Using the fractal perspective in the analysis of the urban peripheral fabric. Case study: Pantelimon, Ilfov county

• Main Author: Lilian Cîrnu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bucharest 2014-05-01
• Series: Human Geographies: Journal of Studies and Research in Human Geography
• Subjects: Fractal analysis; Fractalyse; urban sprawl; Discontinuous urban fabric; Distribution; Density
• Online Access: http://humangeographies.org.ro/articles/81/8_1_14_6_cirnu.pdf

This article approaches the matter of analysing the urban peripheral fabric from a fractal perspective. The urban peripheral morphology, through its generally discontinuous character, raises great questions signs upon the fairness of using the classical instruments of analysis, especially in what concerns the usage of density gradients. The purpose of this scientific undergoing is that of bringing into spotlight the usage of the Fractalyse program, as a better-adapted tool to the fieldwork, since the accent is set on the elements distribution in space and on the distances between them. We, thus, reach to a multiscalar approach of the urban fabric, from the town scale to the neighborhood scale and that of the building itself, for a more pertinent analysis over the alternation between constructed spaces and empty parcels. In order to represent this undergoing, three types of fractal analysis will be studied (dilation, radial and space correlation analysis) to achieve a comparative approach of the urban fabric evolution in Pantelimon, which is situated nearby the Capital city and has been, over the last two decades, deeply marked by the urban sprawl phenomenon.