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The Spatial Signature of the Enclosure Paradigm in Chinese Housing: Evidence from Twelve Housing Areas

Yang, Yufeng; Vaughan, Laura; (2022) The Spatial Signature of the Enclosure Paradigm in Chinese Housing: Evidence from Twelve Housing Areas. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Space Syntax Symposium (13SSS). (pp. pp. 1-25). Western Norway University of Applied Sciences Green open access

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Abstract

‘Enclosure, hierarchy and repetition’ became a leading paradigm for housing design, especially in the West after WWII. This paradigm began to be questioned in the Anglophone literature, notably in early space syntax research. However, enclosed housing forms were a commonplace architectural solution for the past centuries in China. Consequently, little attention has been paid to date to the social constitution and spatial layout of Chinese enclosed housing areas, particularly from a configurational perspective. Therefore, this paper aims to unravel the spatial signature of the enclosure paradigm in China by comparing six pairs of gated and non-gated housing schemes in the city of Wuhan. We compared the paired cases in relation to: (i) their setting within the city; (ii) tensions between peripheral and internal measures of centrality; (iii) multi-scale spatial cores; and (iv) overlap between potential to- and through-movement. We also aggregated land-use data at the junction segment level and compared functional density and diversity as an additional measure of local vs. neighbourhood vitality. Our evidence suggests that compared with their non-gated counterparts, the gated housing estates are overall more segregated. Even if the gated estates occasionally demonstrate higher centrality on the periphery, their internal spaces are relatively isolated. Additionally, the gated compounds reveal a weaker overlap between movements, implying a lower likelihood of encounters. Furthermore, the gated estates tend to be mono-functional enclaves with lower functional density and diversity. We conclude that designing housing with the enclosure paradigm may contribute to an absence of internal vitality.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: The Spatial Signature of the Enclosure Paradigm in Chinese Housing: Evidence from Twelve Housing Areas
Event: 13th International Space Syntax Symposium
Location: Western Norway University, Bergen, Norway
Dates: 20th-24th June 2022
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://www.hvl.no/contentassets/33ac48edb59d4f4ea...
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Keywords: Gated housing, Enclosure paradigm, Housing form, Street centrality, Functional use
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10154292
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