Does time matter? Temporal dynamics and configurational hierarchy in pedestrian movement

The Space Syntax theoretical framework sustains that the urban spaces’ configuration possesses intrinsic information which allows to model and foresee patterns of human movement and social interaction. Critics argue, however, that there are several factors beyond configuration that influence pedestrian behaviour. In particular, critics focus on the absence of the temporal component by saying that, while Space Syntax can reveal systemic logics, it cannot depict the actual time-dependent movement variation in micro-urban scales and their causes. Nevertheless, if accounted pedestrian flows maintain their hierarchies over time and those coincide with the street hierarchies denoted by Space Syntax, this would reinforce the role of the configurational component in movement. Given this premise, the paper discusses pedestrian flow data and Visibility Graph Analysis in Piazza delle Vettovaglie, Pisa (Italy), to assess: a) if pedestrian flows hierarchy actually changes, by comparing people counts registered in different timestamps, along three days, at different access gates; b) if different Space Syntax metrics express the same gate hierarchy; c) if-and-how the modelled and real hierarchies differ from each other. This discussion aims to unveil the role of time in micro-urban spaces usage, and provide a first answer to the question: do changes in pedestrian movement across time follow the configurational hierarchy established with Space Syntax? Results inform that despite changing in flows, the hierarchy proved rather regular across time, thus confirming the Space Syntax premises and the role of configurational component in movement.