The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City

CALL FOR CHAPTERS We are seeking contributions for an edited volume focusing on experiences with local democracy in Latin American cities. The book will address the subject of local democracy in Latin America, and more specifically the impact of participatory mechanisms at city level on intergovernmental relations, on public policymaking, on citizens’ empowerment and on the process of democratization itself. From the highly centralized government structures imposed during colonial times to the centralization and authoritarianism that prevailed during most of the 20th century, Latin American countries are now experiencing the emergence of local power, a consequence of democratization, and the process of political, administrative and fiscal decentralization. Legitimized by the popular vote with the enhanced autonomy to manage finances (due to constitutional transfers of funds and the freedom to create local taxes), mayors now have more prominence in national politics and subsequentl...

I am finishing up a paper on urban morphology/form and urban security for the ISA-ABRI Conference to held 22-23 July 2009 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ( http://www.isanet.org/rio2009/ ). I would be curious if anyone has comments on this subject among my limited readership. I hope to share a draft version of this paper later in my blog.

Dear Blog Readers A new volume of Urbana has now been posted. Please click on the above link to read the articles. As always, I think that you will find the articles interesting and of high quality. If there are any comments, please send them to mmcadams_fatih@yahoo.com . We will soon be assembling a new volume for Fall and would be interested to receive any article related to urbanism . We publish in both Spanish and English.

The application of fractal analysis and spatial technologies for urban analysis Michael A. McAdams [1] Abstract Urban areas and their built form are the result of complex cultural, social, economic, and technological agents/processes and their physical environment. Traditional forms of analysis (i.e., linear modeling, statistics) have wrestled with the chaotic nature of urban systems and the urban built form with an increasing amount of apparent sophistication (i.e. additional algorythms , new models) often with no significant increase in accuracy or understanding. Fractal analysis, which is firmly grounded in chaos theory, allied with spatial technologies (i.e., Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, spatial modeling) is proving to an innovative technique to study urban form/structure. This paper discusses how fractal analysis can be used to evaluate urban form. The findings of those that have applied fractal anlysis to study urban form, including the author, have c...

I think that what begun my thougths about this was a proposed transport plan for Istanbul and awareness of the proposal of 'New Istanbul'. All the proposals on the table for Istanbul and the present development point toward a very unsustainable future for this city. While Istanbul is not alone as a city that is heading in the future assuming that all the conditions presently in place will remain the same, there are other cities that are least addressing concerns about becoming more sustainable. I plan to write more on this topic. However, I would very much appreciate your comments.

The following is a version of the paper that was to be presented at a recent conference. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances and funding problems, I was not able to attend and had to withdraw the paper. Any comments are appreciated. This paper will be presented at the ICGIS2008 ( http://icgis2008.fatih.edu.tr/?&language=EN ) which will be held at Faith University ın Istanbul from 2-5 July 2008. Spatial technologies as a tool for developing sustainable urban transport in middle income economies Michael A. McAdams Assistant Professor Geography Department 34500 Büyükçekmece İstanbul, Türkiye e-mail: mcadams@fatih.edu.tr Abstract Urban transport is one of the most important elements for the development of sustainable urban areas in middle income economies. In many of these countries, the amount of vehicles on highway facilities in their urban areas is often increasing at such a rapid that is overwhelming their capacity- resulting in such problems as increased air pollution,...

This title may be strange to some. The common definition of chaos is the lack of perceived order. Urban and regional planning could be defined as the rational decısion makng process leading to an improved future urban/regıonal state. Both of these are inadequate definitions, although they would be commonly accepted by those unfamiliar with the concept of chaos defıned by the scıentıfic community and the evolution of urban planning theory. Looking at the 'everyday' definitions given previously, there would appear to be no common ground to connect the two concepts. Let’s examine some samples of the definitions of the chaos theory and urban and regional planning. Chaos Theory A name given to recent wide-ranging attempts to uncover the statistical regularity hidden in processes that otherwise appear random, such as turbulence in fluids, weather patterns, predator-prey cycles, the spread of disease, and even the onset of war. Systems described as "chaotic" are extremely su...