Exploring the relationship between interface types and street centrality in Nova Zabudova (Kyiv, Ukraine)

The configuration of buildings’ facades and, in particular, of facades located at the ground floor is fundamental for urban vibrancy and pedestrian activity at the street level. Equally important is the relationship between the configuration of such facades (e.g. transparency, opaqueness, blank) and street centrality. Suboptimal combinations (e.g. blank facades in streets with high levels of centrality and thus potential through-passage) may undermine urban vibrancy and liveliness. While there exist studies on the relationship between street centrality and density of commerce and services, systematic assessments of the relationship between the configuration of ground floors and street centrality are very limited. In this work, we propose a mixed method to, first, classify ground floor facades in types and, second, analyse the relationship between the ratios of such types and three metrics of street centrality (i.e. betweenness, closeness and straightness) through correlation analysis. This approach is applied to Nova Zabudova, a historical neighbourhood located in central Kyiv, Ukraine. More specifically, first, ground floor facades pertaining to each building are mapped according to the methodology; second, ratios of interface types and centrality metrics are computed for each street in the study area; third, relationships are assessed statistically through correlation test. Coefficients are overall weak suggesting a feeble correspondence between interface types and street centrality metrics in Nova Zabudova. However, a clear trend is visible: more active interface types correlate with all the street centrality metrics considered while inactive interface types are inversely correlated with them.