Cellular-Automata-Based Simulation of the Settlement Development in Vienna

Abstract

The structure and development of cities can be seen and evaluated from different points of view. By replicating the growth or shrinkage of a city using historical maps depicting different time states, we can obtain momentary snapshots of the dynamic mechanisms of the city. An examination of how these snapshots change over the course of time and a comparison of the different static time states reveals the various interdependencies of population density, technical infrastructure and the availability of public transport facilities. Urban infrastructure and facilities are not distributed evenly across the city – rather they are subject to different patterns and speeds of spread over the course of time and follow different spatial and temporal regularities. The reasons and underlying processes that cause the transition from one state to another result from the same recurring but varyingly pronounced hidden forces and their complex interactions. Such forces encompass a variety of economic, social, cultural and ecological conditions whose respective weighting defines the development of a city in general. Urban development is, however, not solely a product of the different spatial distribution of economic, legal or social indicators but also of the distribution of infrastructure. But to what extent is the development of a city affected by the changing provision of infrastructure? As Lichtenberger (1986, p. 154) already notes, urban structures have often been characterized by the development of technical and socio-cultural infrastructure systems. New buildings erected away from existing roads, should meet certain conditions in terms of their accessibility and waste disposal (Denkschrift uber Grundsatze des Stadtebaues, 1906, p.5 ff.). Similarly, one can observe that in the past the development of urban quarters followed the characteristic expansion measures arising resulting from the requirements and extension of road, transport and technical infrastructure systems such as the sewage system (Denkschrift uber Grundsatze des Stadtebaues, 1906). In many European cities, including Vienna, vast infrastructural expansion took place during the Wilhelminian period – the so called “Grunderzeit” – particularly with regard to underground town planning. The network of technical infrastructure, especially sewage,