From fractal urban pattern analysis to fractal urban planning concepts

International audienceFractal geometry can be used to develop a multiscale approach toinvestigate the spatial organization of urban fabrics. First, the concepts behindfractal reference models are introduced so as to provide a better understandingof the results obtained from empirical analyses of urban patterns. Then, differentmethods for conducting fractal analyses are presented and the results obtained forurban patterns are discussed. It turns out that, despite their irregular appearance,urban patterns are often organized by an inherent fractal order principle, at leastacross a certain range of scales. More detailed analysis of the findings reveals linksbetween these fractal properties and the historical contexts in which cities or urbandistricts developed. The influence of specific urban planning concepts on fractalbehavior may also be identified, whereas the national context has less of a hold.Urban fabrics emerge from complex interactions among various types of decisionmakers and are, in most cases, the outcome of a self-organizing process. However,by considering particular features of such urban fabrics and by comparing them withsocial demand and against certain planning concepts, a new planning concept canbe proposed based on fractal logic, but intended for the sustainable development ofmetropolitan areas without excluding periurbanization. Software tools are presentedfor developing and evaluating scenarios for further urbanization of metropolitanareas