Analysing the Urban Morphological Resilience of Heritage Areas: A Space Syntax Study of Kandy, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyse this urban morphological resilience, focusing the Heritage Urban Area of Kandy. By using Space Syntax analysis as the primary methodology, the Heritage Urban area is assessed through Global Integration (Rn), Local Integration (R400) and Connectivity measures using QGIS toolkit and DepthmapX. As the supporting study, a Morphological Spatial Mapping exercise is used which classifies urban elements in the study area as either Static Urban Elements or a Dynamic Urban Elements. Synthesis of these two methods produce evaluation framework with four zones; Resilient Zone, Vulnerability Zone, Stress Zone and Adaptability Zone. Inferences of this research confirms that, Kandy consists of a singular linear spatial corridor that amplifies the unmanageable congestion in Kandy’s geographical bottleneck. Furthermore, Kandy’s downtown gird city and colonial commercial area have the highest integration values and contributes the most to the resilience of the city. However, the critical finding becomes the Temple of Tooth Relic and the Kandy Lake surrounding which are the cultural cornerstones falling under Vulnerability zone. These two spatial elements with low integration limit the accessibility for pedestrians and becomes extremely fragile for the contemporary urban developments. The other key finding is that Bogambara Prison Complex becomes an improper resilience zone, where it occupies a structurally critical location while remain functionally inactive. This research concludes with an evaluation framework based on four zones system, that provides a replicable spatial logic tool to assess future development proposals in Kandy and similar heritage sites.