Network-Scape Metric Analysis for Celluar Pattern Analysis in Urban Street Networks

The networks composition and configuration of the different types of cells in street networks constitute specific network-scapes. Inspired by the similarity between cell in road network and patch in landscape ecology, this paper references landscape metrics in landscape pattern analysis, and proposes a new approach for street networks pattern analysis-network-scape metric analysis. The procedure of the approach is to build cells and assign the types based on types of enclosing roads, and then the metrics of network-scape were computed. An exploratory analysis was performed, in which a correlation analysis and factor analysis are combined. We explained the meanings of main factors and representative metrics in the field of street networks analysis. Through this approach, 24 metrics were computed for 34 Chinese urban street networks, and four main factors were found, which are labeled:spatial distribution and diversity, maximum size and elongation variation, average elongation, and average size and shape complexity. These factors can reflect charac-teristics of street networks, including clustering and dispersion, type disversity, and shape regularity.