LOCATION AND ROLE OF LOCAL CENTRES IN THE HIERARCHICAL SYSTEM OF CITY CENTRES: CASE STUDY OF VILNIUS CITY (Lokaliu centru vieta ir vaidmuo hierarchineje didmiescio centru sistemoje: Vilniaus pavyzdys)

The most important factors, functionally diverse local centres, being in a proper location, are the ones that have an impact on urban functioning. The paper aims to reveal some issues concerning the location and role of local centres in Vilnius. The general purpose of the paper is to introduce the results of case study of the urban structure of Vilnius which were obtained during the internship at the enterprise 'Space Syntax Limited'. Space syntax is a method for the analysis of spatial structure used in the fields of architecture, urban design and planning and based on the geometrical representation of the spatial pattern. It aims to reveal the effects of spatial layout on social and economic processes in a city. Using space syntax techniques, a spatial accessibility model of Vilnius was created. The measured spatial accessibility values show the importance of spatial features to the formation of local centres in strategic locations as well as their potential vitality and viability. The model of Vilnius created and the results achieved provide for continuing the study at the level of urban blocks which constitute local centres.