Fractal geometry and urban morphology

An urban system is viewed here as a fractal structure resulting from the outcome of innumerable and essentially unpredictable decisions. Thes decisions are captured in terms of urban development by a variety of cluster growth models. These models lead to realistic looking urban forms and provide very different ways of investigating urban growth from traditional models. The paper thus demonstrates a modeling approach that sheds new light on the urban growth process and links process to form through fractal analysis. The paper highlights attention on the value of simulation and diffusion in the growth of urban systems in much the same vein as Hagerstrand's seminal work. It also recognizes and utilizes the increasing role of visualization in developing urban models. -Authors