The Geometry of Urban Layouts A Global Comparative Study [Hardcover]

This book presents a compendium of the urban layout maps of 2-mile square downtown areas of more than one hundred cities in developed and developing countriesall drawn at the same scale using high-resolution satellite images of Google Maps. The book also presents analytic studies using metric geometrical, topological (or network), and fractal measures of these maps. These analytic studies identify ordinaries, extremes, similarities, and differences in these maps; investigate the scaling properties of these maps; and develop precise descriptive categories, types and indicators for multidimensional comparative studies of these maps. The findings of these studies indicate that many geometric relations of the urban layouts of downtown areas follow regular patterns; that despite social, economic, and cultural differences among cities, the geometric measures of downtown areas in cities of developed and developing countries do not show significant differences; and that the geometric possibilities of urban layouts are vastly greater than those that have been realized so far in our cities.

Dedication.- Acknowledgement.- PartI.- TheGeometry of Urban Layouts: A comparative study of the urban layout maps ofdowntown areas in cities around the world.- Introduction.- What is this book about?.-Why dowe need this book?.- How  is this book going to affect urban design andscience?.- An overview of this book.- References.- Urbanlayout and its significance.- Introduction.- Geometry, spatial representation, and urban layout.- Urban layout as map space.-Thesignificance of urban layout.- References.- Studies on the geometry of urban layouts: A review of theliterature.- Introduction.- Metric geometric studies of urban layouts.- Normative aesthetic studies of urban layouts.- Empirical studies of urban layouts.- Morphological studies of urban layouts.- Configurational studies of urban layouts.- Fractal studies of urban layouts.- Space syntax studies of urban layouts.- GIS l³"