Table 2 List of morphological indicators, distinguished by object and block level

Building orientation (entropy)

Object (building)

if Azim _MBR¹ < 45°: O_Bi = Azim _MBR

if Azim _MBR¹ ≥ 45°: O_Bi = Azim _MBR − 2x(Azim _MBR − 45)

Mean deviation with first four neighbors (entropy)

Object (building)

\(\frac{|{O}_{B0}-{O}_{B1}|+|{O}_{B0}-{O}_{B2}|+|{O}_{B0}-{O}_{B3}|+|{O}_{B0}-{O}_{B4}|}{4}\)

Zonal, mean deviation from neighbors (entropy)

Block (100 m radius)

Iterative calculation: for each building, get the mean deviation values of all neighbors within 100 m

Voronoi tessellation (density)

Object (building)

Voronoi tessellation cells obtained from the buildings’ footprints, generating a plot-like structure [43]

Covered area ratio (density)

Object (building)

\(\frac{{Area}_{building footprint}}{{Area}_{tessellation cell}}\)

Zonal, mean covered area ratio (density)

Block (100 m radius)

Iterative calculation: for each building, get the mean covered area ratio of all neighbors within 100 m

Circular compactness (density)

Object (building)

\(\frac{{Area}_{building footprint}}{{Area}_{enclosing circle}}\)

Zonal, mean circular compactness (density)

Block (100 m radius)

Iterative calculation: for each building, get the mean circular compactness of all neighbors within 100 m

Number of neighboring structures (density)

Block (100 m radius)

Iterative calculation: for each building, count the number of structures (building footprints) within 100 m

Altitude standardized by site (topography)

Object (building)

\(\frac{{Alt}_{household}-{Alt}_{site min.}}{{Alt}_{site max.}-{Alt}_{site min.}}\)