City Space Syntax as a Complex Network

The encoding of cities into non-planar dual graphs reveals their complex structure. We investigate the statistics of the typical space syntax measures for the five different compact urban patterns. Universal statistical behavior of space syntax measures uncovers the universality of the city creation mechanism. 1 Paradigm of a city Although, nowadays the majority of people live in cities [1] there is no one standard international definition of a city: the term may be used either for a town possessing city status; for an urban locality exceeding an arbitrary population size; for a town dominating other towns with particular regional economic or administrative significance. In most parts of the world, cities are generally substantial and nearly always have an urban core, but in the US many incorporated areas which have a very modest population, or a suburban or even mostly rural character, are designated as cities.