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To explain the process of how star architecture projects generate impact, one must first describe the outputs of such projects and then unpack the wide array of potential effects, which are generated by these outputs. This requires the application of multi-disciplinary research perspectives. Only then can one begin to systematically analyse the long-term impacts. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how the complexity of such multi-disciplinary research exercise can be managed through the application of a methodological strategy aided by a conceptual impact model.

A conceptual impact model is presented, which describes the process of the development of star architecture projects, the various outputs of these projects and the possible effects generated by these outputs. The effects of three case study star architecture projects are discussed.

Empirical research findings indicate that while the isolation of effects serves the operationalisation of research, the investigation of the impact of star architecture projects on their respective cities must draw on the intertwinement of the fields of urban economy, society and morphology. The paper concludes by arguing for the application of the described methodological strategy as the basis for understanding in which dimensions a star architecture project generates impacts.

The potential of the proposed impact model for urban analysis when considered as a field of intertwined relations is demonstrated in this article. It helps to reveal how particular local developments change the city significantly in socio-cultural and spatial terms.

The transformative impact of star architecture projects and the role of economic and other effects in this process has hardly been studied, particularly in small and medium-sized cities. This article presents a unique multi-disciplinary research project approached consecutively in the aforementioned fields.

As historic cities evolve, change in their urban form can be expected. Yet, uncontrolled change of land plots, which represent a significant element of urban form, leads to uncontrolled change in buildings' configurations and typologies threatening accordingly the urban character of heritage contexts. Mechanisms controlling plot subdivision, however, can play an effective role in guiding developments and in controlling urban change in heritage settings. The present study seeks to assist decision-makers in their attempt to control urban change in heritage areas through a plot-based approach.

This paper is divided into three sections: the first focuses on plot subdivision as a key aspect of urban form; the second illustrates the case of the heritage village of New Gourna in Luxor and the third includes discussion and implications of adopting a plot-based morphological approach to control morphological transformation in heritage contexts. For the morphological analysis of New Gourna, the study relied on comparative cartographic analysis of original drawings of the village versus the situation in 2022. The morphological analysis focuses mainly on qualitative and quantitative aspects of plot configurations and building patterns.

Findings support the urgency of establishing a plot-based strategy to maintain urban character of heritage contexts in Egypt and call for a plot-based morphological approach to control change and inform new development attempts.

The present research provides an assessment of the morphological transformation of the heritage village of New Gourna. In addition, it proposes a plot-based approach for heritage contexts under transformation.

The purpose of this paper is to present a new geometric model based on the mathematical morphology paradigm, specialized to provide determinism to the classic morphological operations. The determinism is needed to model dynamic processes that require an order of application, as is the case for designing and manufacturing objects in CAD/CAM environments.

The basic trajectory-based operation is the basis of the proposed morphological specialization. This operation allows the definition of morphological operators that obtain sequentially ordered sets of points from the boundary of the target objects, inexistent determinism in the classical morphological paradigm. From this basic operation, the complete set of morphological operators is redefined, incorporating the concept of boundary and determinism: trajectory-based erosion and dilation, and other morphological filtering operations.

This new morphological framework allows the definition of complex three-dimensional objects, providing arithmetical support to generating machining trajectories, one of the most complex problems currently occurring in CAD/CAM.

The model proposes the integration of the processes of design and manufacture, so that it avoids the problems of accuracy and integrity that present other classic geometric models that divide these processes in two phases. Furthermore, the morphological operative is based on points sets, so the geometric data structures and the operations are intrinsically simple and efficient. Another important value that no excessive computational resources are needed, because only the points in the boundary are processed.

This paper focuses on the morphological transformations of Cairo's historic cemeteries that currently form a significant part of historic Cairo designated by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. Cairo's historic cemetery continues to be a main burial ground for the city reflecting layers of funeral epochs. Besides offering burial grounds, Cairo's city of the dead had always hosted living functions including residential and crafts among other activities.

Adopting a historico-geographical approach, this study traces morphological transformations of the eastern necropolis of Cairo. Using analysis of archival documents, cartographic and photographic analysis of the eastern necropolis, the study detects changes on three major aspects: (1) impacts of the ever-growing urban city core; (2) transformation of the cemetery's internal urban fabric and (3) change of the size of the residential urban block inside the cemetery.

Findings highlight alarming transformations on the said aspects, threatening the historic value and the urban integrity of Cairo's eastern necropolis. This calls for rising necessities of documentation projects for Cairo's necropolis, as well as urgent necessity of strict applications of local laws of urban conservation.

Despite their rich urban variety, cemeteries have been rarely investigated within the scope of urban morphology. This paper is among the few works that investigate cemeteries using tools and approaches of urban morphology. It also calls for further applications of morphological investigations and wider adoption of morphological approaches for the study of historic cemeteries in order to support their preservation.

This paper analyses changes in the activity pattern of Damascus city from late modern era (late Ottoman rule) to the contemporary era. The research objective is to explore the impact of the socio-historical process on the evolving morphological structure of the urban core and to draw implications for post-war reconstruction.

Space Syntax methodology was employed to trace the historical and morphological changes in the urban core of Damascus. The timeframe was divided into five periods covering the city's socio-political transformation and five maps depicting these periods. Local and global integration measures were used to analyse the changes in the urban core across each period. Normalised angular choice (NACH) measure was used to identify the changes in the city planning system.

The results revealed that the urban core corresponded to the main streets, which had socio-economic importance across history. However, introducing a new planning system influenced by Western planning ideals led to the creation of multi-morphological patterns. At the city level, the study found that the urban core was more accessible in the preplanned areas, while the organic expansion of the informal settlements was exclusive of the core area. At the local level, some informal settlements showed an intense core. Intelligibility analysis revealed that earlier periods showed considerably higher values, implying declines in the ease of navigation of the city over time.

This study did not account for the political, economic and cultural factors that could shape morphological changes in Damascus. In addition, the study adopted historical reference points to understand the morphological changes, as high-quality geospatial data was not available to monitor the recent post-war situation.

The research findings give a foundation for a more contextualised historical understanding of spatial structure and changes, which can contribute to the post-war reconstruction and redevelopment of Damascus city.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to trace historical spatial changes in Damascus from a space syntax approach, weaving together socio-historical and configurational studies. In doing so, it shows how historically informed and spatially aware urban planning and design policies can support policymakers and built environment professionals in planning and redevelopment.

This paper is intended to assess the developments conducted on the master plan of Old Najaf, mainly in three areas: the Imam Ali Holy Shrine and its surroundings, the Great Market Area and the location of the Town of Visitors.

In order to analyse the implementation of the transformation phases in Old Najaf, the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) technique was used to identify and organise the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the examined case study of the city's historic centre. At the first stage, all available data (photographs, maps, documents and reports) were collected from different sources, including previous studies by governmental institutions, departments and agencies. Ultimately, the SWOT analysis was used for each identified phase in the morphological evolution of the historic centre. This can offer an opportunity to observe the implications of urban planning practices in Old Najaf from the mid-20th century to the present day. In order to identify the well-organised urban design practices and appropriate strategies, the implemented studies and projects were examined by the four factors of the SWOT analysis.

The current results have revealed important urban transformations, already made and/or ongoing, of those aforementioned three main areas, which imply a great loss of the city's traditional character and urban heritage. Further, the environmental and socio-economic issues should be involved in the analysis to evaluate how they have influenced the current outcomes of Old Najaf in relation to the urban configuration and orientation.

The rich cultural and architectural heritage of Al-Najaf historic centre is dramatically neglected and seriously threatened to be lost. Hence, conservation on both tangible and intangible levels is urgently needed. It is the first paper which focussed on this problem and tries to learn from the British Conservation Experiences in this field.

The swivel construction method is a specially designed process used to build bridges that cross rivers, valleys, railroads and other obstacles. To carry out this construction method safely, real-time monitoring of the bridge rotation process is required to ensure a smooth swivel operation without collisions. However, the traditional means of monitoring using Electronic Total Station tools cannot realize real-time monitoring, and monitoring using motion sensors or GPS is cumbersome to use.

This study proposes a monitoring method based on a series of computer vision (CV) technologies, which can monitor the rotation angle, velocity and inclination angle of the swivel construction in real-time. First, three proposed CV algorithms was developed in a laboratory environment. The experimental tests were carried out on a bridge scale model to select the outperformed algorithms for rotation, velocity and inclination monitor, respectively, as the final monitoring method in proposed method. Then, the selected method was implemented to monitor an actual bridge during its swivel construction to verify the applicability.

In the laboratory study, the monitoring data measured with the selected monitoring algorithms was compared with those measured by an Electronic Total Station and the errors in terms of rotation angle, velocity and inclination angle, were 0.040%, 0.040%, and −0.454%, respectively, thus validating the accuracy of the proposed method. In the pilot actual application, the method was shown to be feasible in a real construction application.

In a well-controlled laboratory the optimal algorithms for bridge swivel construction are identified and in an actual project the proposed method is verified. The proposed CV method is complementary to the use of Electronic Total Station tools, motion sensors, and GPS for safety monitoring of swivel construction of bridges. It also contributes to being a possible approach without data-driven model training. Its principal advantages are that it both provides real-time monitoring and is easy to deploy in real construction applications.

If an autonomous vehicle is working in an image‐based system which needs real‐time answers and whose response is critical, it will be very important to reduce computation times and, as we know, this could be performed by increasing the system parallelism. Since morphological filtering is the origin of several applications in computer vision, in this paper we are going to describe some new features to implement morphological operations by using digital signal processors. After that, an application to path planning is proposed. The standard shortest path planning problem determines a collision‐free path of shortest distance between two distinct locations in an environment scattered with obstacles. Consequently, a path planning algorithm which uses morphological operations and a DSP to process images is then described.

The geographic space of the old Trinational Agglomeration Basel is a complex area where municipalities (and urban systems) belonging to three different countries meet, and part of a paradigmatic scenario where former and recent cross-border cooperation structures and practices are opening opportunities for joint development. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how organisation and spatial relations are being transformed in this context and if there exist barriers, focusing on Weil am Rhein (Germany), Basel (Switzerland) and Saint-Louis and Huningue (France), which converge in the heart of the Agglomeration.

The paper is structured in two parts. The first one is a theoretical exploration of the evolution and extent of cross-border cooperation structures and practices affecting the area. The second one focuses on urban transformation and intertwining resulting from this environment, exploring it through analytical work and cartographies for the 1985–2010 period. In this study, three categories are considered: transport networks, morphology and land use.

Results suggest that cooperation structures are bringing opportunities for the interweaving of neighbouring border urban spaces. However, significant limitations due to regulatory and spatial inheritances and economic constraints, among others, persist. The analysed space continued evidencing barriers and over-simplified areas at the end of the period studied.

The research offers a not-so-frequent, but necessary, perspective of border urban systems as complex scenarios: not only nodes of interaction but also inhabited spaces. It provides insights into border urban development and original cross-border cartography, giving clues on planning in singular environments.

This paper aims to examine the effects of transformations of the levels of visual and functional permeability and the types of uses on the ground floors of buildings on the perception of security and the occurrence of residential burglary, theft in residence, pedestrian mugging, vehicle robbery, vehicle theft and theft of items inside a vehicle on selected blocks.

Nine blocks divided into three groups were selected in Capão da Canoa, a Brazilian city that has been undergoing morphological transformations, including the replacement of buildings with residences and shops on the ground floor, with doors and windows facing the street, by buildings with a predominance of garage doors and blind walls on the ground floors. Data were collected through the application of questionnaires and interviews.

The results reveal, for example, that perception of greater security is related to the blocks with a greater number of functional and visual connections between the ground floor interfaces of the buildings and the open public spaces. In addition, the night period records the higher number of criminal occurrences, even on blocks with higher rates of visual and functional connections between the ground floor interfaces and the public open space and higher rates of residential and commercial uses on the ground floor of the buildings.

It is expected that the results of this paper will allow for greater knowledge and the revision of many urban guidelines regarding the effects of the transformations of ground floor interfaces from traditional to contemporary buildings in the perception of security and the occurrence of crimes in public open spaces and in neighbouring residential units. It is further evidenced the need to recognize the ground floor interface as an element of public interest, even if it belongs to a private property. Nonetheless, further research is needed on the relationships between the quantifications of the levels of visual and functional permeability, the different types of uses on the ground floor of buildings, movement of people and crimes in open spaces and buildings in different periods of the day.