The spatial analysis of the street network in the neighborhoods of Al-Hayy and Al-Muwaffaqiya using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Abstract

This study seeks to apply some quantitative methods using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to collect, process, display, analyze and interpret descriptive geospatial data of the street network in the districts of Al-Hay and Al-Muwafaqiya, with the aim of identifying the reality of the street network in terms of its degree of connectivity and ease of access, in addition to analyzing the relationship between the density of the street network in relation to population, area and vehicles. The results of the Shambel index showed the possibility of access according to the number of connections to urban nodes, indicating that the lowest value was achieved in Al-Hay district, as the number of nodes reached (16) nodes, which represents the highest ideal degree of connectivity when compared to the rest of the nodes, represented by the nodes of Al-Hay and Al-Mofaqia districts, while the highest value was at node (228), which is considered the lowest degree of connectivity to the rest of the nodes. By applying the Gamma index, the result of the index was 0.22 for Al-Hay district, 0.23 for Al-Mofaqia district, and 0.30 for Al-Bishara district. This indicates that the street network is non-existent according to the value of the index, which was less than one for all districts and sub-districts of the study area. Therefore, the study recommended the need to work on increasing many street connections between urban areas directly, in order to raise the efficiency of the network and increase the degree of its interconnection and integration.