Investigating processes of change in regional spatial structures is a relevant issue in the identification of mono-centric, polycentric and scattered (or dispersed) urban models. The present work introduces an empirical framework grounded on complex system’s theory and aimed at a diachronic analysis of the spatial distribution and structure of built-up parcels with the aim to assess metropolitan transformations. A relational approach based on 13 metrics (parcel area and shape, nearest neighbor parcel area and shape, elevation, distances from urban centers, road infrastructures and sea coastline) was developed to investigate direction and intensity of the spatial relationship among parcel’s attributes, with the final objective to assess the level of mono-centrism or polycentrism of metropolitan regions under different socio-economic contexts. The proposed methodology was applied to the analysis of long-term expansion (1948-2012) of the Athens’ metropolitan region (Greece), taken as a representative example of cities shifting from compact to scattered settlement models. Simplified mono-centric urban structures observed in 1948 and 1975 were characterized by a persistent dichotomy between central cities and peripheral districts. Since the early 1990s, a progressive shift from a mono-centric spatial organization to more dispersed structures has determined a rapid increase in morphological entropy and fractal dimension of built-up parcels, with a declining importance of the distance to central cities as a factor orienting short-term urban growth. Our approach integrates socio-economic analysis into a landscape ecology perspective and contributes to the identification and characterization of the intimate relationships between local development and changes in the spatial configuration of metropolitan regions, providing an operational base for supervised classification of patterns and processes of urban expansion.
The latent engine of cities. Discriminating mono-centric from polycentric development with a relational approach / Salvati, L. - In: REVUE D'ÉCONOMIE RÉGIONALE ET URBAINE. - ISSN 0180-7307. - 1:(2019), pp. 55-96.
The latent engine of cities. Discriminating mono-centric from polycentric development with a relational approach
Salvati L
2019
Abstract
Investigating processes of change in regional spatial structures is a relevant issue in the identification of mono-centric, polycentric and scattered (or dispersed) urban models. The present work introduces an empirical framework grounded on complex system’s theory and aimed at a diachronic analysis of the spatial distribution and structure of built-up parcels with the aim to assess metropolitan transformations. A relational approach based on 13 metrics (parcel area and shape, nearest neighbor parcel area and shape, elevation, distances from urban centers, road infrastructures and sea coastline) was developed to investigate direction and intensity of the spatial relationship among parcel’s attributes, with the final objective to assess the level of mono-centrism or polycentrism of metropolitan regions under different socio-economic contexts. The proposed methodology was applied to the analysis of long-term expansion (1948-2012) of the Athens’ metropolitan region (Greece), taken as a representative example of cities shifting from compact to scattered settlement models. Simplified mono-centric urban structures observed in 1948 and 1975 were characterized by a persistent dichotomy between central cities and peripheral districts. Since the early 1990s, a progressive shift from a mono-centric spatial organization to more dispersed structures has determined a rapid increase in morphological entropy and fractal dimension of built-up parcels, with a declining importance of the distance to central cities as a factor orienting short-term urban growth. Our approach integrates socio-economic analysis into a landscape ecology perspective and contributes to the identification and characterization of the intimate relationships between local development and changes in the spatial configuration of metropolitan regions, providing an operational base for supervised classification of patterns and processes of urban expansion.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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