IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v40y2013i2p310-329.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fractal Dimensions of the Built-up Footprint: Buildings versus Roads. Fractal Evidence from Antwerp (Belgium)

Author

Listed:
  • Isabelle Thomas

    (Centre of Operations Research and Econometrics, Université Catholique de Louvain, Voie du Roman Pays, 34, Box L1.03.01, B-1348-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium)

  • Pierre Frankhauser

    (ThéMA (CNRS UMR 6049), Université de Franche-Comté, Rue Mégevand, 32, F-25030 Besançon CEDEX, France)

Abstract

In this paper we explore further the use of fractal dimensions by comparing values for built-up spaces and values for road networks, both being estimated by the same method. This is done in an attempt to explain the differences theoretically and empirically, and to show how far both indices are complementary and useful in urban planning. Empirical analyses are performed at the scale of the townships within the urban region of Antwerp (Belgium). Fractal dimensions, curves of scaling behavior, and concordance analyses are computed and their usefulness explained. We conclude that both dimensions translate subtly different realities and that they should be used with caution in morphological analyses: the fractal dimension for built-up spaces indicates how uniformly buildings fill space when zooming to ever finer scales, while the fractal dimension for networks indicates the extent to which street segments are distributed more or less uniformly in the study area. The two are not the same, as roads can serve spaces that are not built up.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabelle Thomas & Pierre Frankhauser, 2013. "Fractal Dimensions of the Built-up Footprint: Buildings versus Roads. Fractal Evidence from Antwerp (Belgium)," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 40(2), pages 310-329, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:40:y:2013:i:2:p:310-329
    DOI: 10.1068/b38218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/b38218
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1068/b38218?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:cai:popine:popu_p1998_10n1_0240 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Isabelle Thomas & Pierre Frankhauser & Benoit Frenay & Michel Verleysen, 2010. "Clustering Patterns of Urban Built-up Areas with Curves of Fractal Scaling Behaviour," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 37(5), pages 942-954, October.
    3. Isabelle Thomas & Pierre Frankhauser & Marie‐Laurence De Keersmaecker, 2007. "Fractal dimension versus density of built‐up surfaces in the periphery of Brussels," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 86(2), pages 287-308, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Claudia Yamu & Gert de Roo & Pierre Frankhauser, 2016. "Assuming it is all about conditions. Framing a simulation model for complex, adaptive urban space," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 43(6), pages 1019-1039, November.
    2. António Dinis F. Santos & Duarte Valério & J. A. Tenreiro Machado & António M. Lopes, 2019. "A fractional perspective to the modelling of Lisbon’s public transportation network," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(5), pages 1893-1913, October.
    3. Pavón-Domínguez, P. & Rincón-Casado, A. & Ruiz, P. & Camacho-Magriñán, P., 2018. "Multifractal approach for comparing road transport network geometry: The case of Spain," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 510(C), pages 678-690.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Yanguang, 2013. "Fractal analytical approach of urban form based on spatial correlation function," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 47-60.
    2. Chen, Yanguang, 2013. "A set of formulae on fractal dimension relations and its application to urban form," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 150-158.
    3. Chen, Yanguang, 2012. "Fractal dimension evolution and spatial replacement dynamics of urban growth," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 115-124.
    4. Isabelle Thomas & Pierre Frankhauser & Benoit Frenay & Michel Verleysen, 2010. "Clustering Patterns of Urban Built-up Areas with Curves of Fractal Scaling Behaviour," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 37(5), pages 942-954, October.
    5. Janka Lengyel & Seraphim Alvanides & Jan Friedrich, 2023. "Modelling the interdependence of spatial scales in urban systems," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(1), pages 182-197, January.
    6. Yanguang Chen & Jiejing Wang, 2013. "Multifractal Characterization of Urban Form and Growth: The Case of Beijing," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 40(5), pages 884-904, October.
    7. Blaudin de Thé, Camille & Carantino, Benjamin & Lafourcade, Miren, 2021. "The carbon ‘carprint’ of urbanization: New evidence from French cities," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    8. Song, Zhijun & Jin, Wenxuan & Jiang, Guanghui & Li, Sichun & Ma, Wenqiu, 2021. "Typical and atypical multifractal systems of urban spaces—using construction land in Zhengzhou from 1988 to 2015 as an example," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    9. Myagmartseren Purevtseren & Bazarkhand Tsegmid & Myagmarjav Indra & Munkhnaran Sugar, 2018. "The Fractal Geometry of Urban Land Use: The Case of Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Dekolo, Samuel & Oduwaye, Leke & Nwokoro, Immaculata, 2016. "Urban Sprawl and Loss of Agricultural Land in Peri-urban Areas of Lagos," MPRA Paper 73726, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Saeedimoghaddam, Mahmoud & Stepinski, T.F. & Dmowska, Anna, 2020. "Rényi’s spectra of urban form for different modalities of input data," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    12. Jean Cavailhès & Pierre Frankhauser & Dominique Peeters & Isabelle Thomas, 2010. "Residential equilibrium in a multifractal metropolitan area," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 45(3), pages 681-704, December.
    13. Isabelle Thomas & Pierre Frankhauser & Dominique Badariotti, 2012. "Comparing the fractality of European urban neighbourhoods: do national contexts matter?," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 189-208, April.
    14. Chen, Yanguang & Huang, Linshan, 2019. "Modeling growth curve of fractal dimension of urban form of Beijing," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 523(C), pages 1038-1056.
    15. Cécile Tannier & Gilles Vuidel & Hélène Houot & Pierre Frankhauser, 2012. "Spatial Accessibility to Amenities in Fractal and Nonfractal Urban Patterns," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 39(5), pages 801-819, October.
    16. Jian Feng & Yanguang Chen, 2010. "Spatiotemporal Evolution of Urban Form and Land-Use Structure in Hangzhou, China: Evidence from Fractals," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 37(5), pages 838-856, October.
    17. Chong Zhao & Yu Li & Min Weng, 2021. "A Fractal Approach to Urban Boundary Delineation Based on Raster Land Use Maps: A Case of Shanghai, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.
    18. Fatemeh Jahanmiri & Dawn Cassandra Parker, 2022. "An Overview of Fractal Geometry Applied to Urban Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-23, March.
    19. Fatih Terzi & H Serdar Kaya, 2011. "Dynamic Spatial Analysis of Urban Sprawl through Fractal Geometry: The Case of Istanbul," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 38(1), pages 175-190, February.
    20. Zhijun SONG & Linjun YU, 2019. "Multifractal features of spatial variation in construction land in Beijing (1985–2015)," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:40:y:2013:i:2:p:310-329. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.