Fractal Cities: A Geometry of Form and Function

Abstract

Fractal Cities is a pioneering study of the development and use of fractal geometry for understanding and planning the physical form of cities, showing how this geometry enables cities to be simulated through computer graphics. It shows how cities evolve and grow in ways that at first sight appear irregular, but which, when understood in terms of fractals, illustrate an underlying order that reveals their complexity and diversity. The book contains sixteen pages of stunning computer graphics and explanations of how to construct them, as well as new insights into the complexity of social systems. The authors provide a gentle and intelligible introduction to fractal geometry as well as an exciting visual understanding of the form of cities, thus providing one of the best introductions to fractal geometry available for non-mathematicians and social scientists. Fractal Cities can be used as a text for courses on geographic information systems, urban geography, regional science and fractal geometry. Planners and architects will also find that there are many aspects of fractal geometry in this book relevant to their own interests. Furthermore, those involved in fractals and chaos, computer graphics, and systems theory will find important methods and examples that are germane to their work.

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