JoWUA

Abstract

The street network can be seen as the backbone of any urban system. This paper will consider the city of Kufa in Iraq, which is an urban agglomeration whose growth was heavily dependent on the presence of the Great Mosque in it. This rapid expansion and the presence of the organic, radial, irregular, and grid patterns of streets have caused complex urban morphology, which calls for spatial analysis in order to comprehend the urban pattern. The research problem in this paper is the absence of spatial modeling techniques that would help understand changing patterns of streets in historically layered cities. The methodology of this study lies in the Geographic Information System (GIS) approach through the use of ArcMap. Apply the georeferencing method, where the UTM coordinate system shall be used, along with other processes such as data integration, creating a spatial database, and multi-layering maps. The data sources to be used will include historical maps, remote sensing images, field surveys, and urban data. Street networks are classified based on spatial geometry, connectivity, accessibility, and urban development phases to examine structural variation across the city. Four distinct street configurations dominate the findings: organic formation in the historical centers, radial configuration around the Great Mosque, irregular transitional regions, and grid formation in the modern expansion area. In terms of time trend analysis, the trends show an organic pattern dominating prior to 1870, followed by a combination of radial and irregular street systems between 1920 and 1970, and a structured grid pattern since 2003. The grid pattern is a clear indication of improved connectivity and accessibility over previous street formations. The current paper provides an analysis of the morphological development of the streets of Kufa via the use of GIS in the context of the Future Internet, characterized by such attributes as smart urban system, geospatial connectivity, and digital infrastructure. This study highlights the importance of GIS-based spatial systems and digital mapping frameworks in analyzing urban street networks and supporting data-driven urban planning and sustainable development strategies.