At present there is a great progress of information technology which can be seen especially in the area of geographical information systems. The indivisible part of these systems are allocation analysis and locational analysis. The Urban Network Analyst tool can be described as a locational analysis, too.
The UNA tool brings new course to these types of analyses. The testing of this tool was the primary assignment of the Bachelor’s dissertation. The network analysis is often used in non-spatial studies but less often in spatial analyses of cities. It is based on three main attributes which make this tool more suitable for spatial network analyses. The computational procedure is based on geometry analysis and the distance in input networks. On top of that, there are buildings processed and these buildings are seen as a special element of the network analysis. In conclusion, the two neighbouring buildings on the same street can represent different accessibility. There is a possibility of assigning the weight to the buildings as a last, mandatory step. The weights are assigned to the buildings on the basis of their factual attributes. These attributes can be defined as the number of flats or the occupants.
The full tools of Urban Network Analyst consist of two basic parts in actual version. The first one is the centrality tool and the second one is the redundancy tool. The centrality tool can be used for computation of five types of analysis in the spatial network – reach, gravity, betweennes, closeness and straightness. For example, the reach measure can be used to estimate the number of particular type destinations – buildings, jobs, etc. The tools for computation of redundancy were discussed only in the theoretical part but they were not part of the instruction. The tools of redundancy were not tested in the practical part.
The aim of the Bachelor’s dissertation was a complex representation of the Urban Network Analyst tool, test of its functionality, and further application in topics choice of social and economic geography in Olomouc. The constituent results are mainly thematic maps, tables and comments. An important part is dedicated to the instruction for work with the Urban Network Analyst tool which can be found on the website.
The tools are aimed at urban designers, architects, planners, geographers, and spatial analysts who are interested in studying the spatial configurations of cities and their related social, economic, and environmental processes.
Autor: Jakub Vrkoč
Vedoucí práce:
RNDr. Jaroslav Burian, Ph.D