The metropolitan machine

There are many complex factors that determine the form of the metropolis, These factors act and react constantly and simultaneously. When writing about the metropolis, it is customary to mention at least the economic, social, and political factors. This paper attempts to reveal how powerful a form determinant the economic factor is in the metropolis. An analogy of the metropolis as a machine is used to explore the major parts of the metropolis and their functions. Three contemporary urban design theories are used to illustrate each of the parts and their functions each of these design theories is accompanied by a fundamental or parallel economic theory. It is hoped that this paper will expose one of the most powerful factors of form determination in the metropolis to the scrutiny and understanding of the urban designer so that he can design in concert with that factor instead of in opposition to it