Urban Network Analysis (UNA) refers to the Urban Network Analysis Toolbox developed by the City Form Lab to calculate five different centrality measures when applied to a spatial network. When considering a city’s street network, most network analysis methods will consider the street network in terms of nodes (eg: intersections) and edges (eg: streets). Both formal network analysis as well as its derivatives, such as Space Syntax, focus upon the design of the street network while simultaneously discounting the relationship of the surrounding built environment. By applying a tripartite network to the calculation of centrality that is inclusive of buildings, intersections, and streets, Urban Network Analysis begins to address existing issues by accounting for a city’s wider built environment. In terms of movement focused studies, this provides a new means of considering what urban factors, beyond a city’s street network design, influenced movement through a built landscape. .
For examples of the application of Urban Network Analysis to archaeological research, see here.
