Smart city and spatial configuration: assessing accessibility and intelligibility to increase mobility in the George Town heritage site, Malaysia

A combination of irregular and grid street structures significantly enhances pedestrian accessibility while reducing vehicle mobility in George Town, Malaysia. This finding emerges from a space syntax analysis using DepthmapX software, which assessed spatial integration accessibility (SIA) and angular segment analysis by metric distance (ASDMA). The study revealed that merging old gridiron patterns with modern planned grids improves pedestrian movement but compromises vehicle access. These insights underscore the need for strategic urban planning in historical contexts to balance mobility inequalities, offering valuable lessons for smart city development.

Safizadeh, M., Maghsoodi Tilaki, M. J., Hedayati Marzbali, M., & Abdullah, A. (2022). Smart city and spatial configuration: assessing accessibility and intelligibility to increase mobility in the George Town heritage site, Malaysia. Open House International, 48(3), 521–541. https://doi.org/10.1108/ohi-06-2022-0150