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Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study
Bernd Eisenberg
University of Stuttgart, Germany
be@ilpoe.uni-stuttgart.de
Abstract
The city of Hamburg is frequently cited as a model for a well structured city region. Its
concept of development axes that reach far into the neighbouring region can be found in
all planning guidelines over the last eighty years.
By contrast, the configurative analyses of the City of Hamburg reveal a city with a
heterogeneous and fragmented structure. The integration maps of Hamburg - focussing
on the area contained within a metric radius of 8 km around the central Rathausmarkt -
indicate a triangular shaped global integration core situated 1.5 km - 3.5 km Northwest of
the actual city centre. Various cores of local integration that are highlighted as subcentres
in planning guidelines are grouped around the central Alster lake, but the typical radial
structure of Hamburg is not reflected in the analysis of the inner city area. It seems that
integration maps depict only some of the morphological properties of the city, presenting
an incomplete image of the city.
An analysis of extensive observations of pedestrian movements also highlights the
diverse morphology evident throughout the city of Hamburg. Also a comparative analyses
of the 19th and 20th century configurations of the city centre is being made, illustrating
the fundamental change from a traditional harbour city to a modern city.
This paper seeks to question whether planning visions or configurative analyses are
sufficient when it comes to providing a full picture of Hamburg’s morphology. It argues
that the distinct location at the estuary of the Alster and Elbe rivers and especially the
proximity of the Alster lake - known as the ‘Aussen Alster’ - as a predominant feature
are crucial elements in the city’s configuration. The distortion of the urban grid by the
Aussen Alster is represented in the anomaly of the global integration pattern. A barrier
value is introduced to describe this effect for urban morphology.
1. General project overview
The analyses presented in this paper are part of a research project undertaken at the
Institute for Landscape Planning and Ecology (ILPE) at the University of Stuttgart -a
project which focuses on the implementation of space syntax techniques in the field of
open space planning. It is a two tier approach, dealing with the urban environment in
general and with parks in detail.
The project is guided by the assumption that Space Syntax analyses can help us to
picture valuable information about how well parks are integrated into the urban envi-
ronment and also about their usability for the public (Eisenberg 2004). On the general
level, the leading question is “Where do we find parks in an urban environment?” The
analyses of Hamburg’s configurative properties is a first step towards understanding the
urban environment in which parks are located.
342 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 155: Land use map Hamburg, area of concern encircled, central Rathausmarkt
marked (*).
This paper deals only with the axial line representation of spaces - the axial maps.
A configurative picture of central Hamburg is shown, which covers 125 km2 (16% of
Hamburg’s total area), stretching from the river Elbe in the South to the airport in
the North and from the area West of the A7 motorway, to the streets East of Ring 2,
approximately 8 km from the central Rathausmarkt. The housing areas encircled in Figure
155 are high density areas with a large proportion of mixed uses - especially in central
Hamburg and Altona (FHH 1996). Apart from the Eastern edge the area is defined by
distinct barriers. We therefore believe, that the case study area is well defined and describes
a meaningful section of the city of Hamburg.
2. Methodology of the case study
The map used as a basis for digitizing was Deutsche Grundkarte, scale 1 : 5.000 (DGK5).
Following space syntax method, a set of the longest, and fewest axial lines was drawn
through all convex spaces. As a general rule, all streets, squares and public spaces marked
with names on this map were taken into account and they were assumed to be freely
accessible. Areas for industrial parks, public facilities, housing estates and quite extensive
areas of allotments were not digitized, because it was not possible to distinguish between
Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study 343
Figure 156: a, Schumacher’s axial scheme, 1933(FHH 2001); b, Model for landscape axis,
1986 (FHH 2001); c, Logo of the concept, “Green Network Hamburg” (FHH 2001)
accessible and secluded areas.
The theory of producing axial maps presented in the Axman manual (UCL 2003, p.3)
offers little precise description of how to draw axial lines in green open spaces. Usually the
problem is resolved by taking a functional approach. A minimal number of “functional
lines” are drawn from the public entrances, in order to covering the main routes through
the park. This approach does not take into account a park’s internal layout. But at this
stage of the study, the configurative aspects of various parks and greenways were put
to one side, and digitized with their functional axial lines. The base map for the 1880’s
analysis is drawn to a scale of 1:25000. The process by which we generated the axial map
therefore differs from that used for the axial map of 2000, but the actual number of axial
lines is about the same (319/310).
The analysis of the observations takes into consideration 311 weekday. In ArcView GIS
tables, integration values and observations were joined together and analysed with SPSS
software. Since the axial line map was drawn in ArcView GIS in the first place, and since
future analysis (land use, population density etc.) will be conducted with GIS as well, the
Ovation software was used instead of Axman.
3. Planning history of Hamburg
The city of Hamburg developed from its original location on the estuary of the Alster
(running North-South) towards the River Elbe (running East to West). The main part of
the city remained on the East bank of the Alster for several centuries, and was confined to
the North bank of the Elbe for some time, even after it had expanded to cover both banks
of the Alster. In the 19th century the city expanded rapidly in all directions, crossing the
River Elbe to the South.
The radial structure for metropolitan Hamburg was established by town planners some
80 years ago. During the 1920’s, General Planning Officer (Oberbaudirektor) Fritz Schu-
macher established a star shaped structural model for Hamburg’s metropolitan planning
policy. It was symbolized by the “Scheme for the natural development of the organism of
Hamburg” (Schema der nat¨urlichen Entwicklung des Organismus Hamburg, Figure 156a).
As a vision, it guided Hamburg’s planning policy from the period of post war recon-
struction right up until the landuse plan (Fl¨achennutzungsplan) of 1997. Its significance
was also strongly emphasised by the landscape planning authorities, who established the
complementary model for the model of landscape axes (Landschaftsachsenmodell, Figure
344 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 157: a, City Centre of Hamburg 1880; b, City Centre of Hamburg 2000,
LE/OW=59.000 vehicles/24h, LB=67.000 vehicles/24h (DTV-W 2003)
156b) that finally became part of Hamburg’s planning guidelines. The latest offspring of
Schumacher’s axial scheme is the ‘Hamburg’s Green Network’ scheme (Gr¨unes Netz Ham-
burg) of 2001, promoting the idea of a “green ring” structure that connects the landscape
axes approximately 10 km from the central Rathausmarkt (Figure 156c) to a second green
ring structure.
In this paper, we are examining the significance of the radial layout of Greater Hamburg
for the configuration of central Hamburg, in particular the schemes made by landscape
planning authorities which suggest that the radial layout reaches right into the centre of
the city.
4. The Hamburg Case Study
4.1. Hamburg’s city centre: configurative properties 1880 - 2000
For the city centre of Hamburg, two layers of time - 1880 and 2000 - are examined in more
detail. The 1880 map was chosen because it reflects the morphology of central Hamburg
in a pre-industrial state, although it already shows the beginnings of city expansion to
the West and East. The local integration map of 1880 shows a star-like structure with
integrating lines leading from the central Rathausmarkt (Figure 157a R) in all directions
towards the surrounding villages and faubourgs of St. Pauli and St. Georg, Harvestehude,
Eimsb¨uttel, and to the harbour area. The three most integrated lines connect the centre of
Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study 345
Hamburg to the harbour areas; the top ranking axial line runs parallel to the river Alster,
mirroring its importance as one of the major transportation route for the city of Hamburg
in pre industrial times. The two other local integrators connect the central Rathausmarkt
with the harbour areas along the River Elbe.
Comparing these lines with global integration patterns we find the integration core at
a central point - the streets running parallel to the River Alster, and the bridges crossing
it - whereas the locally most integrated lines grouped around it point in all directions.
It is an interwoven system of globally and locally significant axial lines that complement
each other.
One hundred and twenty years later the situation has changed: The locally and globally
most integrated axial lines are oriented from East to West along the post-war Ludwig-
Erhard-Strasse/Ost-West-Strasse (Figure 157b LE, OW) that that divides the commercial
centre from the harbour area. High local integration values can also be found at M¨oncke-
bergstrasse (Figure 157b M) - the major shopping street. The radial local integration
structure has not changed entirely, but the importance of the axial lines connecting to the
old harbour area has declined.
The major change in configurative properties can be described as follows: The pre-
industrial city of Hamburg had a complementary hierarchy of streets, whilst it now has
two separate, non-interacting functional hierarchies. Today’s configuration is dominated
by two separate functional centres; one is Ludwig-Erhard-Strasse, which only has a transit
function, the other is the M¨onckebergstrasse area with a commercial function. Separating
globally important functions within an area usually has consequences for its commercial
viability; in Hamburg’s case, it was probably the reason for its ongoing success. Due to
the change in the street layout, the shopping areas were spared the negative effects of car
traffic.
In the 1880 map, the global integration core of Hamburg was found in the city centre.
By the year 2000, it has moved North. Here, with regard to the rest of the city, globally
integrating axial lines of the city centre have low values. To establish a connecting route
along Ost-West-Strasse and Ludwig-Erhard-Strasse (Figure 157, LE/OW) through the
city, the lines rank as low as 219 out of 6000, contradicting the actual intensity of traffic
movement in this area with 59.000 vehicles/24 h per weekday. Even more surprising are
the traffic counts for the configurative “meaningless” Lombard bridge (LB) with 67.000
vehicles/24 h. In a later secion we will discuss this issue.
4.2. Local Integration r=3 and r=5
The map of local integration 3 (r=3) shows a heterogeneous structure with various centres
of local significance (Figure 158). Three of the best integrated axial lines are in residential
areas - which is not surprising, since they serve mainly as connecting streets for a large
number of residential streets and cul-de-sacs.
By contrast, the other axial lines with high local integration values are thorough-
fares and / or shopping streets of local and city-wide significance (such as the M¨oncke-
bergstrasse). Local integration maps with r=5 were also analysed but, found to contain
fewer local centres than radius 3 maps.
346 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 158: Local integration r=3: min 0.211 max 8.787, mean 2.0154. Residential streets
(RES).
Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study 347
4.3. Local Integration r=7
The map of local integration 7 (r=7) features six distinctive areas with high integration
values: Altona/St. Pauli (AL), Hoheluft (HL), Eppendorf (EP), Hamburger Strasse (HS),
Fuhlsb¨uttler Strasse (FS), Wandsbek (WA) and St. Georg/Hamburg City (CC) (Figure
159). It seems that this indicator captures a more fitting image of the city of Hamburg.
The “central location concept” for economic development that is part of the land use
plan (FHH 1996, FHH 1999, FHH 2003) indicates the same subcentres and also the two
twinned centres Eimsb¨uttel (EI, with HL) and Winterhude (WI, with EP). But these two
and well known wards like Ottensen (OT) and Grindelviertel (GR) do not seem to be on
the same integration level. One reason may be that those sub centres consist of more than
one axial line and are best represented by local routes (Hillier 1999). And in fact the two
step grids for the four centres show 40 to 50 axial lines each, which is almost as much as
Altona (Al, 54 lines) but still much lower than Hoheluftchausse (HL, 83 lines).
4.4. Global Integration r=n
When we look at the global integration map, a rather strange image of the city appears.
The integration core for the study area is situated West of the Alster lake and North of
the historic city centres of Hamburg and Altona, between 1.5 an 3.5 km away from central
Rathausmarkt. It forms a triangular structure comprising major streets covering an area
containing turn-of-the-century and early 20th century blocks. Connected to the triangular
structure is the most integrated axial line, Hoheluftchaussee, a street which is significant
as a thoroughfare for traffic from the North-West, and as a shopping street for the local
area (Hoheluft-West and -Ost), although it has no great significance for a mental map of
the city. Selecting more axial lines with high integration values, we find that they reach
South-Western Altona area and the Eastern Winterhuder Weg area, but that the city
centre is not highlighted until we find a rather big and indistinct integration core covering
much of the central Hamburg area.
As a thought-experiment, we delete some of the Western parts of the city and run
the space syntax analysis; the effect is to move the integration core to the east of the
Aussen Alster, but again the city centre shows no signs of high integration, contradicting
the everyday experience of congested streets and weekday traffic counts in the street
network: At Lombard bridge 67,000 vehicles per 24 hours are counted, at Ludwig-Erhard-
Strasse/Ost-West-Strasse 59,000 and 72,000 in An der Alster, the highest inner city count.
In contrast at Hoheluftchaussee only 37,000 vehicles are counted and the highly integrated
street East of the Alster have even lower numbers, Sierichstrasse 14,000 (one wax street),
Winterhuder Weg 35,000 (DTV-W 2003 and counts from April 2000). The main reason
for the comparatively low integration value of the city centre’s axial lines are the number
of potentially reachable axial lines indicated by a given metric radius. Radii of 3 - 6 km
around Ludwig-Erhard-Strasse measured with GIS reach only 3/5 to 4/5 of the number
of axial lines reached by the most integrated lines on the Western or Eastern side of the
Aussen Alster. The difference is far to big to be compensated by the normalising process
in the space syntax algorithm.
A radial structure - unlike Berlin or London - cannot be identified in the global in-
tegration map of Hamburg. Various analyses with radii from 5-11 didn’t show an radial
morphology either. Instead we find sub centres at r=7 integration, that are according to
strategic planning guidelines, part of the development axes (FHH 1999). These axes are
348 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 159: Local integration r=7:. min 0.613, max 2.029, mean 1.291. Cores of in-
tegration=District centres: Altona (AL), Hoheluft (HL), Eppendor (EP), Hamburger
Strasse(HS), Fuhlsb¨uttler Strasse (FS), Wandsbek (WA). City centre: Hamburg City (CC).
Missing district centres: Eimsb¨uttel (EI) and Winterhude (WI). Missing wards: Ottensen
(OT) and Grindel (GR)
described as a string of centres. Further analyses of the wider Hamburg region may high-
light the following integration cores and with the already identified centres in the central
area the strings of centres and possibly the resulting axes are clearly visible.
4.5. Integration - segregation
Looking at the segregated areas gives us two results. Firstly, the most segregated parts
are situated at the edges. Secondly, we observe some relatively segregated “islands” (light
grey) even inside the integration triangle.
The edge factor is obviously a problem for analysing global integration maps, so ex-
tending the area of concern to the whole city of Hamburg may change the integration
image of the city to the West, North and the East. But the edge to the South at the river
Elbe and around the Aussen Alster will remain the same; it will show a segregated picture.
According to space syntax theory, segregated areas correlate with low pedestrian or vehic-
ular movement. But observation implies the contrary in the present case. The riverfronts
on the Aussen Alster and along the River Elbe are very popular among Hamburg-dwellers
and visitors alike; you will find the embankments packed with people - and not only on
sunny weekends. Some ideas about the reasons for this situation.
Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study 349
For the Alster riverfronts we assume that besides the beauty of the landscape the
centrality of the place is a major factor for its attraction. The greenways on both sides also
serve as directly connecting routes to the city centre along the Alster (see next section).
The routes are in fact shortest (or nearly shortest) paths around the Aussen Alster, so
people just have to use them when they want to get quickly on the other side of the Alster.
The waterfronts at the Elbe are a different case. First we look at the promenade
section from the city centre to St. Pauli/Altona. As shown in Figure 157 the traditional
integration structure of the harbour city is still intact and the waterfronts are basically
well integrated. Besides, the area is mostly well connected to the public transport system
and features many tourist attractions.
The attractiveness of the following Western section results in an aspect that can also
be found at the Alster greenways: linearity of movement and a far-reaching visual field to
one side. In the end it is not the integration of the waterfronts but the inner structure of
these areas in combination with visual qualities that account for the unexpected intensity
of movements. The two factors should be analysed in more detail in the future, a promising
start will be the use of local route analyses and VGA.
5. Observations
In August 2004, extensive observations of pedestrian movement took place. In the course of
seven days, about 400 gate counts were conducted, each lasting five minutes. 200 hundred
gates were counted twice. They were positioned on routes of 2 to 12 km in length. During
the same period, movement within selected parks was observed on three occasions, each
time for 30 minutes. This paper presents an initial analysis of the pedestrian counts within
the street network. The results of the extensive analyses of the street network and the
park observations will be presented in a forthcoming publication. This analysis takes into
consideration 311 weekday counts conducted on Monday (10-13) and Tuesday (10-18) and
Wednesday (12-12.30).
5.1. Integration and activities
The most frequented gate is in M¨onckebergstrasse, on which 440 pedestrians were counted
in 5 minutes. Second comes Spitaler Strasse with 332 individuals. Both streets are rated
1a rent locations (Kemper 2003), with the distinction that Spitalerstrasse has a higher
rent value and a considerably higher frequency of pedestrians (798 / 5 min) on Saturdays,
according to the Kemper survey. With this frequency, Spitalerstrasse is ranked ninth
compared to other major shopping streets in Germany. The nearby main station generates
most of the pedestrian movements for Spitalerstrasse.
Analysing all pedestrian counts, we find that there is a very low correlation between the
311 observations and the local integration 3 measures. Using the logged observations and
comparing the results by districts and times of observation, we get more promising results.
The best performing correlation can be found in the city centre for the time between 10 am
and 4 pm (r2 0.441 at the 0.001 level) and for the area east of the Aussen Alster between 4
am and 6 pm (r2 0.523 at the 0.001 level). Obviously the diverse morphology of Hamburg is
also reflected in diverse movement patterns. To verify this assumption regression analyses
that take land use, car traffic and population density into consideration, will be conducted
in the future.
350 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 160: Global Integration: min 0.309, max 0.803, mean 0.548. Hohelufchaussee (*),
Lombard bridge (**), An der Alster (***), Sierichstraße (****).
6. Barrier
It seems that the divide created by the river has a strong impact on the configuration of the
city as a whole. Each side shows an independent structure that remains almost unaffected
in the entire structure. Surprisingly, there is no sign of the historic city centre possessing
a strong connecting function, something we would expect to find (and what we experience
when driving from one side of the city to another). Instead we see an “embracing” of the
river Alster by the two sides of the city. In fact, it takes at least 9 syntactic steps (or
changes in direction) to overcome the Aussen Alster and create a fully connected network.
To evaluate the significance of the barrier created by the river Alster, several point
depth analyses are conducted. Starting from Kennedy Bridge (Figure 161) at the southern
end of the Alster, it takes 9 changes of direction on both sides of the lake to connect the
two sides of Hamburg. Point depth analyses from various locations around the Alster show
similar results; 10, 11 or 12 steps are needed to connect both sides completely. This effect
can be described by the barrier value b which in our case is 9 - 11.
But is there any meaning behind this value? One interpretation comes from the number
of wards that are connected around the lake. On the Western side we find Rotherbaum,
Harvestehude and Eppendorf and on the Eastern side Hohenfelde/St. Georg, Uhlenhorst
and Winterhude - three distinct wards on both sides; does this mean that three local
centres could develop during the process of overgrowing the barrier? Maybe in this case,
under the special circumstances found in 19th century Hamburg, in which rapid urban
Space Syntax on the Waterfront - the Hamburg case study 351
Table 13: steps to connect
Krugkoppel Bridge (North) 11
Kennedy Bridge (South) 9
Ludwig-Erhard-StrasseHighest global int. value in city centre 12
HoheluftchausseeHighest global int. value 10
Winterhuder WegHighest global int. value of Eastern part 9
growth was not matched allied with the development of the means of transportation which
commonly shape today’s cities. Playing with the numbers, we can come up with the same
number of wards: Dividing the barrier value of 9 by 3 (r=3 represents local integration)
again gives 3.
But even when we consider that local centres have different integration values, the
barrier value of nine or higher means at least that a regional centre fits in between the
starting point and the end point, regardless of the location. And because both centres (or
collections of local centres) developed more or less during the same period of time, the
centrality of the city of Hamburg remained. Clearly, the Aussen Alster has been responsible
for maintaining the importance of the city centre.
When we look at the integration map with radius 11 (Figure 161) - the average number
of steps needed to overcome the Aussen Alster- two integration cores appear. Whereas the
Eastern core is centred around the Hamburger Strasse area in a fairly compact way, the
Western integration core is comparitively linear, stretching from as far away as Eppendorf
and Hoheluftt in the North, to St. Pauli and Altona in the South.
So far, the barrier value can only be derived experimentally and not automatically.
Since space syntax analysis checks for the shortest connections between two axial lines,
the change between the unconnected and the fully connected system cannot be measured,
for instance, by a justified graph, it needs to be checked visually on the map.
7. Discussion
When looking at the space syntax maps of Hamburg, the most striking point is the dis-
crepancy between the centrality of the city centre and its representation in the integration
maps. Its importance for the entire city is neither reflected in global integration nor in local
integration maps. Only in r=7 maps do we find the city centre featuring as a sub-centre
within a group of more sub-centres around the Aussen Alster. This ring of sub-centres
seems to represent best the morphology of the city. The sub-centres themselves could ac-
tually be the starting points of the presently missing development axes. It is likely, that
the axes will be revealed as strings of centres when the area of analysis reaches into the
wider Hamburg region. It will be interesting to use angular analysis for future research to
identify the axes more clearly.
In order to measure the impact of the Aussen Alster on the development of Hamburg,
a barrier value was introduced. This is meaningful in our Hamburg case study, but further
analysis of comparable cities should be performed to evaluate if it has a wider significance.
A good instance for comparison would be provided by Boston’s Charles River Basin -
modelled as it was in the early 20th. century on Hamburg’s Aussen Alster.
Despite the impact of a barrier (or “inner edge”) like the Aussen Alster on the devel-
352 Bernd Eisenberg
Figure 161: “Barrier” integration r=11: min 0.557, max 1.406, mean 0.1.019.
opment of the city of Hamburg, our case study points to the more general question of the
configuration of cities with waterfronts. The analysis of the historic map shows that there
was a close relationship between the city’s configuration and its harbour infrastructure.
The relationship was loosened when the harbour area expanded and the means of trans-
port changed. Today, the renaissance of the waterfronts in many cities can be attributed
to a range of factors, but if a city has inherited features from its past as a well-integrated
harbour city, this certainly helps to underpin any future development of its waterfronts.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Dr. Mohamed Salheen for his inspiring comments and to Andrew Wilson
for his tolerance to read space syntax lingo.
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