Computational urban morphology study of Ferizaj (municipality population 109,255, 2024 Kosovo census). The work reads the city as a monocentric radial-linear system structured by a railway seam and arterial logic. Click a figure to open the research sidebar (method, parameters, architectural reading).
Figures
01 Nolli Pure
02 Nolli Inverted
04 Building Footprint Scale
13 Courtyard Voids
42 Street Orientation
18 Typological Alignment
18 Railway Buildings
05 Block Permeability
06 Node Density
48 Voronoi Mosaic
07 Street Centrality
07 Betweenness
10 Space Syntax
03 Urban Honeycomb
16 Service Gravity
09 Urban Convergence
19 Facade Continuity
11 Isovist Field
12 Enclosure Index
Research narrative
Abstract
This research deconstructs Ferizaj through computational mapping, moving from historical satellite timelines to network entropy, territorial geometry, service accessibility, and spatial experience metrics. Across these layers, the city emerges as a monocentric organism: a high-energy core with a fragile distribution system. The work exposes a typological bifurcation between a disciplined, street-defined core and an organic, plot-defined periphery. High street orientation entropy (0.981 across 6,354 segments), territorial inequality (Voronoi Gini 0.605; 40–575,000 m²), and service gravity gaps (~330 services; a 15-minute core island) are framed not as defects, but as morphological traits and unrealized urban potential.
Thesis
Ferizaj (municipality population 109,255; 2024 Kosovo census) is a Radial-Linear Organism: a city defined by a highly integrated, high-intensity core that possesses immense concentrated energy, yet struggles to distribute this vitality to its periphery due to a rigid, tree-like street hierarchy and a lack of orbital “ring” connectors. Its growth is a tension between the historic linear discipline of the railway seam and the modern radial expansion of its arterial spines.
Center
42.368323, 21.153178
Radius
2.5 km
Chapter 1
The Fabric (Morphology & Orientation): Nolli Pure, Nolli Inverted, Building Footprint Scale, Courtyard Voids, Street Orientation (Entropy), Typological Alignment, Railway Buildings.
Chapter 2
The Structure (Geometry & Connectivity): Block Permeability, Node Density, Voronoi Mosaic/Overlay, Street Centrality (Closeness), Street Centrality (Betweenness), Space Syntax.
Chapter 3
The Pulse (Intensity & Accessibility): Urban Honeycomb, Service Gravity (15-Minute Access), Urban Convergence (Desire Lines).
Chapter 4
The Experience (Perception & Continuity): Isovist Field, Enclosure Index, Facade Frontage Continuity.
Conclusion
Through these four chapters, Ferizaj is revealed not as a chaotic sprawl, but as a sophisticated, high-energy core with a fragile distribution system. The future does not lie in more expansion, but in internal democratization: stitching the leaky fabric into urban rooms, balancing the territorial mosaic by inserting nodes and connective alternatives, and decentralizing everyday services to reduce the structural burden on the center. This also means filling the missing middle: transitioning from high-rise accumulation to low-rise sprawl through a continuous, medium-density fabric.
Methodological Limitations & Data Notes
All spatial data derive from OpenStreetMap (extract approximate 2025 vintage); core areas are generally complete, but peripheral informal zones may have lower coverage or require manual validation (performed selectively on key samples). The study does not incorporate building heights or floor-area ratios (FAR), so recent vertical intensification in the core is inferred from footprint changes, satellite evidence, and density proxies rather than direct volumetric quantification. The fixed 2.5 km radius window captures the majority of Ferizaj's continuously built-up urban area (municipality population 109,255; 2024 Kosovo census), but boundary effects influence peripheral metrics such as Voronoi territory sizes and block permeability gradients.
References
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