Urban Analysis

XIM: Quantifying the Pedestrian Experience

While the experience of a pedestrian walking through a city is inherently subjective, the physical characteristics that define it are not. The pedestrian's experience exposes the character of a city through his contact, or lack of contact, with the surfaces of buildings. These characteristics can be measured and quantified, informing our understanding of how the built environment shapes the perception of place.

We created an analysis system that quantitatively exposes the different affects urban morphology has on pedestrian experience, beginning with a pedestrian's field of view.

Floor Area Ratio: NYC vs LD

Floor Area Ratio: NYC vs LD

Floor Area Ratio, the ratio of the total building floor area to the lot area, is a common measurement system used to regulated the density of buildings. Most cities use floor area ratio (FAR) as part of their zoning regulations. Both New York City and London use FAR, but they measure it in different ways, resulting in different representations in density.