Proceedings Article | 7 October 2009
KEYWORDS: Fractal analysis, Remote sensing, Analytical research, Data modeling, Geographic information systems, Shape analysis, Roads, Morphological analysis, Image classification, Satellites
Urban morphology "implies 'form,' 'land use,' and 'density,' and has connotations with the shape, structure, pattern and
organization of land use, and the system of relation between them" (Donnay, Barnsley, and Longley, 2001). It reflects
the combination of complex special artificial areas such as buildings, roads, parks, gardens and even ecological systems
of soil and water. To understand the dynamics and patterns of urban extend related with their interactions in
heterogeneous landscapes, the spatial complexity needs to be quantified accurately, depending upon the morphological
analysis and their relation with territory. Morphological analysis, which refers to the geometric characteristics of urban
sites, illustrates its usefulness in determining the analogies between patterns of cities and their "physical" characters
providing indicators of the aspect of settlement form and structure. Remote sensing might be helpful on the regional
scale in evaluating the role that landscape play in connecting different settlements within urban regions and in separating
the core city from the surrounding countryside. It used to map urban morphology of human settlements and monitoring
urban growth (Batty and Longley, 1987). The information produced by remote sensing is spatially referenced through an
implicit geometric location of the pixels. Various urban forms are potentially discernible using such devices, including
linear objects (Sohn and Bowman, 2001). The aim of this paper is to classify, evaluate and compare different urban
forms related to street networks and land characters, also considering the morphological typologies of urban settlements
by moving from the spatial scale of a municipality to a wider territorial. The intent is to discover secure principals to find
the most likely urban models of cities, taking topographical parameters into account. This research carried out focusing
upon the metropolitan region of Barcelona, with urban sites defined according to the contiguity of artificial and
administrative boundaries. The TeleAtlas and land activity classification deriving from Spot Imagery form the basis of
this study. We will focus on the development of a methodology to classify the geometric properties and intrinsic space of
urban settlements based on their characteristics and fundamental forms.
