Visibility analysis in 3D built spaces: a new dimension to the understanding of social space [chapter]

Eleftheria Paliou
Spatial analysis and social spaces  
The existence of a close link between visibility in built space and social life has repeatedly been acknowledged by social theories and has concerned a great number of studies on modern and past built environments. Archaeologists aiming to explore this relationship in a formal way have traditionally been employing one-or two-dimensional visibility analysis techniques using ground plans or sections of the spaces under examination. While these methods have considerably enriched archaeological
more » ... rpretive schemes, this chapter discusses a number of cases (Roman, Mesoamerican, Aegean Late Bronze Age, and Byzantine urban spaces), where social aspects of visibility in built settings can be better understood with reference to a three-dimensional environment. It then describes briefly two applications of the recently proposed computational methods of visibility analysis in threedimensional digital spaces, and argues that these methodologies have the potential to contribute new approaches to the examination of built environments.
doi:10.1515/9783110266436.91 fatcat:czhmpiv5vrc6xnoq2tikctxgtq