Urban form revisited—Selecting indicators for characterising European cities

Abstract

Four out of five European citizens life in urban areas, and urban form – like the density or compactness of a city – influences daily life and is an important factor for both quality of life and environmental impact. Urban planning can influence urban form, but due to practicality needs to focus on a few indicators out of the numerous indicators which are available. The present study analyses urban form with respect to landscape metrics and population-related indicators for 231 European cities. Correlations and factor analysis identify the most relevant urban form indicators. Furthermore, a cluster analysis groups European cities according to their urban form. Significant differences between the clusters are presented. Results indicate that researchers, European administration and urban planners can select few indicators for analysing urban form due to strong relationships between single indicators. But they should be aware of differences in urban form when comparing European cities or working on planning policies for the whole of Europe.