Comparative Study of Cultural Space Characteristics: Inside Areas of Xi’an 2nd Ring Road, China, and Manhattan Borough

Abstract

As one of the key factors of urban development, cultural space plays a crucial role in highlighting urban characteristics and inheriting urban culture. A comparative study of the core built-up areas in Xi’an and New York is conducted using a systematic mathematical method. The cultural spaces in Xi’an 2nd Ring Road Area (XSA) and Manhattan Borough (MB) are comprehensively quantified in terms of fractal dimension, compactness index, average nearest neighbor ratio, and kernel density. Results show that significant differences exist between the cultural spaces in XSA and MB in terms of composition, quantity, density, and area at macro- and microlevels. The cultural spaces in Xi’an are more uneven, discrete, and randomly distributed than those of Manhattan. This research can provide a reference for future studies on the cultural space characteristics between eastern and western cities.