A NARRATIVE REVIEW OF THE USE OF FRACTAL GEOMETRY IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF URBAN PLANNING

Abstract

Urban structure is one of the complex geometry due to its formation process and structural elements distribution over the space. Generally, its formation represents a degree of irregularity, spatial hierarchy, unevenness. But, at different observation scales, cities spatial arrangement represents the important characteristic of fractal, which is self-similarity (a small part of an object is exactly similar to the whole). Therefore, to characterize cities formation process and measure its structural complexity quantitatively, different researchers have introduced the concept of fractal geometry. Fractal geometry is used to explain the hierarchical arrangement of objects, structural self-similarity over different viewing scales, and heterogeneity within it. In order to plan a better city, a detailed study of its formation process is essential. The purpose of this study is to gather existing knowledge about how fractal geometry has been widely used in different domains of urban planning and synthesized existing knowledge. Most of the previous studies have carried out fractal dimension to measure fractal properties within objects. Box-counting method is one of the most common methods to calculate fractal dimension. Different studies concluded that if the fractal dimension of a city increases, the complexity of the city's physical arrangement also increases. Finally, this study will give future scholars with vital information regarding the use of fractal theory in urban planning and may provide profound insight in this area.