IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envirb/v50y2023i1p182-197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modelling the interdependence of spatial scales in urban systems

Author

Listed:
  • Janka Lengyel
  • Seraphim Alvanides
  • Jan Friedrich

Abstract

The multitude of interwoven spatial scales and their relevance for urban systems has been of interest to the complexity science of cities since its conception. Today, we are well aware that urban environments are being simultaneously shaped and organised through actions at all levels. However, the fundamental question of how to reveal and quantify the interdependence of processes in between various spatial and temporal scales is less often addressed. Deepening our theoretical understanding of the multiscale spatiotemporal complexity of urban systems demands a transdisciplinary framework and the deployment of novel and advanced mathematical models. This article performs a multiscale analysis of urban structures using a large dataset of rent price values in the Ruhr area, Germany. We argue that, due to their many interacting degrees of freedom, urban systems exhibit similar features as other strongly correlated systems, for example, turbulent flows, notably the occurrence of extreme small-scale fluctuations. This analogy between urban and turbulent systems, which we support by empirical evidence, allows for the modelling of spatial structures on the basis of concepts and methods from turbulence theory. We demonstrate how by identifying the main turbulence-borrowed characteristics of an arbitrary two-dimensional urban field, it can be fully reproduced with a small number of prescribed points. Our findings have theoretical implications in the way we quantify and analyse scales in urban systems, model small-scale urban structures as well as potential policy relevance on understanding the evolution and spatial organisation of cities.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:50:y:2023:i:1:p:182-197
    DOI: 10.1177/23998083221091569
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083221091569
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/23998083221091569?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Apostolos Lagarias & Poulicos Prastacos, 2020. "Comparing the urban form of South European cities using fractal dimensions," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(7), pages 1149-1166, September.
    2. Getis, Arthur, 2007. "Reflections on spatial autocorrelation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 491-496, July.
    3. 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.
    4. Michael Batty, 2005. "Agents, Cells, and Cities: New Representational Models for Simulating Multiscale Urban Dynamics," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 37(8), pages 1373-1394, August.
    5. John Parr, 2004. "The Polycentric Urban Region: A Closer Inspection," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(3), pages 231-240.
    6. Diego Rybski & Elsa Arcaute & Michael Batty, 2019. "Urban scaling laws," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 46(9), pages 1605-1610, November.
    7. Rémi Lemoy & Geoffrey Caruso, 2020. "Evidence for the homothetic scaling of urban forms," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(5), pages 870-888, June.
    8. Weidlich, Wolfgang, 2005. "Thirty years of sociodynamics," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 45-56.
    9. Yanguang Chen & Shiguo Jiang, 2010. "Modeling Fractal Structure of Systems of Cities Using Spatial Correlation Function," International Journal of Artificial Life Research (IJALR), IGI Global, vol. 1(1), pages 12-34, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Fatemeh Jahanmiri & Dawn Cassandra Parker, 2022. "An Overview of Fractal Geometry Applied to Urban Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Mehdi Sheikh Goodarzi & Yousef Sakieh & Shabnam Navardi, 2017. "Scenario-based urban growth allocation in a rapidly developing area: a modeling approach for sustainability analysis of an urban-coastal coupled system," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 1103-1126, June.
    4. Kauffmann, Albrecht, 2012. "Delineation of City Regions Based on Commuting Interrelations: The Example of Large Cities in Germany," IWH Discussion Papers 4/2012, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    5. Andres Dominguez & Hernán Enríquez Sierra & Nicolás Cuervo Ballesteros, 2021. "Regional Spatial Structure and Land Use: Evidence from Bogotá and 17 Municipalities," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Nick Malleson & Andrew Evans & Tony Jenkins, 2009. "An Agent-Based Model of Burglary," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 36(6), pages 1103-1123, December.
    7. Shujing Fu & Xuexia Zhang & Wenhui Kuang & Changqing Guo, 2022. "Characteristics of Changes in Urban Land Use and Efficiency Evaluation in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau from 1990 to 2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Yue, Wenze & Wang, Tianyu & Liu, Yong & Zhang, Qun & Ye, Xinyue, 2019. "Mismatch of morphological and functional polycentricity in Chinese cities: An evidence from land development and functional linkage," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Benassi, Federico & Boeri, Marco & Elezi, Pranvera & Zindato, Donatella, 2016. "The importance of spatial adjustment processes in the labour force: the case of Albania," MPRA Paper 74500, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Gordon Dabinett, 2010. "Spatial Justice and the Translation of European Strategic Planning Ideas in the Urban Sub-region of South Yorkshire," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(11), pages 2389-2408, October.
    11. Arturo Bujanda & Thomas M. Fullerton, 2017. "Impacts of transportation infrastructure on single-family property values," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(51), pages 5183-5199, November.
    12. Colin Jones, 2017. "Spatial economy and the geography of functional economic areas," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 44(3), pages 486-503, May.
    13. Janka Lengyel & Stéphane Roux & François Sémécurbe & Stéphane Jaffard & Patrice Abry, 2023. "Roughness and intermittency within metropolitan regions - Application in three French conurbations," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(3), pages 600-620, March.
    14. Dimitris Ballas & Richard Kingston & John Stillwell & Jianhui Jin, 2007. "Building a Spatial Microsimulation-Based Planning Support System for Local Policy Making," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 39(10), pages 2482-2499, October.
    15. Hugo Priemus, 2011. "URBAN DUTCH: Synergy Between Transport Infrastructures and Cities. Towards a Higher Productivity of the Economy," ERSA conference papers ersa11p1267, European Regional Science Association.
    16. Kim, Jinwon & Jang, Seongsoo & Kang, Sanghoon & Kim, SeungHyun (James), 2020. "Why are hotel room prices different? Exploring spatially varying relationships between room price and hotel attributes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 118-129.
    17. Shahnazi, Rouhollah & Dehghan Shabani, Zahra, 2021. "The effects of renewable energy, spatial spillover of CO2 emissions and economic freedom on CO2 emissions in the EU," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 293-307.
    18. Paola Bertolini & Enrico Giovannetti & Francesco Pagliacci, 2011. "Regional patterns in the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy: a comparison between polycentric regions and monocentric ones," Center for the Analysis of Public Policies (CAPP) 0097, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Dipartimento di Economia "Marco Biagi".
    19. Jiaxing Pang & Hengji Li & Chengpeng Lu & Chenyu Lu & Xingpeng Chen, 2020. "Regional Differences and Dynamic Evolution of Carbon Emission Intensity of Agriculture Production in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Kristin Kronenberg & Kati Volgmann, 2014. "Knowledge-intensive employment change in the Dutch Randstad and the German Rhine-Ruhr area: comparable patterns of growth and decline in two metropolitan regions?," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 34(1), pages 39-60, February.

    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:50:y:2023:i:1:p:182-197. 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.