A coupled configurational description of boundary shape based on distance and directionality

摘要

A configurational method for describing shape is proposed based on two measures that gauge human experiences of moving through space: distance and changes in direction of travel. Boundary shapes from the built environment and nature are studied in a morphospace composed of two axes: one corresponding to each measure, to yield a typological classification of form. It is shown that the covariance between distance and directionality is mediated by the topological structure of embedded main circulation. Three kinds of circulation-elementary, ring, and linear-thus affect three fundamentally different balancing conditions between distance and directionality in boundary shapes. The analysis of large samples of shapes thus far demonstrates a "unique shape" status, where no two different shapes have the same pair of relative distance and directional fragmentation values.