Measuring urban forms from inter-building distances: Combining MST graphs with a Local Index of Spatial Association

A new method is proposed for characterising local urban patterns at the scale of a large urban region. The approach overcomes the difficulties of surface-based representations of built-up morphologies and provides an efficient way to account for the proximity of built and non-built land. The strength of the approach resides in the direct use of the coordinates of each building, a very parsimonious input of external parameters, and a local...