GeoGrain

GeoGrain: Urban Morphology & Spatial Analysis Tool An advanced web-based platform crafted to deliver precise, mathematically invariant insights into urban fabrics through pure figure-ground diagrams. It enables you to analyze building coverage ratios, evaluate structural mass continuity, and deduce morphological typologies using open-source geospatial vectors, empowering scientifically reproducible research and context-driven urban design.
 

GeoGrain: Urban Morphology & Spatial Analysis

    • Geographical & Workspace Settings:
      • Interactive map interface with search functionality, precise bounding box selection (e.g., 1000m x 1000m area), and real-time centroid coordinate tracking.
      • Flexible workspace modes including Split Stage, Figure-Ground Only, and Map Only views.
      • Direct integration with open-source geospatial datasets (OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps) with spatial deduplication capabilities.

     

    • Morphological Ratios & Density:
      • Precise calculation of core spatial metrics: Building Coverage Ratio (BCR) and Open Ground Ratio (OGR).
      • Display of total footprint area, average and median building sizes, and exact footprint density per standard urban block (10,000 m²).

     

    • Massing & Size Classification:
      • Categorization of urban masses into detailed footprint size classes (ranging from <50 m² to ≥1,000 m²).
      • Quantification of exact building counts and cumulative surface areas within each defined size threshold.

     

    • Continuity & Spatial Clustering:
      • Adjustable proximity threshold slider (e.g., tight 4m, default 12m, wide 35m) to dynamically evaluate structural cohesion.
      • Calculation of the Built-Mass Continuity Index, nearest neighbor mean centroid distance, and identification of the largest contiguous mass group.

     

    • Street Network Analysis:
      • Street Network Only: Display the actual street centerlines against a clean, neutral background.
      • Street Hierarchy: Differentiate available road classes using line weights and restrained colors.
      • Traffic Direction: Display direction arrows for verified one-way streets and visually distinguish bidirectional roads.

     

    • Typology & Interface Features:
      • Programmatic deduction of rule-based morphological typologies (e.g., High-Coverage Perimeter) and urban grain textures (e.g., Monolithic).
      • Visualization toggles for Classic, Inverted, and Outlines figure-ground rendering modes.
      • Professional, tabbed dashboard layout (Core Ratios, Size Classes, Mass Continuity, Typology) with geodesic calculations to eliminate spatial distortion, and a direct data export functionality.
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How It Works

    • Spatial Data Import: The application fetches real building footprints from open-source geographic databases like OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps, applying spatial deduplication to filter out overlapping geometries.
    • Geodesic Processing: All surface area and distance calculations are executed using geodesic algorithms on the WGS84 ellipsoid to eliminate projection distortions, ensuring exact preservation of building geometries and block angles.
    • Architectural Abstraction: Geospatial vectors are translated into pure 2D figure-ground diagrams, rigorously separating solid built masses from open ground voids without any synthetic fill or AI hallucination.
    • Morphological Extraction: The system programmatically analyzes the resulting diagram to deliver reproducible scientific metrics, including core coverage ratios, footprint size classes, mass continuity indices, and urban typologies.