will interact with a given product. The extensive body of literature that has since emerged, from human-computer-interaction studies (Ackerman, 1996; Conn, 1995; Moran, 1997; Norman, 1999) to architectural theory and practice (Koutamanis, 2006; Maier and Fadel, 2009), has followed Norman’s lead in defining affordances, somewhat amorphously, as whichever action-related properties of objects are sufficient to elicit the intended forms of behavioral interaction between the agent and object. However, while this is correct, it is only half the story. It leaves unexplained how human perceivers detect and “pair down” on the potentially vast range of possible affordances (at a given time), to select the ones that will be relevant to the coordination and guidance of the targeted actions. Call this the “selectivity problem,” a proper treatment of which is missing from the literature. This is no small matter. If the theory of affordances is to be useful to architects and designers, if it is to have explanatory and predictive power over how perceivers will interact with their surroundings, then some account of the cognitive procedure by which affordances are selected for the deployment of specific behaviors is necessary. Otherwise, it is unclear what the theory hopes to predict or explain.

To this end, we maintain that the couching of affordances in a framework of human intentionality is not only consistent with Gibson’s theoretical views (i.e., the action-oriented definition of the concept of affordances not only suggests an intentional perspective), indeed, such a perspective is necessary if we are to succeed in implementing the affordance-concept into an architectural design context in a way that addresses the selectivity problem. This is one of the goals of “Dragonfly,” a first attempt at implementing the affordance-based control of perceptually guided-action into a digital design simulation. Dragonfly enables human interaction with geometry by encoding the basic principles of ecological psychology (including a rudimentary form of intentionality) into an interactive CAD environment. New vistas for future research and interdisciplinary approaches to design are then discussed, with a special emphasis on their applicability to architecture.

Pareto Optimal Multiobjective Optimization for Robust Transportation Network Design Problem

by Sushant Sharma

Mentálne reprezentácie priestoru a ich súvislosť s priestorovým správaním človeka

by Katarína Böhmová

Bachelor thesis

One of the most frequent human activities is targeted moving, that has a condition of using mental capacity assigned... more One of the most frequent human activities is targeted moving, that has a condition of using mental capacity assigned to processing spatial perceptions – using of mental representations of space. In the work there are characteristics of cognitive maps and their connections to the frequency of using elaborated. Emanating from Gallistel, Lynch, Murakoshi & Kawai and Coshall there is hypothesis about more precise topological representation together with high using frequency testified. Second hypothesis of this work – the more frequent ways are represented as shorter – is testified on the part of respondents only. Hypotheses are testified / contradicted on the basis of interviews analyzing, observations, but sketch maps mostly – geometry (lengths, angles) and topology. In the discussion there are analyzed implications resulting from analysis: acquiring knowledge about geometry and topology of space and differences between acquiring them, mental representations relating to woman and mothers on maternity leave as a special category and at last reasoning of inaccurate right angle drawing by students.

Keywords: cognitive maps, mental representations of space, frequency of using ways, geometry, topology, lengths, angles, angles sizes, often, unusual, mothers, students, women, sketch maps, map analysis

Jednou z najčastejších činností človeka je cielený pohyb, ktorého podmienkou je používanie mentálnej kapacity určenej na spracovanie vnemov z priestoru – používanie mentálnych reprezentácií priestoru. Práca rozoberá vlastnosti kognitívnych máp a ich spojitosť s frekvenciou používania ciest. Vychádzajúc z Gallistela, Lyncha, Murakoshiho & Kawaia a Coshalla je v práci na základe analýzy dát terénneho výskumu potvrdená hypotéza o presnejšej topologickej reprezentácii pri vysokej frekvencii používania ciest. Druhá hypotéza tejto práce – častejšie používané cesty reprezentované ako kratšie – je potvrdená iba na časti respondentoch. Hypotézy sú potvrdené / vyvrátené na základe analýzy interview, pozorovaní, ale najmä analýzy náčrtových máp – geometrie (vzdialenosti, uhly) a topológie. V diskusii sú rozobraté implikácie plynúce z výsledkov analýzy: osvojovanie si geometrie a topológie priestoru a rozdiely medzi nimi, mentálne reprezentácie týkajúce sa žien a mamičiek na materskej dovolenke ako osobitnej kategórie a na poslednom mieste zdôvodnenie nepresného zakresľovania pravého uhla študentmi.

Kľúčové slová: kognitívne mapy, mentálne reprezentácie priestoru, frekvencia používania ciest, vzdialenosti, dĺžky, uhly, veľkosti uhlov, častejšie cesty, zriedkavejšie cesty, mamičky, študenti, ženy, náčrtové mapy, analýza máp

Boracay Comprehensive Map

by Historically Digitized

Grouping genetic operators for the delineation of functional areas based on spatial interaction

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Martínez-Bernabeu, L.; Flórez-Revuelta, F. y Casado-Díaz, J.M. (2012) “Grouping genetic operators for the delineation of functional areas based on spatial interaction”, Expert Systems with Applications, Volume 39, Issue 8, 15 June 2012, Pages 6754–6766 - doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2011.12.026.

The delineation of functional economic areas, or market areas, is a combinatorial optimisation problem, defined as the... more The delineation of functional economic areas, or market areas, is a combinatorial optimisation problem, defined as the partition of a given set of indivisible spatial units (covering a territory) into regions with high cohesion and self-containment —in terms of spatial interaction data: flows— under constraints of size, self-containment and/or continuity, typicaly solved with greedy methods. An evolutionary algorithm with many tailored operators for the delimitation of Labour Market Areas was recently proposed. This algorithm allowed finding better solutions but was very time consuming, this hampering its use in large real-world problems.
In this paper we present several group-based mutation operators featuring general unary and binary operations over disjoint groups, tailored to tackle with that problem. A comparative analysis of our approach with a greedy algorithm and the previous evolutionary proposals shows that our algorithm always gives better results concerning both quality and time consumed (except for the greedy), and is able to tackle with large real-world problems in reasonable time.

Keywords: functional areas, local market, evolutionary algorithm, grouping problem, regionalisation, combinatorial optimisation

Adams, N., Cotella, G. and Nunes, R. (eds) 2011. Territorial Development, Cohesion and Spatial Planning. Knowledge and Policy Development in an Enlarged EU. Routledge: London

by Richard J. Nunes

This book examines some of the evolving challenges faced by EU regional policy in light of enlargement and to assess... more This book examines some of the evolving challenges faced by EU regional policy in light of enlargement and to assess some of the approaches and trends in terms of territorial development policy and practice that are emerging out of this process. Focusing on the experiences on Central and Eastern Europe, these chapters reflect on the diversity of approaches to spatial planning and the the politics of policy formation and multi-level governance operations – from local to trans-national agendas.

Promoting increased awareness and understanding of these issues is the main purpose of the book, as well as harnessing the extensive capacity and ‘knowledge’ within these countries that can greatly enrich the discourse within an enlarged ‘epistemic community’ of European spatial planning academics, practitioners and policy-makers. The recently acquired CEE dimension provides a unique opportunity to examine the evolution of existing ‘epistemic communities’ as well as to explore the potential emergence of new ones.

Larsson, S. A pluralist view of generalisation in qualitative studies.

by Staffan Larsson

Published in the International Journal of Research & Mtehod in Education

A common way of discussing generalisation is to search for one conception – a monist view. Another approach is to... more A common way of discussing generalisation is to search for one conception – a monist view. Another approach is to create a dichotomy between quantitative and qualitative research, each having a single definition – a dualist perspective. A pluralist view is argued for here, i.e. the existence of several lines of reasoning, each of which can be evaluated in specific cases in terms of usefulness, strengths and weaknesses. Five different lines of reasoning about generalization, which could possibly be useful in qualitative research, are presented. Each is critically commented on.

Deixis, indexicality and pointing as heuristic guides for enactive listening: route description, cue abstraction and cognitive maps.

by Mark Reybrouck

This article has been presented at the 5th Triennal ESCOM Conference 8-13 september 2003 in Hanover University of Music and Drama, Germany.

Listening to music calls forth a construction of meaning as the result of an interaction with the sound. This process... more Listening to music calls forth a construction of meaning as the result of an interaction with the sound. This process of sense-making can keep pace with the unfolding through time but it can keep distance with respect to the sonorous unfolding as well, allowing the listener to deal with music both at the level of sensory experience and at the level of imagery and representation.As such we argue for an enactive approach to music cognition that brings together the experiential and cognitive points of view.We provide the concept of pointing as a heuristic tool for sense-making, both as a primitive marking system and as a mechanism of selection. It allows us to use deictic devices which locate individual elements in context and stress the field of pointing rather than the symbolic field of cognition. Deictic elements, furhter, are related to the concept of indexicality which entails processes of singling out, as is obvious from the use of pragmatic anaphora which allows us to refer back and forward in a text. In order to do so we must have access to the flow of discourse as a whole, where parts may be re-taken up and anticipated. It invites the listener to build route-descriptions and cognitive maps which allow him/her to navigate mentally through the music and to compare the actual sounding elements with their projections in imagery.

Ontology and Spatial Planning

by Beniamino Murgante

Murgante B., Scorza F.(2011) “Ontology and spatial planning” Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 6783, pp. 255–264. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. ISSN: 0302-9743 doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-21887-3_20

In last decades a key problem in adopting technologies in planning process was a chronic lack of data. But in recent... more In last decades a key problem in adopting technologies in planning process was a chronic lack of data. But in recent times, such problem was inverted due to the overabundance of data produced in different periods, with various purposes, at multiple scales and with different cognitive models. This situation generated three types of barriers to data interoperability: bureaucratic, technological, semantic. While the first two issues have been solved taking various initiatives, the last one could be solved using ontologies. Concepts are the cornerstone of the ontology, but it is not easy to define a concept without any ambiguity, discordance or vagueness. A concept can be clear or not; ambiguity occurs when a concept is not much clear; while discordance arises when an agreement is missing. If the concept definition can present some incoherence, the broad boundaries model can be useful in Ontology representation. This model is an extension of the 9-intersection model used for the topological relationship among geographical objects. The model with broad boundaries deals with uncertainty in spatial data taking into account ill defined aspects. This model is based on the definitions of inner and broad boundaries. Using this model in Ontology field, the inner boundary is the edge of the part of a concept without doubts and the broad boundary is the grey zone, with a certain level of uncertainty, useful to represent ambiguity, discordance and vagueness. Topology rules represent the relationship among concepts. If two concepts are identical, the “equal” rule can be used; if they share some parts, the “overlap” rule is suitable. If two concepts are completely different, the “disjoint” rule can be applied. If a concept is a subset of another, there are several rules which can help us (“covers”, “covered by”, “contains” and “inside”). In case all concepts are clear, these relationships can be modelled using the 9-intersection model. The way to define the part of concept included inside the inner boundary and the other one included in the broad boundary can be achieved using rough set theory. All the aspects of a concept classified in the same way represent the indiscernible part of the concept and are included inside lower approximation (inner boundary). The remaining part represents an uncertainty zone and it falls within the upper approximation (outer boundary). The measure of the degree of uncertainty inside the upper approximation can be modelled using fuzzy set theory. This approach has been tested with several concepts particularly suitable to verify the hypothesis.


Keywords  Ontology – Spatial Planning – Semantic Interoperability – Planning Documents – Rough Set

Influence of the technique of chromatic differentiation in the schematic maps of orientation in systems of internal signaling

by Janayna Velozo de Souza

Published in December 7th, 2007 at 7º USIHC (International Conference of Ergonomics and Usability of Human-Computer Interfaces) - Brazil - http://www.ergodesign-usihc.com.br/interna.php?id=2
ISBN: 8590286258

Color, as an informational element and graphic tool applied by the usability of informational systems, influences the... more Color, as an informational element and graphic tool applied by the usability of informational systems, influences the visibility, legibility and hability of recognizing and understanding visual elements of graphic systems. The aim of this article is to verify, through experimental research, the influence of color coding on the usability of schematic wayfinding maps. More specifically, three different versions of one map will be analysed, where the basic structure will be maintained, changing only it color coding. This paper will investigate how this variation behaves with the system users, to study the beneficts of the color coding technique on internal signing systems.

(Full article in portuguese)

Effects of graphic differentiation in the acquisition of spatial knowledge by users of hypertext

by Janayna Velozo de Souza

Co-authored with Prof. Dr. Stephania Padovani,

Published in December, 2006, at At 14º ABERGO (14th International Conference of Ergonomics and Usability of Human-Technology Interface) – Brazil - http://www.abergo.org.br
ISBN: 85-89211-05-3

This study focus on spatial learning acquisition by hypertext users as a consequence (incidental learning) of the... more This study focus on spatial learning acquisition by hypertext users as a consequence (incidental learning) of the navigation process. We investigated the effects of graphic differentiation (applied to the screens and the global map within a hypertext system) upon the acquisition of spatial knowledge through an experimental research involving 60 users. The results confirmed the effects of both colour differentiation and pictorial differentiation in not always coincident aspects, suggesting that different kinds of differentiation may produce different effects. Future work should explore the combination of differentiation techniques.

(full article in portuguese)

Improving the usability of navigation maps in hypertexts by means of graphic techniques of differentiation

by Janayna Velozo de Souza

Co-authored with Prof. Dr. Stephania Padovani.

Published in December 22nd, 2007, at Brazilian Journal of Information Design (Info Design), edited by SBDI - Brazilian Society of Information Design - http://www.infodesign.org.br/
ISSN/ISBN: 1808-5377

The usability of a system is defined as its capability of being used easily and effectively by a specific range of... more The usability of a system is defined as its capability of being used easily and effectively by a specific range of users to perform a specific range of tasks within a specific range of environments. Aiming to investigate the effects of graphic differentiation techniques upon site map usability, this article summarises the results of three experimental studies, when three different versions of a site map were tested with sixty users. Initially, a map without differentiation was tested and users interviewed. In the second phase, a map with colour coding was tested, which was followed by the tests involving a map with pictorial differentiation. Results demonstrated several benefits of the application of differentiation techniques in terms of performance and user satisfaction.

(full article in portuguese)

An evolutive approach for the delineation of local labour markets

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Flórez-Revuelta, F.; Casado-Díaz, J.M. y Martínez-Bernabeu, L. (2006) “An evolutive approach for the delineation of local labour markets” Parallel Problem Solving from Nature - PPSN IX, serie Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 4193, Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 342-351.

This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labour markets based on evolutionary computation. The... more This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labour markets based on evolutionary computation. The main objective is the regionalisation of a given territory into functional regions based on commuting flows. According to the relevant literature, such regions are defined so that (a) their boundaries are rarely crossed in daily journeys to work, and (b) a high degree of intra-area movement exists. This proposal merges municipalities into functional regions by maximizing a fitness function that measures aggregate intra-region interaction under constraints of inter-region separation and minimum size. Real results are presented based on the latest database from the Census of Population in the Region of Valencia. Comparison between the results obtained through the official method which currently is most widely used (that of British Travel-to-Work Areas) and those from our approach is also presented, showing important improvements in terms of both the number of different market areas identified that meet the statistical criteria and the degree of aggregate intra-market interaction.

Movilidad cotidiana y mercados locales de trabajo en la Comunidad Valenciana, 1991-2001 (Commuting and Local Labour Markets in the Region of Valencia, Spain, 1991-2001 - text in Spanish - long abstract in English)

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Salom Carrasco, J. y Casado Díaz, JM (2007) “Movilidad cotidiana y mercados locales de trabajo en la Comunidad Valenciana, 1991-2001”, Boletín de la AGE, nº. 44, 5-28.

Los autores agradecen el apoyo del Ministerio de Fomento, dentro del Plan Nacional de I+D+i en materia de transporte (proyecto Movilidad residencia-trabajo: nuevos métodos para el análisis de sus determinantes y efectos, MOVICO, ref. T 75/2006.

En este trabajo se analiza la evolución de la movilidad residencia-trabajo en la Comunidad Valenciana entre 1991 y... more En este trabajo se analiza la evolución de la movilidad residencia-trabajo en la Comunidad Valenciana entre 1991 y 2001 y se delimitan para ambos años los mercados locales de trabajo (MLT) valencianos mediante una variación del procedimiento empleado en el Reino Unido para la definición de las denominadas Travel-to-Work Areas. Esta regionalización permite superar el concepto administrativo de municipio/ciudad e identificar áreas funcionales coherentes con los nuevos modelos urbanos derivados del aumento generalizado de la movilidad de la población y el surgimiento de la ‘ciudad difusa’.

Palabras clave: movilidad residencia-trabajo (commuting), mercados locales de trabajo, áreas funcionales, Comunidad Valenciana.

Long abstract in English: http://age.ieg.csic.es/boletin/44/16-salom-articles.pdf

Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithms for the Delineation of Local Labour Markets

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Flórez-Revuelta, F.; Casado-Díaz, J.M.; Martínez-Bernabeu, L (2009) “Adaptive Evolutionary Algorithms for the Delineation of Local Labour Markets” IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, CEC 2009, art. no. 4983234, pp. 2354-2360 (ISBN: 978-1-4244-2958-5).

Given a territory composed of basic geographical units, the delineation of local labour market areas (LLMAs) can be... more Given a territory composed of basic geographical units, the delineation of local labour market areas (LLMAs) can be seen as a problem in which those units are grouped subject to multiple constraints. In previous research, standard genetic algorithms were not able to find valid solutions, and a specific evolutionary algorithm was developed. The inclusion of multiple ad hoc operators allowed the algorithm to find better solutions than those of a widely-used greedy method. The experimentation process showed that the rate of success of each operator in generating good individuals is different and evolves with time. We therefore propose different adaptive alternatives that modify the probabilities of application of each operator throughout the evolutionary process, and compare the results of such adaptive approaches with previous results and a greedy method.

An evolutionary approach to the delineation of functional areas based on travel-to-work flows

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Flórez-Revuelta, F.; Casado-Díaz, J.M.; Martínez-Bernabeu, L. (2008) “An evolutionary approach to the delineation of functional areas based on travel-to-work flows”, International Journal of Automation and Computing, Vol. 5; nº 1; 10-21.

This work was supported by Spanish National Plan of R+D+i from Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia) for the project Local Labour Markets: New Methods of Delineation and Analysis (No. SEJ2007-67767-C04-02), ERDF, the European Social Fund (ESF) and the University of Alicante.

This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labor markets based on evolutionary computation. The... more This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labor markets based on evolutionary computation. The aim of the exercise is the division of a given territory into functional regions based on travel-to-work flows. Such regions are defined so that a high degree of inter-regional separation and of intra-regional integration in both cases in terms of commuting flows is guaranteed. Additional requirements include the absence of overlap between delineated regions and the exhaustive coverage of the whole territory. The procedure is based on the maximization of a fitness function that measures aggregate intra-region interaction under constraints of inter-region separation and minimum size. In the experimentation stage, two variations of the fitness function are used, and the process is also applied as a final stage for the optimization of the results from one of the most successful existing methods, which are used by the British authorities for the delineation of travel-to-work areas (TTWAs). The empirical exercise is conducted using real data for a sufficiently large territory that is considered to be representative given the density and variety of travel-to-work patterns that it embraces. The paper includes the quantitative comparison with alternative traditional methods, the assessment of the performance of the set of operators which has been specifically designed to handle the regionalization problem and the evaluation of the convergence process. The robustness of the solutions, something crucial in a research and policy-making context, is also discussed in the paper.

Keywords  Evolutionary computation - regional science - economics - optimization methods

A Memetic Algorithm for the Delineation of Local Labour Markets

by José M. Casado-Díaz

Flórez-Revuelta, F.; Casado-Díaz, JM; Martínez-Bernabeu, L. and Gómez-Hernández, R. (2008) “A Memetic Algorithm for the Delineation of Local Labour Markets”, Parallel Problem Solving from Nature PPSN X, Berlín: Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 1011-1020.

Acknowledgments. Jos´e M. Casado-D´ıaz has received financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Transports (Ministerio de Fomento) for the project ”New methods for the analysis of the determinants and effects of commuting flows (MOVICO)” under Grant T 75/2006 (Spanish National Plan of A+D+i). Lucas Mart´ınez-Bernabeu acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, the European Social Fund (ESF) and the University of Alicante. Raúl Gómez-Hernández acknowledges financial support from the University of Alicante.

Given a territory composed of basic geographical units, the delineation of local labour market areas (LLMAs) can be... more Given a territory composed of basic geographical units, the delineation of local labour market areas (LLMAs) can be seen as a problem in which those units are grouped subject to multiple constraints. In previous research, standard genetic algorithms were not able to find valid solutions, and a specific evolutionary algorithm was developed. The inclusion of multiple ad hoc operators allowed the algorithm to find better solutions than those of a widely-used greedy method. However, the percentage of invalid solutions was still very high. In this paper we improve that evolutionary algorithm through the inclusion of (i) a reparation process, that allows every invalid individual to fulfil the constraints and contribute to the evolution, and (ii) a hillclimbing optimisation procedure for each generated individual by means of an appropriate reassignment of some of its constituent units. We compare the results of both techniques against the previous results and a greedy method.

Keywords  memetic algorithm - evolutionary computation - regionalization - zone design - combinatorial optimization