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SPACE SYNTAX ANALYSES IN DEFINING THE CONNECTION OF

DEVELOPMENT CENTERS IN BALIKPAPAN

Article in DIMENSI (Journal of Architecture and Built Environment) · September 2021

DOI: 10.9744/dimensi.48.1.1-8

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DIMENSI: Journal of Architecture and Built Environment, Vol. 48, No. 1, July 2021, 1-8 DOI: 10.9744/dimensi.48.1.1-8
ISSN 0126-219X (print) / ISSN 2338-7858 (online)

SPACE SYNTAX ANALYSES IN DEFINING THE CONNECTION OF

DEVELOPMENT CENTERS IN BALIKPAPAN

Sherlia1*, Nadia Almira Jordan1, Elin Dyah Syafitri2

1
Architecture, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Jalan Soekarno-Hatta KM.15, Karang Joang, Balikpapan,
2
Urban Regional and Planning, Institut Teknologi Kalimantan, Jalan Soekarno-Hatta KM.15, Karang Joang, Balikpapan,
Kalimantan Timur
*
Corresponding author; Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Old town means an historic or original core of a city which signifies the city’s origin growth. When the city develops and
expands its built area, the emergence of a new development center will be inevitable. This study focuses on the connection of
the old and new development center of Balikpapan city. In defining the mentioned connection, the authors use Space Syntax
theory and depthmapX[net] software to analyze connectivity, integration and choice of the observed networks. Space Syntax
analyses helped defining the spatial configuration of the old and the new center of development of Balikpapan city which has
higher scores in main connectors and lower scores in local streets which also defines the movement and accessibility of the
observed area. It is hoped that this study would be beneficial in guiding the planning and design of the future development of
Balikpapan city that is appropriate with its spatial configuration.

Keywords: Spatial configuration; space syntax analyses; development centers.

INTRODUCTION that this study would be beneficial in guiding the

planning and design of the future development of
Old town means an historic or original core of a Balikpapan city that is appropriate with its spatial
city which signifies the origin growth of that city. configuration.
When the city develops and expands its built area, the
emergence of a new center of development will be PREVIOUS STUDIES
inevitable. Morphologically, the old center and the
new center of development will have different urban Configuration Approach in Urban Morphology
textures that characterized its own morphology cha-
racteristics. The aspect of movement is also a focus of This study looks at Balikpapan city through
morphological investigation. Morphological view of morphological lens as been studied by Kropf in 2009
street patterns is taken by Bill Hillier as abstract and 2011, particularly the type or configuration theory
configurations in order to understand their inherent of urban morphology. Linking the study of city’s
properties and their effects on movement (Kropf, spatial configuration and urban morphology high-
2011). This study focuses on the connection of the old lights one of the morphological investigations of the
center and the new center of development of Balik- aspect of movement (Kropf, 2011). This brings Space
papan city. In defining the mentioned connection, the Syntax as the configurational approach to urban
authors use Space Syntax theory and depthmapX[net] morphology. The configurational approach in urban
software to analyze the connectivity, integration and morphology can be represented by Space Syntax as it
choice of the observed networks. seeks to understand the spatial structure of settlements
Balikpapan is chosen as the case study because through a range of analytical methods. In addition, at
the authors aspire to gain a comprehensive under- the scale of settlements, the theoretical basis of the
standing of the city’s spatial configuration and approach is the relationship between spatial structure
characteristics through the study of the connection of and the generic function of movement (Kropf, 2009).
the old and the center of development in Balikpapan The fundamental aspects of the space syntax
city. Growing as an oil city, oil industry was the key approach are the focus on space and the relationships
that triggered the development of Balikpapan from a between space and movement. In 1984, Hillier and
coastal fishermen settlement area into a city. The city Hanson defended a theory regarding an establishment
develops and expands into its current phase, where the of descriptive autonomy for space that enabled the
city has several centers within the city (Tarigan, consideration of a wider morphological variety to
Samsura, Sagala, & Wimbardana, 2017). It is hoped reflect the relationships of space and society. Then in

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Sherlia et al.

1987, Hillier et al. defined the meaning of spatial System’s intelligibility is defined as the “correla-
configuration as it is a key concept in this approach tion between global integration and connectivity”. It
which means the relationships between two spaces indexes the degree to which numbers of immediate
within a system considering their relationships with connections a line has – which can be seen from that
all the other spaces in that system. Furthermore, the line – are a reliable guide to the importance of that
configuration of the urban layout is the main gene- line in the system as a whole i.e. the whole can be
rator of movement patterns as space syntax suggested, read from the parts. Intelligibility values can be used
which means movement and space use in general to quickly compare between different environments.
cannot be separated from its urban form (Oliveira, Intuitively it means that in a layout of high intelli-
2016). gibility, information about local connectivity allows a
person moving through the system to comprehend the
Space Syntax Theory overall structure of the configuration. The stronger a
correlation, the more global configuration of a space
Space Syntax theory describes quantitatively the may be inferred from its directly observable local
definition of connectivity because it expresses the connections. Hillier asserted that integration and
spaces mathematically. Originally pioneered by Bill intelligibility are key properties of urban layouts, and
Hillier, Julienne Hanson and their colleagues, Space that the pattern of pedestrian (and vehicular) move-
Syntax theory is continually developed until today. In ment in urban area is determined in the first instance
Space Syntax, the spaces are defined as isovist, axial by the pattern of integration, and only secondly by the
space and convex space. Isovist (also called view shed local properties of the space (Hillier, Burdett, Peponis,
or visibility polygon) is the field of view from any & Penn, 1986).
particular point. Axial space means a straight-line and
possible path and convex space is an area in which all METHODOLOGY
points within the polygon are visible to all other
Analyzing the Connection of Old Center and New
points. Then space being observed is analyzed accord-
Center of Development of the City
ing to any or all of these conceptions of space with the
help of a set of measures that was developed to help First, the authors identified the origin growth and
describe and quantify the morphology of the urban the expansion development of Balikpapan city using
structure, the open spaces and street pattern (Hillier, overlay technique on figure ground maps of the city
Burdett, Peponis, & Penn, 1986). that was divided into several phases of development:
The measures comprised of local and global year 1987, 1996, 2016, and 2019. The years repre-
measures. The following measures are the most rele- sented the significant development that occurred in
vant to the current study which are connectivity as in the city. In addition, desktop research on historical
local measure; integrity and intelligibility as in global literatures of the city was also done to obtain infor-
measures. Connectivity in Space Syntax refers to the mation and location regarding the important buildings
number of the axial lines or spaces that are directly and neighborhood of the old center and the new
connected to any line or space. A connection between center of development of the city.
two axial lines is said to be shallow or deep when a Second, after the old center and the new center of
few or many intervening lines have to be traversed development of Balikpapan city were identified, the
when going from one to the other. It is considered a study moved to define the connection between the two
local measure, since this information is directly centers by defining the main connectors then analy-
observable from a space. zing the connection using Space Syntax analyses:
Integrity is a fundamental property of the spatial connectivity, integration and choice.
organization of towns and urban areas. The integra-
Analyzing the Connection Using Space Syntax
tion value of a space expresses the relative depth of
Analyses
that space from all others in the graph (Hillier,
Burdett, Peponis, & Penn, 1986). It measures how The connectors which are in the forms of main and
deep the system is from particular point with how local streets within the observed areas then analyzed
deep or shallow theoretically it can be. High values using Space Syntax theory by drawing axial lines map
indicate spaces from which the space is shallow, that in depthmapX[net] software. Then, connectivity,
is a space which could be reached with fewer turns. integration, and choice analyses were applied to the
Low values indicate spaces which tend to be segre- axial lines map. Connectivity measures how many
gated. streets connect to that street. A high score of

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 Space Syntax Analyses in Defining the Connection of Development Centers

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Fig. 1. Solid-Void Maps of the development of Balikpapan City (a) 1987, (b) 1996, (c) 2016, (d) 2019

connectivity means that the street is connected with yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and grey. This colored
many streets. Integration measures how integrated (or axial lines map would define Balikpapan’s spatial
central) a street is to a network. A high score of characteristics.
Integration signifies the configuration of streets that
are well connected to its network. Choice measures Defining the Spatial Configuration of the City
how important street is as a through-road for the
network. Choice describes the alternative options for After the analysis of the connection of the old center
the users when they want to make a detour in their and the new center of development was obtained, the
movement. The colors in the axial lines map represent spatial configuration of Balikpapan city could then be
the value that the observed areas contain. The highest defined and explained. The mentioned research pro-
to the lowest score is represented by red, orange, cess can be seen in Figure 2.

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Sherlia et al.

Fig. 3. (a) The Location of Balikpapan City. (Source:

Google Maps).
Fig. 2. The Research Process (Source: authors).

DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

The Old Center and the New Center of Develop-
ment of Balikpapan City
Balikpapan is a coastal city located in East
Kalimantan province in Indonesia which bordered by
Kutai Kartanegara Regency to the North, Penajam
Paser Utara Regency to the West, and Makassar Strait
to the South and East (BPS Kota Balikpapan, 2019).
The study found that the origin growth of Balikpapan Fig. 4. (b) The Old Center and the New Center of Develop-
city was around Mathilda Oil Well that was found in ment of Balikpapan City
1897. The Oil Well and the emergence of Dutch oil
trading company De Bataafsche Petroleum Maat- The Main Connectors of Old and New Center of
shappji NV which then called BPM as the operator of Development of Balikpapan City
the oil well triggered the development of Balikpapan
which turning the coastal fishermen settlements into a The old center and the new center of develop-
city. After the independence of Indonesia, PT Perta- ment of Balikpapan city is linked and connected by
mina took over the management of the oil company streets. There are main streets that connect the two
and the surrounding area developed into PT Perta- centers which in Figure 5 are represented by Con-
mina quarter which consisted of oil refineries, offices, nector Street 1. Connector Street 1 represents Jalan
and company residential areas (Tarigan, Samsura, Yos Sudarso (in the old center of development) and
Sagala, & Wimbardana, 2017). The PT Pertamina Jalan Letjen Suprapto (in the new center of develop-
quarter grew side by side with the settlements in ment). In the meeting point of these two centers, there
Klandasan, Prapatan, Gunung Pasir, Gunung Sari, is Connector Street 2 which represents Jalan Ahmad
Karang Jawa, and Karang Jati, the authors called Yani. This Connector Street 2 links Jalan Yos Sudarso
these areas as the old center of development of and Jalan Sudirman thus creating a loop in the old
Balikpapan city. center of development area. Half of this loop is
As can be seen in Figure 4. (b), the city then represented by Connector Street 3. Jalan Ahmad Yani
expanded, thus new center of development emerged of Connector Street 2 also links Jalan Letjen Suprapto
in Pandansari Market (Matanasi, 2015). The area and Jalan Klamono which creating a loop in the new
around Pandansari Market then grew into settlement center of development area. The streets in this loop are
and trading area. The area also expanded to the north Jalan Letjen Suprapto, Jalan Ahmad Yani, Jalan
side following the coastal line. The authors called this Klamono, Jalan Telindung, Jalan Baru, and Jalan
area as the new center of development of Balikpapan Wolter Monginsidi. Half of the loop in the new center
city. of development area is also represented by Connector

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 Space Syntax Analyses in Defining the Connection of Development Centers

Street 3. Connector Street 3 signifies the expansion

and development of the two centers. The two centers
expanded and developed which created new streets of
Connector Street 3 linking Connector Street 1 through
Connector Street 2 which in turn created a perfect loop
of connectors.

Fig. 5. The Main Connectors of Old Center and New

Center of Development of Balikpapan City

Space Syntax Analyses – Connectivity, Integration

and Choice
Fig. 6. Connectivity Analysis on Old Center and New
Space Syntax analyses are applied to the drawn Center of Development of Balikpapan City
axial lines map which signifies the movement spaces
of observed areas: the old center and the new center of Integration in Space Syntax analysis measures
development of Balikpapan city. Connectivity in the integration of a street to its network, to define
Space Syntax analyzes the streets that are connected whether the observed street is well integrated or not to
to a street in the observed areas. The result of Connec- its network. The result of Integration analysis on the
tivity analysis of the two centers in Balikpapan city old center and the new center of Balikpapan city
shows lower scores of connectivity as represented by shows low scores of integration where blue lines,
the blue colors which are dominant in the axial lines again, dominate the axial lines map presented in
map represented by Figure 6. This means that most of Figure 7. Even lower is the axial lines map also shows
the streets within the observed network have low grey lines which have lower score than blue lines. For
connection. In other words the streets connected to lines scoring higher than blue lines, there are several
only one or two streets. turquoise colored lines in the old center of deve-
There is one red color that emerges in the axial lopment which represent Jalan Sudirman, a part of
lines map which represents Jalan Sudirman in the old Jalan Ahmad Yani, and a part of Jalan Yos Sudarso.
center of development of Balikpapan city. Fur- In the new center of development, a part of Jalan
thermore, one yellow color also emerges in the new Letjen Suprapto, a part of Jalan Wolter Monginsidi
center of development of Balikpapan city which and a part of Jalan Klamono also represented by
represents Jalan Letjen Suprapto. This means that turquoise colored lines. This means that the con-
these two streets have higher connection compared to figuration streets of the old and the new center of
other streets within the observed network. Though, development of Balikpapan city are not well inte-
comparing with the dominant blue lines, these two grated with its network. In other words, it is difficult
high score lines seem small. Overall, the result renders for a user to perceive the spatial configuration in his
the connectivity of the old and the new center of mind, which will make him easy to get lost when
development of Balikpapan city to be low. navigating the network.

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Sherlia et al.

Fig. 9. The Spatial Configuration’s of Old Center and New

Center of Development of Balikpapan City

Choice in Space Syntax analysis measures how

important street is as a through-road for the network.
Choice describes the alternative options for the users
when they want to make a detour in their movement.
The result of Choice analysis on the old and the new
center of development of Balikpapan city shows low
Fig. 7. Integration Analysis on Old Center and New Center scores of choice where blue and grey lines dominate
of Development of Balikpapan City the axial lines map. The map also shows red lines in
the area of the new center of development (Jalan
Letjen Suprapto), orange lines in the area of Connec-
tor Street 2 (Jalan Ahmad Yani) and a part of Jalan
Yos Sudarso. This means that the old and the new
center of development of Balikpapan city mostly have
low choices of movement or detour options except in
Jalan Letjen Suprapto, a part of Jalan Ahmad Yani
and a part of Jalan Yos Sudarso. On the streets which
have higher score of choice analysis would make the
streets more accessible while also adds the options for
the users when they need to make a detour.

Spatial Configuration of Balikpapan’s Old and

New Center of Development

From Space Syntax analyses on the old and the

new center of development of Balikpapan city, the
study obtained that the spatial configuration of those
two centers has low score of connectivity, integration
and choice on the local streets within the observed
areas, and higher scores on the main connectors of the
two centers. This result is heavily influenced by the
physical condition of Balikpapan city which is
contoured within the observed area (Karya, 2016), in
addition of the low accessibility in the local streets
hence the low scores. Furthermore, the relatively flat
Fig. 8. Choice Analysis on Old Center and New Center of contour and the higher accessibility of the main
Development of Balikpapan City connectors are the reason why its scores are higher.

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 Space Syntax Analyses in Defining the Connection of Development Centers

The result defines the movement and accessibility of higher connectivity, a well integrated network and
the main connectors which are easier than of the local higher accessibility of streets. This would take inter-
streets. This result also shows the spatial perception of ventions that needed to be carried out by several
users on the spatial configuration which is integrated stakeholders such as the city’s government, the aca-
in the main connectors and segregated in the local demician, urban planner, and urban designer.
streets. This is the spatial configuration of Balik- According to the methodology’s SWOT ana-
papan’s old and new center of development. lysis, there are limitations from this study that can be
seen in Table 1. Although Space Syntax alone could
define the spatial configuration of Balikpapan city
quantitatively, but the information regarding other
variables which could explain the low results of the
Space Syntax is still lacking. Thus, the combination
with other urban morphology approaches is needed to
strengthen the analyses. In addition, the obtained data
should be valid in order to guarantee the validity of
the Space Syntax measurements.
This study also recommends continuing the
study of the connection of other centers in Balikpapan
city to obtain a comprehensive spatial configuration
of the whole city. The authors hope that the results of
this study can be considered in guiding the planning
Fig. 9. The Spatial Configuration’s of Old Center and New and designing of the future development of Balik-
Center of Development of Balikpapan City papan city which is appropriate with its spatial
configuration characteristics.
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Table 1. Methodology’s SWOT Analysis
STRENGTH Space syntax analyses help defining This research financially supported by Lembaga
the spatial configuration of Balikpapan Penelitian dan Pengabdian Masyarakat Institut Tekno-
city quantitatively. logi Kalimantan fiscal year 2020.
WEAKNESS Lack of information on other variables
such as topography, land use, building REFERENCES
heights, et cetera, which could explain
the low results of Space Syntax analy- Badan Pusat Statistik Kota Balikpapan. (2019). Kota
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