Pierre Frankhauser

The fractal approach. A new tool for the spatial analysis of urban
agglomerations
In: Population, 10e anne, n1, 1998 pp. 205-240.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Frankhauser Pierre. The fractal approach. A new tool for the spatial analysis of urban agglomerations. In: Population, 10e
anne, n1, 1998 pp. 205-240.
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/pop_0032-4663_1998_hos_10_1_6828

Abstract
Frankhauser (Pierre).- The fractal approach. A new tool for the spatial analysis of urban agglomerations.
Fractal geometry is a new approach for the study of spatial distributions. The basic model is a law of
hierarchical distribution corresponding to Pareto's law which is familiar to urban geographers and
demographers. The methods of fractal analysis can be used to study the spatial organization of human
activities across scales. The regularities and the discontinuities in the distributions can then be
identified. These discontinuities can be spatially situated. Applying this concept to urbanized areas has
shown that districts can be defined and classified according to their scaling relations, thereby allowing
development of a typology of locational patterns. This observation reveals the existence of a principle of
self-similarity in land-use patterns. An examination of time series shows that despite the apparent
fragmentation of these urban tissues, urbanization is often accompanied by self- structuring
development. Subsequent research will need to employ complementary morphological measures, such
as measures of space filling and of population distribution, which could be used to validate the
simulation models based on fractal geometry.
Rsum
Frankhauser (Pierre).- L'approche fractale. Un outil de rflexion dans l'analyse spatiale des
agglomrations urbaines. La gomtrie fractale est une nouvelle approche pour tudier des rpartitions
spatiales. Le modle de rfrence est une loi de distribution hirarchique qui correspond la loi de
Pareto, bien connue en gographie urbaine et en dmographie. L'utilisation des mthodes d'analyse
fractale permet d'tudier l'organisation spatiale des activits humaines travers les chelles. Il est ainsi
possible de dcouvrir aussi bien des hirarchies rgulires que des ruptures. Ces ruptures peuvent tre
identifies dans l'espace. L'application de ce concept aux tissus urbains a montr qu'il est possible de
distinguer et de classifier des quartiers selon leur comportement sealant, et de dvelopper une
typologie des tissus urbains. Cette observation met en vidence l'existence d'un principe d'autosimilarit dans les tissus urbains. L'tude de sries temporelles montre que l'urbanisation est souvent
accompagne de phnomnes de structuration, en dpit de la fragmentation apparente de ces tissus.
Les futures recherches devraient utiliser des mesures morphologiques complmentaires: mesures de
lacunarit, mesures concernant la rpartition de la population. Ces mesures pourront servir valider
des modles de simulation bass sur la gomtrie fractale.
Resumen
Frankhauser (Pierre). - El anlisis fractal. Un nuevo instrumente de reflexion en el anlisis espacial de
las aglomeraciones urbanas. La geometria fractal es un nuevo mtodo de estudio de reparticiones
espaciales. El modelo de referencia es una ley de distribucin jerrquica que corresponde a la ley de
Pareto, bien conocida en geografia urbana y en demografia. La utilizacin de los mtodos de anlisis
fractal permite estudiar la organizacin espacial de las actividades humanas a tra- vs de escalas.
Estas escalas permiten establecer tanto jerarquias regulares como rupturas, que se pueden identificar y
situar en el espacio. La aplicacin de este concepto a los tejidos urbanos ha abierto la posibilidad de
distinguir y clasificar gradualmente barrios segn su comportamiento, y de esta forma desarrollar
tipologias urbanas. Este mtodo muestra la ex- istencia de un principio de auto-similaridad en los
tejidos urbanos. El estudio de series temporales muestra que el proceso de urbanizacin va
frecuentemente acompafiado de un proceso de estructuracin, a pesar de la fragmentacin aparente
de taies tejidos. En investigaciones futuras deberian utilizarse medidas morfologicas complementarias: medidas de lagunaridad, medidas referentes a la reparticin de la poblacin. Estas medidas
podrian utilizarse tambin para validar los modelos de simulacin basados en la geometria fractal.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH.

A new tool for the spatial analysis
of urban agglomerations

Pierre FRANKHAUSER*

Introduction
A fundamental question when examining a territory's social and econ
omic functioning concerns the spatial distribution of population. This phe
nomenon
has been studied in different contexts and on different scales by
a number of disciplines: demographers and geographers but also town plan
ners and economists. Whatever the scale of observation used, the results
obtained all show the spatial distribution of human activities to be essent
ially non-homogeneous. Various reasons can be given for this: first, some
places are more propitious than others to human activity, thereby influenc
ing
the areal distribution of settlement; second, urbanization has long been
accompanied by a hierarchical organization of towns and cities. There have
been many attempts to produce a theoretical formalization of this hierar
chical structure, either from a demographic and descriptive angle as in the
rank-size rule, or in the explanatory approach of central place theory.
On the larger scale of agglomerations, Clark introduced a mathematic
al
formulation to model the decrease in population as distance from a
city centre increases; the same phenomenon has been studied by Bussire
and Stovall using a different formalization. It might be thought that the
process of periurbanization or population decentralization has helped to
reduce the difference in the density of occupation between urban cores
and their suburbs, a development which could be accentuated by the growth
of tertiary activities in the central districts at the expense of residential
housing. However, this purely demographic perspective is in fact misleadi
ng.
What is observed here is simply a segregation of functions, and land
use in the city centres often actually intensifies due to the new demand.
This results in a high day-time concentration of non-residential population.
Universit de Franche-Comt, Besanon.
Population: An English Selection, special issue New Methodological Approaches
in the Social Sciences, 1998, 205-240.

206

P. FRANKHAUSER

By contrast, densities remain low in the residential districts of the outer

suburbs. In addition, the importance of transport in the suburbs encourages
a tentacular growth along the axes of circulation, thereby adding to the
disparity in the distribution of the built-up areas.
Yet if the existence of a heterogeneous distribution seems omnipresent
and features in theoretical analyses of the functioning of the settlement
system, the measures employed are always based on the paradigm of a
uniform space: the geometrical reference remains homogeneity. The most
commonly used measure is density, which indicates the mean distribution
of population in a given space and thus assumes a proportionality between
population and surface occupied. The shortcomings of this approach are
well known. Population density is high if a small administrative unit is
chosen and lower if a larger area is considered. Without proportionality,
it is hard to move from one scale to another. The value obtained for the
density is thus dependent on the size of the reference surface, and thus
on the scale at which we operate.
Other methods for measurement besides density have been suggested,
such as the 'nearest neighbour' method and the 'quadrats' method. But
these methods also fail to take into account the variation in a phenomenon
depending on the scale of reference (Frankhauser, 1997a).
A disparity exists therefore between, on the one hand, the observat
ions
and theories - whether descriptive or explanatory - and, on the other,
the geometrical paradigm which underpins our spatial measures. And these
measures simply reflect our approach to space, which remains based on
the tradition of Euclidean geometry.
The same geometrical approach is present in the theories of location
of the urban economy which take as their reference the linear or circular
urban settlement. Yet with Euclidean geometry it has not been possible to
produce a vision able to accommodate the complex forms found in the
spatial distribution of human activities. Town planners, for example, often
describe contemporary urban settlements as amorphous and irregular, and
lacking any discernible internal organization. The same limits are found
in every discipline. For example, the physical sciences long gave little a
t ention
to forms that were perceived to be irregular, and Euclidean geometry
appeared to be adequate for the study of crystals and planetary paths. Indepth study of more complex, nonlinear phenomena has established the
shortcomings of these traditional concepts. Examples that can be mentioned
are the discovery of chaotic attractors, the in-depth study of phase transition
phenomena and the increased understanding of materials, notably their sur
faces and textures. These investigations have discovered a close relationship
between the development of complex forms and the existence of self-o
rganization
phenomena (Pumain, 1989; Schroeder, 1994).
The only alternative approach of an authentically geometrical char
acter to date is that of fractal geometry. The physicist Nicholis has summed
up the particular value of this approach: "Fractal objects are a new model

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

207

for structures which although complex, originate in relatively simple mech

anisms"
(Nicholis, 1985). Applied in many scientific fields and at different

scales, this approach has made it possible to identify hitherto unknown

principles of internal order, and to incorporate these results in explanatory
theories. The fractal approach has also proved a valuable instrument in
image analysis, for the segmentation and classification of objects in a set.
The use of fractal geometry for the study of a spatial phenomenon
is thus not simply about introducing some new measures but involves ap
plying
a new geometrical frame of reference."* However, there are more
specific reasons favouring the adoption of this approach in demography
and urban geography. Fractal geometry reflects the existence of a hierar
chical organization within a spatial system which obeys a particular logic,
that of the Pareto-Zipf distribution. Such a logic is known to operate in the
system of settlement, so it would seem that fractal geometry can be used
to verify this law of distribution, and to identify the deviations from it. The
fact of being able to study a phenomenon across different scales also offers
the possibility of identifying critical thresholds in spatial organization.
As regards urban agglomerations, recent studies have established the
value of a fractal formalization both for developing new morphological
measures and for studying at a more conceptual level the spatial organiz
ation
and dynamic associated with them. The built-up component has been
analyzed by M. Batty and P. Longley (1994), R. White, (1993b) and
P. Frankhauser (1994b, 1995)). These studies were initially conducted at
a regional scale, but more recent efforts have been directed to the study
of urban agglomerations (Frankhauser, 1997; Batty, 1996). These works
apply a binary logic inasmuch as they distinguish simply between built-up
and non-built up areas. (2) Batty and Kim introduced the intensity of land
use by making population density the third dimension (Batty and Kim,
1992). In this approach the decline of population density towards the pe
riphery
is modelled by a hyperbolic function, as has been discussed by
several authors, for example Bussire and Stovall. A general and consistent
formalization of population distribution requires more complex concepts
such as the multifractal approach. H. Le Bras has employed such a logic
to model population distribution (Le Bras, 1993).
This paper starts with an introduction to fractal geometry. The
examples have been chosen to illustrate the application of this approach
to the description of urban agglomerations. We use here mainly the binary
approach, which can add significantly to our understanding of urban spatial
organization. There follows a discussion of the techniques of fractal meas
urement
and the results produced by analysis of actual urbanized areas.
This analysis is conducted using analysis programs applied to digitized maps.
(" Methods of measurement introduced or used in other contexts can be used to study
fractal behaviour, for example the variogram or mathematical morphology (cf. below).
(2' The concept used can be extended so as to examine the spatial distribution of several
types of land use together (Frankhauser, 1994b).

208

P. FRANKHAUSER

In a final section we present the example of an extension of the con

cept to include not only a description of built-up and non-built-up areas
but population density.
I. - The fractal formalization of urban agglomerations
The Sierpinski carpet
and the fractal dimension

The essential characteristic of fractal ge

ometry
is that the same type of geometric
al
elements are found at an infinite number
of scales. Fractal objects do not belong to any particular scale. The presence
of the same element across many scales is reflected in the existence of a
hierarchical structure within the fractal object, a property of recurrence which
is often referred to as self-similarity. We illustrate this phenomenon with a
special class of fractal which is particularly adapted to the study of spatial
distribution in a settlement system: the Sierpinski carpet (figure 1).

Figure 1. - First iteration steps for the construction of two fractal

structures. Figure (a) shows the first iteration steps in the
construction of a Sierpinski carpet. The curve in (b) forms the
border of each side of the Sierpinski carpet
To produce this fractal we select an initial figure, which in this case
is a square of length L. A geometrical operation known as the generator
is then defined which transforms the initial figure. In our example it is
reduced by a factor r = ^ , and N,= N = 5 of these squares of length /, = r L
are arranged to form a chess-board as appears in figure la, left. This operation
is repeated for each of the five squares (figure la, middle). The figure

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

209

thus now comprises N2 = N2 = 25 squares of length I2 = r2 L = ^L. It can

be seen that the chess-board appearance has been lost but that a spatial
hierarchy has appeared in the free spaces. Repeating this operation pro
duces
an additional hierarchical level of free spaces, as in Figure la, right.
If this iteration procedure is continued to step n, the number of grey squares
will be Nn - Nn and their length will be reduced to l = rn L, so that the
surface of each stippled square will then be an-ri L2. For the total surface
A of the grey squares which form the fractal we get:
= {N-r2)n-L2

(1)
(2)

Since | < 0, the surface diminishes at each step, and by repeating

this operation to infinity we get a set of separate points whose surface
tends to zero.
The hierarchical distribution of the free spaces means that these points
are not distributed homogeneously in the surface but produce clusters.
Figure lb shows how an iteration can be used to construct a fractal
structure which reproduces at each step the border of the Sierpinski carpet.
In this case the initial figure used was the segment of line of length L.
We confirm that the total length of this object increases at each step and
that it tends to infinity. The fact that the length of a curve increases towards
infinity suggests that it is of a dimension greater than that of a normal
curve such as a circle, i.e. one. Yet it remains topologically linear. This
behaviour is inconsistent with Euclidean geometry, even more so since the
object's surface seems to tend to zero. To define such sets, measure theory
has introduced fractional value dimensions. A general measure, L is
defined, that is required to remain constant during the iteration:
L const =Nn-{ln)D
= LD

(3)

where
Nn = const- l;D

(4)

Converting to logarithms, we get a linear relation:

(5)
where D is the slope of a line, defined by the points xn = log /, yn = log N.
The condition that L remain constant is satisfied by an appropriate choice
of D which is determined by relation (5). By introducing Nn =N" and / = f1 L,

210

P. FRANKHAUSER

this new parameter D is obtained which does not depend on the step n
and which is referred to as the fractal dimension.
(6)
Since the parameters have the same values for both the constructions
described, the same fractal dimension D - -^ ~ 1 .47 is obtained for the
perimeter and for the surface, a result which is inconsistent with normal
geometry, in which curves have the dimension one and surfaces have the
dimension two.
This result reflects the fact that during iteration the length of the
perimeter increases disproportionately compared with a normal geometrical
object, whereas the surface is increasingly dominated by free spaces. In
deed,
in the limit case n every element of the surface is also an element
of the perimeter (Frankhauser, 1994b).
We verify that by the same calculation the dimension D = 1 is ob
tained
for a line and D = 2 for a totally occupied surface, that is, values
which are consistent with Euclidean geometry. Thus it is established that
fractal geometry contains conventional geometry as a limiting case.
In the Sierpinski carpet, the iteration was interpreted as a gradual
reduction in the surface occupied by the object, such as it appears in re
lation
(2). A different interpretation is also possible (see for example
Gouyet, 1992): it is imagined that at each step a given mass or population
is concentrated on the remaining surfaces of the object. The density on
each element is then calculated. If the initial population is P, we get, at
step n, for density gn = p/an on each of the Nn squares occupied:

By introducing new constants c = p/l2 and/=(Vr)2 > 1 we get:

gn = c-r

(8)

Since / > 1 the density increases towards infinity when n > . In

this interpretation of a fractal structure, density becomes a measure that
is subject to large fluctuations:
gn = 0

at the empty places,

gn >

at the occupied places.

Density is thus an inappropriate indicator for the description of a

structure presenting a fractal morphology.
In this case a better representation of the spatial distribution of the
elements is obtained by using the fractal dimension and related supplement
ary
measures.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

211

Hierarchical properties
and multifractality

The particularity of Sierpinski carpets is

their hierarchical structure which is seen in
the distribution of free spaces. The number
of non-occupied areas Nauc)(kn) of size Xn is in general:
-s

(9)

where 5 is an exponent which may differ from D. In the present case, the
free spaces are of size \\ = ^ L, \2 = (\) L, etc., and it is verified that
(10)
While iteration necessarily produces a hierarchy in the distribution of
the free spaces, the elements are of the same size even though they form
clusters. However, generators can be selected which produce hierarchies of
clusters. Such a fractal appears in figure 2. In this case the generator does
not distribute the elements homogeneously as in the case of the chess-board
(figure la, left) but concentrates N} =9 elements in a cluster while putting
N2 =4 outside this cluster. The repetition of the operation therefore pro
duces
a hierarchical structure. During the iteration there emerges a single
large cluster, composed of increasingly slender branches. On the other hand,
in each of the N = N} + N2 elements at each step is generated a cluster
composed of N} squares reduced by the factor r = ^. It is confirmed that
at step n we have obtained one cluster composed of m{ni)=gn elements,
four of mi2) = 9"-' squares, and thereafter the following series:
Size
m(3) = 9n~2
m{t] = 9"-3

Number
= N2 N = 4- 13
N{4) = N2 N2 = 4 132
N(5) = N2 N3 = 4 133

= N2

= 4 i3*-2

The number W = > (m $) and the size m {nk) can be connected by

the following relation:
~8

(11)

212

Figure 2. - A fractal at iteration

step 2 with / = 1 3 and r= . The
arrangement of the elements in
the generator produces a
hierarchy of clusters

P. FRANKHAUSER

Figure 3. - A multifractal at
iteration step 3. For some elements
the factors of reduction are indicated.
They are made up of two factors of
reduction h=\ and r2 = | , each
raised to a power. The numbers of
elements here are /Vi = 1 and
N2 = 4 (see text).

The distribution obtained is thus hyperbolic or paretian, which is

characterized by the exponent 5 = og . For each size m# of clusters, the
number N(k) of elements of this size depends on the step n of iteration by
the same factor cn = N2 TVf"-''8.
So far we have considered only fractals generated by a single factor of
reduction. The name we use for such structures is monofractals.{3) More comp
licated
hierarchies can be constructed if the generator is constituted by several
factors of reduction, for example if it produces N\ elements of size r, L and
N2 of size r2 L. Such a structure exhibits a multifractal logic. In the example
in figure 3 we selected N\ - 1 , r\ = j and N2 4 , r\ - j . In the subsequent
iterations the same logic is applied to each element generated previously.
Elements are thus produced whose factors of reduction are composed of comb
inations
of multiples of r, and r2 . Iteration 3 in the first ring produces, at
the centre, an element of size r\ surrounded by four elements of size r\ r2 . The
second ring contains four clusters in the same arrangement but whose size
is reduced by the factor r2: the centres were generated by the sequence of
f3> In preference to the name homogeneous fractal, which is often used but which in
our view can lead to confusion with the usual notion of homogeneity.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

213

factors ) r2 r\ = r\ r2 L . They are identical in size to those of the pe

riphery
of the first ring. The size of the peripheral elements is r, r\ .
Thus it can be seen that the different rings contain squares that are
of the same size but of a different 'function': the peripheral elements of
the first ring are of the same size as the central elements of the second,
and so forth. For iteration n, we thus obtain a series of different factors
with: [ , rf1 r2 ,..., = f\~k A >> A.- The number of elements correspondi
ng
to size r"fk A is:
N" (rnrk-rk)=
'
2
(n-k)lk\

N"-kNk
'
2

(12)

where the binomial prefactor expresses the phenomenon whereby elements

of the same size are found in different types of clusters.
When dealing with towns and cities it is useful not to put all the
elements of the same size together but to respect their place in a particular
ring and thus to respect their position (central or peripheral) in the subclusters. This position can be identified by respecting the order of the fac
tors of reduction as they were gradually added together during the iteration.
A distinction is thus made between the elements of r, r2 r{ and those of
the factor r] r2 . It is verified that the corresponding numbers of elements
are then for each arrangement: (4)

If r2 < r\ and N2 > N\ there is an increasing number of units of smaller

and smaller size and which are in more and more distant rings. This corre
sponds to the sharp decrease in mass towards the exterior of the occupied
surface in the fractal of figure 3, compared with the Sierpinski carpet. By
selecting different ratios between |2, A^andTV, it is possible to represent
a lesser decrease or the coexistence of several large clusters of the same
size and in equivalent position. This illustrates the rich potential of this
approach.
When the number of elements Nn {r1k r|) with the same mass is
known it is possible to introduce a relation that corresponds to (3):

= (N]r-N2r)n

(14)

and with an appropriate choice of D it is possible to satisfy the condition

L = const. The values for r, and r2 selected in figure 3 can be used to make
an explicit calculation of the fractal dimension: D = 1.36 (Gouyet, 1992).
(4) Since the indices are no longer to be mixed, the binomial prefactor disappears.

214

P. FRANKHAUSER

The fractal dimension can usually only be determined by a numerical cal

culation.
It is only a global measure since in a multifractal the fractal be
haviour
varies according to one's position. Information about this local
behaviour can be obtained by introducing the mass exponent or LipschitzHb'lder exponent o*(LH) . Each point is surrounded by an interval , and to
we link the mass |i() present in this interval by the relation (Vicsek,
1989, Feder, 1988):
(15)
For a monofractal this exponent is the same at each point and identical
to the fractal dimension. By contrast, in a multifractal structure it varies
at every point. It is then possible to identify all the places for which there
is the same value a(Lff> . A multifractal can be broken down into sub-sets
each of which has its own dimension, such that a whole spectrum of dimens
ions is obtained.
Random fractals

The extremely regular form of constructed fractals

might be considered an obstacle to an application
to actual systems. However, fractal behaviour is not limited to objects with
a regular morphology. A random element can be introduced into the itera
tion without affecting the fractal organization of the structure obtained:
the position of the elements can be varied at each step of the iteration. In
this way the free spaces already created are not affected but the distribution
of the elements is different to that observed earlier. The parameters N and
r do not change, so the fractal dimension stays the same.(5)
If some range is also established within which the number of elements TV
is varied at random during the iteration, the fractal behaviour remains stat
istically
valid. However, the fact of having many numbers N has the same
effect as the presence of several factors of reduction, and the structure
becomes multifractal (Gouyet, 1992). These variations can produce changes
of fractal behaviour at some scales, as is observed in empirical structures.
To describe this limited self-similarity, which reflects a hierarchical organ
ization that is present at only a small number of scales, we prefer to adopt
the terminology of physics and talk of scaling behaviour.
II. - The methods of fractal analysis
An iterative mapping procedure cannot be used directly to measure
the fractality of empirical structures, most of which present an irregular
morphology. Methods of measurement have thus been elaborated which
apply a logic equivalent to that of iteration: a series of measures of variable
<5> H. Le Bras used this method to simulate the distribution of the population at a
regional and national scale (Le Bras, 1993).

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

215

size e is introduced, and for each value e we determine the number of

elements N(e) needed to cover the structure:
Nn-(ln)D = L

->

N(e) (e) D = const

(16)

The scaling behaviour is usually analyzed using the bi-logarithmic

representation of the function N(e):
log N(e) = log const- D log 8

(17)

In the case of a fractal behaviour, this curve is a line whose slope

value corresponds to the fractal dimension.
Several methods have been elaborated for transcribing this logic into
concrete algorithms with which to analyse the fractal behaviour of struc
tures. In urban analysis, four main methods have been used: grid analysis,
dilation analysis, radial analysis, and correlation analysis (Battey, Longley,
1994; White, Engelen, 1993a; Frankhauser, 1994b, 1997b).
For simple fractal structures, like monofractals, all these methods
should give identical results, but empirical analysis has shown that this is
not necessarily the case. This must be interpreted as a sign that the structure
follows a multifractal logic. In these cases the information obtained by
using more than one method is found to be complementary. Some methods
produce general information about the spatial distribution of the elements,
such as the built-upon surface, in a zone. These methods we refer to as
global analyses. Information of this type can be treated as equivalent to
the fractal dimension such as it is given by relation (14). In contrast, there
is a different approach which measures the distribution of the elements in
the vicinity of a selected point and which provides more detailed infor
mation
about the spatial organization of the phenomenon in question. We
refer to this type of analysis as local analysis.
Global information
The grid method
The zone to be studied is defined and covered by a quadratical grid,
and the grid distance is then varied. Following the logic described earlier,
for each value of e, the number of squares N(z) containing any occupied
point is counted. The fractal relation corresponds to (17) and is used to
determine the grid-dimension Dg (Frankhauser, 1994b).
This method has affinities with the procedure used in spatial statistics for
studying the distribution of a phenomenon. On the other hand it shows up the
ambiguity of the results obtained by counting in a grid if we use only a single
scale and thus a single value of e. This can be seen by applying the method to
the Sierpinski carpet in figure la. We vary the grid distance according to the
iteration e = e = rn L . For each step n, we consider that part of the occupied

216

P. FRANKHAUSER

surface vn or, what is equivalent, the density of the population that we assume
to be concentrated on this surface (see above). For vn we get:
v - N>
in which we have replaced TV according to the fractal relation N = r-D and
used the relation r" = en/L and where Nitot> is the number of squares needed
to cover the whole surface. The proportion of the surface on which the
mass is concentrated thus depends directly on the size of the mesh: the
distribution of the elements cannot be determined by a single mesh size
and it is parameter D which measures the variation in v, which is consistent
with our remark about density.
The results obtained by the grid method can be affected by the lo
cation
and size of the selected zone. This is not surprising if the structure
presents multifractal behaviour. In some cases, however, the results vary
according to the position and size of the window chosen for analysis even
though the surface occupied inside the window remains the same. This
ambiguity can be avoided by means of dilation analysis.
The dilation method
This method is based on the algorithm introduced by Minkowski and
Bouligand to establish the dimension of an object using the measure theory
approach/6' In this analysis each occupied point is surrounded by a square
of size e, the surface of which is considered to be completely occupied
(see figure 5). The size of these squares is then gradually enlarged, and
we measure the total surface covered A(e) at each stage. As the squares
are enlarged, any details smaller than e are overlooked and we gradually
obtain an approximation of the original form.(7) Because more and more
squares overlap, the total occupied surface A^dl> (e) for a particular
value e is less than what it would be if the same number of occupied points
that make up the original form were surrounded individually. By dividing
this total surface by the surface a^dll> (e) = e2 of a test square, we get the
number of elements N(e) necessary to cover the whole and we get a relation
consistent with (17). The corresponding fractal dimension DM is known as
the Minkowski dimension or dilation dimension.
The correlation method and the dimensions series
A third method, spatial correlation analysis (see Batty, Longley, 1994;
Frankhauser, 1994b), has sometimes been used. This involves counting the
(6> This approach has also recently been discussed in the context of 'mathematical
morphology'.
(7> This approach can be compared to the gradual change in the degree of cartographical
detail in drawing.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

217

number of occupied points which lie at a certain distance from each oc

cupied
point, and thus the number of correlations. Fractality can also be
analyzed using a bi-logarithmic representation. In a multifractal dimension,
this correlation dimension Dc is the first of a series of dimensions which
characterize the proximity of three, four etc. points (Feder, 1988). This
gives more detailed results than grid analysis about the distribution of oc
cupied
points and can also be interpreted as the mean of the radial dimens
ionthat is examined in the next section (Frankhauser, 1994b).
Local information
The radial method
Information of a different type is obtained by using radial analysis.
This method refers to a specific point known as the counting centre and
gives the law of distribution of the occupied sites around this point. A
circle is drawn around this point, and the radius r is gradually increased.
At each step the total number of occupied points 7V(p) inside the circle is
counted. The fractal law takes the following form:
=>

logtf(p)=Dr-logp

(19)

With linear relation (19) it is possible to calculate the radial dimen

sion
Dr . When analyzing digitized patterns it is usual to surround the count
ing
centre with squares. This avoids the rounding errors that result from
the quadratical grid of the pixels. As a reminder that the distances are
measured in pixels, and thus in discrete terms, we prefer to write p, .
If we consider this type of analysis from the angle of multifractal
theory, the radial dimension has a logic similar to that of the LipschitzHlder exponent mentioned earlier. For if the mass (x(e) is identified with
the number of occupied points Nit), and the interval with p, relation (15)
is identical to relation (19).
The local character of this type of analysis means it can be used for
detailed investigation of urban land-use patterns by comparing the results ob
tained
for different counting centres. On the other hand, information about
the space surrounding the counting centre is aggregated. Counting the occupied
points inside a circle whose radius is gradually enlarged, implies an integration
over the whole range of 2 of the angles and, simultaneously, an inte
gration
on the radius from p' = 0 up to the present distance p' = p. We have
seen that the notion of density is ill-suited to a fractal logic. However, radial
analysis also measures the radial decline in mean density with distance from
the counting centre. This is clear if we consider the proportion of the occupied
surface at a distance p from the centre, and thus the mean density g inside

218

P. FRANKHAUSER

this zone. Since the number Nm(p) of pixels needed to cover the whole
surface is proportional to p2, for g we get:
D.-2
P '

(20)

Since Dr < 2, the exponent is negative and so the loss of density in

the occupied surface with radial distance from the selected centre follows
a hyperbolique function. The mean density thus varies continuously from
the centre (Batty, Kim, 1992).
The curves of scaling behaviour
If the aim is to compare the radial loss of density at different distances
from the centre and above all to identify the changes in fractal behaviour,
the bi-logarithmic distortion can also be problematic. To avoid this effect,
we have calculated for each distance p, the local value of the slope in the
bi-logarithmic representation produced by the radial analysis. These slope
values are represented for the range of distance p; (Batty, Longley, 1994;
Frankhauser, 1997b):
a =

logN-logN

(21)

log p, - log p;_,

In what follows the function oc,(p,) is referred to as the curve of scaling

behaviour.
This mode of representation is especially useful for identifying and
measuring changes in the spatial organization of urban structures. Some
care is needed when interpreting the results, however. As an example we
present a theoretical pattern formed by a Sierpinski carpet surrounded by
a black frame (figure 4a). In the central part we expect to observe a con
stant slope value equal to the fractal dimension. But contrary to this hy
pothesis,
radial analysis (figure 4b) show sharp variations which appear as
fluctuations in the curve of scaling behaviour (figure 4c). This is due to
the fact that the fractal law is only valid at distances from the centre that
are multiples of three of the length of the square, particular to that step,
which is consistent with the logic of iteration. Radial analysis does not
respect this logic and deviations are observed for the intermediary distances.
In particular, local values of oc, may greatly exceed the value of two.
This local variation of the slope is a well-known phenomenon in frac
talgeometry: free spaces in particular are responsible for local distortions
in the scaling behaviour, even if their presence is consistent with the fractal
logic of a structure, for example of a constructed fractal. This phenomenon
can be accounted for by introducing a generalized fractal law:
,)-?

(22)

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

219

0,3 0,6 0,9 1,2 1,5 1,8 2,1 2,4 2,7

15

29

43

57

71

85

3
logo

99 113

Figure 4. - Figure (a) shows a theoretical reference structure

composed of the Sierpinski carpet, surrounded by a black zone.
The radial analysis and the scaling behaviour analysis are shown
in figures (b) and (c) (see text)
where a(p,) indicates the local variations of the slope. (8) These local devi
ations
from the fractal law should therefore not be over-estimated.
If the local variations generate slope values that can exceed two, even
larger variations are observed beyond the distance where the scaling be
haviour
changes. Beyond this distance the values fall and approach asympt
otically
the value of two which corresponds to the structure. This is a
transient phenomenon: if the structure was also of dimension two prior to
the rupture, the number of occupied points at this critical distance will be
higher than in the case of a fractal structure. So in relation to the external
part of dimension two there is a shortfall of occupied points. As distance
from the centre is increased this phenomenon declines in size: the proport
ion
of missing points in relation to two becomes less and less significant.
This example shows that the value a, does not correspond directly
to the fractal dimension but is subject to different types of perturbation.
A relation has been established which identifies the different phenomena
<8) Precise hypotheses about the form of the function a(p,) assure the local value of
this parameter (Gouyet, 1992).

220

P. FRANKHAUSER

influencing the value a,. So as to be able to allow for any change in the
fractal dimension, we have generalized relation (22) so that the dimension
can also vary with distance: D = D(p) . In addition, we have treated dis
tance
p as a continuous variable, which makes it possible to interpret the
slope a as the first derivative in the bi-logarithmic representation:
. .
dlogN
..
lim
a.
a(p) = ,. & =
dlogp
]Ogp^iogPil

(23)

By means of law (22) generalized, it is verified that for the slope oc(p)
we finally get the relation:
d\ogN
fe = dloga
6 + logp
.
dD + D
_ = a.
(24)
logp
/logp
dlogp
Thus it can be seen that three different terms influence the slope value a:
the first term represents the local change in the prefactor a which
characterizes the local deviations. These perturbations appear on
the curve of scaling behaviour as fluctuations around a constant
mean value;
the second term measures the change in the fractal dimension D,
and thus authentic ruptures in the scaling behaviour. The latter
appear as changes in the mean behaviour of the curve a; ;
the third term is actually the fractal dimension itself. Because it
is now assumed that D varies with distance p, we prefer to speak
of the local value of dimension D.
The local values a, of the slopes must not be taken as the fractal
dimension. In particular, because the first two terms measure variations,
it is possible for the total of the three terms to exceed value two.i9)
In order to distinguish local fluctuations from structural changes, it
is useful to isolate the changes in the mean scaling behaviour. Gaussian
smoothing has been found an effective tool for eliminating the fluctuations
in a gradual and well controlled manner. (10)
III. - Fractal investigation of urban patterns
Fractals, hierarchies and urbanization
Fractal analysis combines several aspects. It is:
a method of spatial analysis. In particular, it can be used to examine
the law of distribution by moving across scales, as was seen in the
(9) A formal demonstration is given in Frankhauser, 1996a.
(10) Comparisons have shown that the most suitable smoothing parameter for identifying
the structural aspects of the curves of scaling behaviour has to be in a range of between 12
and 18 pixels. Use of the same value means that the results can be compared.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

22 1

grid analysis. The reference model is a Pareto distribution which is

characteristic of a hierarchical organization. It is also possible to
measure the deviations from this type of distribution and identify the
ruptures present in the spatial organization. The case of a homo
geneous
distribution is also included by the value D = 2;
a geometrical approach. Geometric structures can be generated which
respect a defined law of distribution. This makes it possible to create
model urban patterns with which to illustrate certain types of spatial
organization. A multifractal approach offers many possibilities for
generating complex urban patterns. It may even be possible to model
the ruptures at some scales by introducing a variation of the generator;
an instrument for research. It is possible to compare empirical struc
tures, even when these appear irregular, with constructed structures
that follow the same law of distribution (see figure 7). These con
structed
patterns can then be used as reference models by town plan
ners and allow the calculation of spatial measures of value for planning
purposes. Such a paradigmatic transcription remains difficult to realize
at present. The fractal dimension is a fairly global parameter which
is not affected by the presence of free spaces/1 ')
The link between fractal geometry and the Pareto distribution appears
to offer particularly rich possibilities in the field of urban theory. The ex
istence
of such a law of distribution is a well-known phenomenon in sys
tems of settlement and at different scales:
at the scale of urban networks, this distribution has been used to for
malize
the rank-size distribution of towns (see for example Pumain,
1982; Gurin-Pace, 1990), and Bussire and Stovall (1981) have found
the same law by comparing the surfaces of cities by size class. In central
place theory, economics provides the basis for deducing a similar law
of distribution which is reflected in the presence of numerous small
urban settlements and progressively fewer large urban settlements. This
hierarchy is already visible at the scale of metropolitan areas, where a
system of sub-centres can often be identified;
in urban agglomerations, a radial decrease is frequently observed
in the proportion of occupied surface in the agglomeration with
distance from the centre, and a hyperbolic law has been proposed
to describe this phenomenon, thus adopting an approach that corre
sponds
to fractal geometry. A more general formalization of this
radial decrease is possible with a multifractal approach.
From the angle of the decline in population density S. Korzibski has
already analyzed this phenomenon by comparing the evolution of the urban
population in London and Paris. Also in relation to population density,
Batty (1992) discusses the similarities between the exponential and
(11) A different organization of the elements in a generator can change the aspect of
a structure without the fractal dimension being altered.

222

P. FRANKHAUSER

hyperbolic approaches in empirical urban patterns with reference to the

work of Zielinski (1980).
at the intra-urban scale, hierarchy appears rather at the level of the
free spaces: on the one hand there is a large number of small
residential streets and internal courtyards, and on the other a small
number of main avenues and large squares;
from a morphological standpoint, the fragmented aspect of built-up
areas is also reminiscent of fractal geometry: irregularities are ob
served
at very different scales and, in particular, the distribution
of the built-up zones is non-homogeneous. This is reflected in a
considerable lengthening of the perimeter of cities in relation to
their built-up surface, which appears to be consistent with the ge
ometry
of Sierpinski carpets: their border line p is the same as
their surface a, giving the proportionality between p and a which
is in contradiction with Euclidean geometry.
So we should not expect to find a fractal law that is valid for all the
scales: the proportion of the surface occupied by man in space is not the
same if we are studying settlement patterns at a regional scale or if we
are considering the interior of an urbanized zone. Consequently we are
unlikely to find a single type of behaviour for all the geographical scales.
Instead, it is more reasonable to assume that there are ruptures in the hier
archical
organization at some scales. We have referred to different types
of fractals according to the context under discussion.
Even at a single scale, fractal behaviour may vary according to the object
under review: topography or the morphology of the transportation network
can influence the morphogenesis of an urban pattern in different ways.
It can also be noted that some algorithms are better suited than others
to the study of a particular phenomenon. Thus radial analysis appears to
be especially valuable in measuring the micro-structure of intra-urban pat
terns.
By contrast, global analysis proves more useful at a regional scale,
where attention is on the spatial distribution of settlements and where se
ttlements
are separated by extensive unoccupied spaces.
An established field of application:
the structure of urban patterns

Fractal analysis has proved a powerful tool for studying the spatial
organization of urban patterns. Ment
ion can be made of the analyses by M. Batty and P. Longley (1994), M. Batty
and Y. Xie (1996), P. Frankhauser (1994b, 1997b) and R. White (1991, 1993a).
Here we shall limit ourselves to examining different aspects of the
information collected using examples from actual research.
Some general findings
We begin with a number of results which confirm the assumptions
presented above. From a theoretical standpoint, it has been possible to construct

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

223

a fractal which obeys a logic similar to that which underpins central place
theory (Frankhauser, 1994b). (12) For the French urban system, N. Franois
has demonstrated that such a fractal hierarchy can be observed using a
radial analysis that takes Paris as its centre (Franois, 1995). An analysis
in the same vein concerns a number of metropolitan areas. We defined a
number of surface size classes and counted the number of cities whose
built-up surface corresponded to these (Frankhauser, 1994a). The metro
politan areas which present a high degree of fragmentation, such as Stutt
gart, Moscow, Berlin and Pittsburgh, confirm the existence of a hyperbolic
distribution that is consistent with fractal geometry. Urbanization in these
cases has been influenced either by the presence of valleys or by the im
portance
of a public transport network akin to the RER (suburban railway)
around Paris. By contrast, no such hierarchy is discernible for a number
of North American and Australian cities whose development has been deter
mined by the private motor car from a very early date. Figure 5 shows

n i i
1 1,522,53 4 567

1
0,5

Figure 5. - (a) The built-up surfaces of Pittsburgh, (b) the third

step of dilation, (c) the curve of the dilation analysis, and (d) the
curve of the clusters
(l2) N. Franois has recently developed a fractal formalization of the distribution of
population in a central place system (Franois, 1997a).

224

P. FRANKHAUSER

the curve of this analysis for Pittsburgh, that we have compared with the
dilation curve. These two curves indicate the existence of a spatial hier
archy.
It may be noted, however, that fractal analysis also translates the
non-homogeneous distribution of human activities within this space.
A different analysis has examined the relationship between the builtup surface a and the perimeter p in a sample of sixty urban areas. The
result confirms a close proportionality between the values of a and p
(Frankhauser, 1994b). The fractal dimension of the perimeter can therefore
be used as an indication of the degree of fragmentation of an urban pattern.
A typology of metropolitan areas
Many fractal investigations of urban patterns have dealt with the ana
lysis of metropolitan areas and are thus conducted at a regional scale. De
tailed
discussion of these results is in M. Batty and P. Longley (1994)
Fractal Cities, a Geometry of Form and Function{l3) and P. Frankhauser
(1994) La fractalit des structures urbaines.
These analyses are often conducted using large-scale cartographic rep
resentations
from which the details of intra-urban structures are absent. A
general information is thus obtained about the spatial organization of the
cities. In the sample of thirty cities that we analyzed, it was found that
European cities and some old-established cities in North America, such as
Pittsburgh and Boston, are different from the cities of North America and
Australia whose growth has been strongly marked by the spread of private
car ownership, such as Los Angeles and Melbourne.04 In the first group,
the fractal dimensions are lower, notably the global dimension (grid and
correlation). The difference between the three dimensions (radial, grid and
correlation) is greater in this group. Their behaviour is thus more consistent
with a multifractal logic. The values obtained are direct reflections of the
urban morphology: cities like Berlin and Moscow have low values of Dr,
which is explained by their axial development along the lines of transport
networks. The degree of urbanization in the urban hinterland is indicated
by the global dimensions. Highly fragmented patterns like that in the Stutt
gart region, for example, give low values. In this way several types of
urban agglomeration can thus be identified.
Analysis of urban agglomerations - some comments on methodology
For the urban and intra-urban scale we draw on analyses we have
conducted for several urban agglomerations in the Franche-Comt region
of France, in particular Besanon, the Montbliard urban area, the regions
of Dole and of Lons-le-Saunier.(l5)
(13' This book assembles the results obtained by other authors.
<14> The Third World cities we have analyzed do not form a homogeneous group. The
results reflect their disparate historical evolution and an incomplete urban development.
(15) These analyses are included in a number of masters theses in Geography (S. Trincat, Besanon; L. Goguel, Montbliard; S. Lhomme, Dole; J. Prost, Lons-le-Saunier).

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

225

A cartographical representation as close as possible to reality is re

quired
for this scale of observation. We used topographical maps on the
1: 50 000 and 1: 25 000 scales, completed in the case of Besanon by a
database compiled from the GIS of the local authority.(16)
Each of these studies focused on the radial analysis completed by
the representation of the scaling behaviour. Local information relative to
a specific point in a town and the ability to identify directly the ruptures
in urban patterns are particularly well-adapted to this scale of study. The
value of radial analysis also stems from the fact that this analysis has af
finities
with human perception of the urban space (Franois, 1995). Stu
dying
spatial patterns by gradually increasing the area around a fixed point
corresponds to the situation of an observer at a certain point in a town
who gradually expands his field of vision. This aspect is further reinforced
by the logarithmic representation which gives greater emphasis to the phe
nomena
near the counting centre while aggregating the information relative
to the more distant zones. (17) Studying the form of the curves has usually
been found to be more revealing than the actual values of the dimensions.
Intra-urban ruptures in agglomerations
The curves for urban patterns present the same characteristics already
discussed in the analysis of theoretical reference structures: the scaling be
haviour
fluctuates locally around a dominant mean behaviour. However,
these fluctuations are usually less than in the theoretical reference struc
tures, since the random phenomena present in urban patterns tend to make
the curves smoother. Thus although the bi-logarithmic curves are in places
surprisingly regular they also contain ruptures. By selecting different count
ing
centres near to each other, it is found that the scaling behaviour varies
only for the points in the immediate vicinity of the counting centre. This
is due to local deviations such as the presence of large buildings or vacant
lots; these are in fact the effects of free spaces. In addition, it is important
to remember the in-built limits to an analysis of urban patterns: results
that relate to distances smaller than the average size of small buildings
give unreliable information/18'
However, the character of the curves may vary depending on the
counting centre selected when we take a position close to the points where
the scaling behaviour changes. The fluctuations in these zones are also
greater, which is consistent with our theoretical propositions: change in
the fractal dimension contributes to larger deviations.
Figure 6 shows the built-up area in the north of the outer suburban
ring of Besanon, plus the smoothed curves of scaling behaviour for two
(l6) The author would like to thank the municipal authorities of Besanon for making
this data base available.
(17> Mention can be made in this context of the work by several authors on the nonEuclidean, heterogenous and anistropic nature of geographical space (Reymond, 1981; Brunet,
1990).
(18) For districts composed of blocks of flats this threshold may be at a greater distance,
as is confirmed by an analysis of the district of Besanon-Planoise.

P. FRANKHAUSER

226

point 1

2
1

250

500

750

1 000

1250
p (in metres)
point 2

2
1 4

250

500

750

1 000

1 250

1 500
1 750
(in metres)

Figure 6. - The smoothed curves of scaling behaviour for two

counting centres located in the northern part of Besanon. The
squares correspond to the ruptures marked in the curves. The fact
that the squares corresponding to different counting points overlap
in places indicates that the ruptures are important

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

227

counting centres. The squares marked on the map correspond to the ruptures
in the curves. It can be seen that some squares corresponding to different
counting centres partially overlap. This indicates that in this sector the rup
ture is large enough to dominate the result obtained for the whole of the
perimeter of this square.
By choosing a succession of positions for the counting centre it is
thus possible to obtain detailed information on the aspect of the urban
pattern as it appears from these points. Such information is more than a
simple division into zones: it is a descriptor of the quarters in question.
Fractal measures can thus be used to make a morphological com
parison
and classification across different scales.
A division into zones according to scaling behaviour can also be done
using other methods of analysis. We measured the size of the grid by grad
ually moving for a fixed distance the window in which the counting is
done, over the total surface of the urban pattern. The values obtained for
the fractal dimension were then mapped: each position selected is su
rrounded
by a square whose degree of shading corresponds to the value of
the dimension observed. For example, the colour black corresponds to
dimension two, while the colour white indicates dimension zero. In this
way an information is obtained about the distribution of dimensions and
thus about the ruptures in the urban patterns.
Additional information is supplied by certain ruptures in the actual
curves obtained by the grid method. In particular, a rupture often occurs
which relates to a small grid distance. This rupture corresponds to the min
imum distance between buildings: when the usual size of backyards is
reached, a shortfall of occupied squares will be noted for a smaller mesh,
indicating that this is the lower limit at which structural phenomena can
still be observed.
The information obtained in this way about the spatial organization
of urban districts can be used to construct theoretical fractal patterns equi
valent in their internal organization to the observed patterns. Figure 7 shows
an attempt to represent the aspect of the centre of Besanon in the form
of a Sierpinski carpet by respecting approximately the fractal dimension
and the distribution of free spaces in the urban pattern on the basis of a
qualitative resemblance.' l9)
Urban cores: centres of symmetry in urban patterns?
Characteristics of urban cores
The aspect of the curves obtained for the outer suburban districts
varies depending on the spatial organization of the districts. On the other
<19) It must be remembered that this is one possibility among an arbitrary number of
others, that are equivalent: a more precise method would require introducing supplementary
parameters, notably to measure the distribution of free spaces with greater acuracy.

228

P. FRANKHAUSER

Besanon
Dr
= 1,81 town centre
VMM:: VAVAVA
VA VA VA VA VA VA
VAVAVA
VAVAVA
VAVAVA

:.:

s.s

VAVAVA

VA

VAVAVA

MB
VAVAVA

VAVAVA

VAVAVA

constructed fractal
D=1,73

Figure 7. - The centre of Besanon (Dr= 1.81) compared to

a constructed fractal (D = 1.73). The distribution of free spaces
has been chosen to be close to actual conditions, which seem
to be characterized by the presence of large blocks around
internal court yards
hand, if counting points at the centre of an agglomeration are selected,
the curves obtained present a similar form, even when the towns and cities
are of very different sizes. Figure 8 shows this result for the agglomeration
of Moscow based on a 1:500 000 map. Curves of the same type are obtained
for other major European agglomerations such as Munich, Berlin and Stutt
gart, but also for smaller towns like Besanon, Dole and Lons.(20) In the
case of villages, the curves observed are either very irregular, with no dis
cernible
pattern, or correspond to the pattern for towns.
This schema can be characterized as follows:
as distance from the centre increases, scaling behaviour remains
quite constant at a fairly high value of approximately 1.8 if topo
graphical
maps are used, and closer to 2 for less detailed maps.
This zone, which varies in size, corresponds to the urban core;
when the edge of this central zone is reached, the values of a, fall.
This transitional zone varies in extent according to the morphology
of the agglomeration. It indicates a change in spatial organization at
(2) The fact of having used different cartographical bases for the large cities as for
the towns obviously makes comparison of the results problematic. However, as comparative
studies have established, such a comparison appears to be acceptable if attention is confined
to the general aspect of the curves.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

229

this distance from the centre. This lower limit is marked on figure 8,
and it can be seen that it does indeed correspond to the end of the
zone of dense urbanization which precedes the outer suburban ring
dominated by strong axial growth;
next there comes a fairly extensive zone that corresponds to the
peripheral ring of the urbanized area. The curve here often presents
an impressive degree of regularity, so we observe a constant scaling
behaviour, though the value of exponent a is lower (see figure 8);

Figure 8. - The Moscow agglomeration and the curve of scaling

behaviour obtained by a radial analysis from the city centre. The
two distances for which ruptures are observed have been
indicated on the curve by lines and on the diagram by squares:
one corresponds to the urban core, the other is at the boundary

230

P. FRANKHAUSER

continuing towards the exterior another transitional zone appears,

where the slope frequently declines gradually and which marks the
start of a zone as yet largely unaffected by the growth of the central
core. In figure 8, this second inflexion is indicated on both the
curve and the map.
In many cases, therefore, the spatial organization of urban patterns
appears to follow the same principle of internal order at different scales,
so this is a phenomenon of self-similarity.'21' An explanation can be found
in the dendritic morphology of urbanized zones: beyond a certain distance
from the centre, large unoccupied areas appear between the urbanized zones
situated close to the axes of transportation, as can be seen in the example
of Moscow. The same also applies to the villages which present this type
of scaling behaviour.
The strikingly regular form and the similarity of the curves obtained
for the urban cores shows that these play the role of centres for the radial
decay of built-up areas. In a certain sense they represent centres of sym
metry
in the morphology of urban patterns. (22)
The schema described above is sometimes modified according to the
specific features of the urban pattern. Smaller scale ruptures often occur,
which correspond to sub-centres present some distance from the main core.
Some specific examples
There are also cases which diverge considerably from the schema out
lined above, but from what has been said it is possible to provide an in
terpretation
of such results. A first example is that of Los Angeles which
we studied at the scale of 1:500 000. Although the urbanized zone in this
agglomeration is very extensive there exists no hierarchy of towns in the
hinterland. In this case the a, values decline over a much longer range of
distance and the stage of the peripheral ring is missing.
Another case that has proved interesting is that of the Montbliard
conurbation, a medium-sized agglomeration. The curve obtained for the
historic centre of Montbliard is more like that obtained for an outer sub
urban
district. By contrast, if the Peugeot car factory is taken as the count
ing
centre, the form of the curve is like that observed for city centres.
The Peugeot factory thus plays the role of a centre of symmetry for the
radial decay in this urban pattern. On the other hand, for Audincourt situ
ated at the centre of the conurbation, the curve presents merely a slight
inflexion as distance from the centre increases. Thereafter it rises and an
inflexion occurs only when the edge of the conurbation is reached. This
(21) At the scale of metropolitan areas, the difference in scaling behaviour between
the urban core and the suburban periphery has been noted by other authors, notably by
R. White who refers in this context to a bifractal behaviour (White and Engelen, 1994a;
1994b).
(22) It may be added that recent analysis conducted at a national scale for the urban
network by N. Franois has shown that Paris similarly plays the role of a "natural centre of
radial decay" in the system of settlement (Franois et al., 1995).

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

23 1

indicates that the town belongs to a network of towns which together form
a larger unit. The fact that no major change is observed in the scaling
behaviour shows that this set of towns together has the same spatial or
ganization
as a central core. Thus the conurbation as a whole forms a struc
ture organized according to a common internal hierarchy. The relative
regularity of the curve for Audincourt indicates that this town is the geo
graphical
centre of the conurbation.
Spatial analysis of the urbanization process
The degree of spatial absorption
Urbanized zones are usually composed of a number of sub-centres
grouped around a large urban centre. It is common for the centres of se
ttlements
closest to the central cluster to be absorbed by it in the process
of urbanization, thereby losing their independent character and becoming part
of the enlarged central cluster - even if administrative boundaries do not
always keep up with such changes. The value of radial analysis as a sen
sitive
instrument for distinguishing the degree of absorption of a centre of
settlement has been demonstrated by the analyses we have conducted for the
periurban towns of Munich (Frankhauser, 1994a) and Berlin, as well as at
the scale of medium- and small-sized towns in the Franche-Comt region.
When other clusters are situated near to the main cluster, the smoothed
curve of scaling behaviour is seen to have a weak inflexion before climbing
again. On the other hand the same behaviour is observed when the position
of reference is the centre of a commune (local district) situated on the pe
riphery.
For a periurban zone that has not yet been absorbed into the central
cluster, however, a curve with a clear break is observed.
By comparing the degree of absorption for the same agglomeration
at different periods we can retrace the successive stages of urbanization
in a periurban zone. Figure 9 shows the urban pattern of Lons-le-Saunier
in 1970 and in 1985, as well as the smoothed curves of scaling behaviour
for Montmorot, a commune close to Lons. A sharp break is observed in
1970 but has completely disappeared in 1985. The scaling behaviour has
thus become more regular, and the urbanization process is found to act as
a self-structuring process.
Change and continuity in urban morphogenesis
In the previous example, urbanization is accompanied by a phenome
non
of self-structuring which is reflected in a greater regularity of the
curves, despite the fragmented morphology of the urban patterns. Therefore
it seems interesting to study the process of urbanization by comparing the
urban patterns of a town across time. We have conducted such investigations
for Munich, Berlin, the Montbliard region, and Lons-le-Saunier. The results
confirm that fluctuations diminish greatly in the course of urbanization:

232

P. FRANKHAUSER
Lons-le-Saunier 1970

Lons-le-Saunier 1985

Montmorot .,:

500

1000
1500
p (in metres)

500

1000
1500
p (in metres)

Figure 9. - The absorption of Montmorot, a village on

the outskirts of Lons-le-Saunier, between 1970 and 1985.
The same counting centre has been used for both periods.
In 1970, the smoothed curve of scaling behaviour is seen to
contain several ruptures which were then situated between the two
agglomerations. In 1985 there remains only a slight inflexion.
The distance of 60 pixels corresponds to 1 km
for large agglomerations the principal observation is a decline in
the fluctuations in the suburbs and beyond.
This indicates that the urbanized space is increasingly dominated
by the central cluster;
for some periurban villages no structure can be identified to begin
with, whereas in the course of urbanization the curves get closer
to the pattern described for the urban cores.
Urbanization should thus be interpreted as a self- structuring process.
Figure 10 presents the comparison of two chronological sequences
of smoothed curves of scaling behaviour relative to periurban development
in the region of Berlin and of Lons. Although these two agglomerations
are not comparable by size, in qualitative terms the two curves are similar.
In both cases we observe, at the first date, that the centre is still fairly
limited in extent.(23) For distances beyond the centre, the curve for Berlin
(23> By isolating the break between the urban core and the peripheral ring at each
period it is possible to measure the growth of the space affected by urbanization. This i
nformation
can be used to study and model urban growth (Frankhauser, 1994a).

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

a
3,

10

233

Berlin

Lons-le-Saunier

1875

1913

15

20

25 30 35
p (in kilometres)

500 1 000 1 500 2000 2500 3000 3500

p (in metres)

1910

10
a
3-,

15

20

1947

i
1"~r
500 100015002000250030003500
p (in metres)

25 30 35
p (in kilometres)

1970

1920

10

15

500 1000 1500 2000 25003000

p (in metres)

20 25 30 35
p (in kilometres)

1945

10

15

20

1985

25 30 35
p (in kilometres)

500 1 000 1 500 2000 2500 3000

p (in metres)

Figure 10. - Comparison of the growth of Berlin

and Lons-le-Saunier as transcribed by
the smoothed curves of scaling behaviour.
It will be noted that the form of both curves changes
in the same way (see text)

234

P. FRANKHAUSER

levels out at a lower value before going on to reach higher values, within
a limited range. In the case of Lons, it is seen that the curve falls after
reaching the edge of the core, and that a second break is observed, corr
esponding
to the suburban ring which surrounds this core. Only at a greater
distance from the centre do there exist also higher values. In both these
cases this increase in values is due to the presence of other agglomerations
situated at this distance. A comparison with the curves for the subsequent
periods shows that the inflexions in the curves are reduced and that we
observe a more extensive transitional zone. The fluctuations caused by dis
tant agglomerations gradually give way under the influence of a periurban
ring whose presence is indicated by a stage of constant behaviour as di
scussed
earlier.
If the growth of the central cluster has a considerable influence on
the spatial organization of the suburbs, it is found that the values of the
parameter a, scarcely increase inside the urban core which thus does not
reach the dimension of two that is indicative of a homogeneous occupation
of space. The values of a, in the peripheral zones are observed to move
gradually closer to those of the core. It follows that the additional built-up
surface is thus distributed according to the same principle as inside the
cluster, with the result that larger free spaces continue to exist inside the
urbanized zone. This form of growth corresponds to the allometric prin
ciple, often observed in biological systems (Frankhauser, 1994b) and is
consistent with the logic discussed above of a gradual fragmentation of
the built-up area.
This mode of growth is not the result of a planning policy but tends
in fact to run counter to such policies, which means that it is a phenomenon
of self-organization. In fact, the growing influence of the central cluster
on the periurban area is reminiscent of the slaving principle elaborated in
synergetics to explain phenomena of self-organization. One of the fun
damental
principles of this approach is based on the idea that the compet
itionbetween sub-systems culminates in the dominance of a single element
which achieves preeminence through a process of natural selection. In the
case of a settlement system it can be imagined that one particular agglomera
tion
benefits from an advantageous situation, in the form of political or
economic advantages, or by its position. The neighbouring agglomerations
then risk losing their independence. (24)
These observations point to the use of the fractal approach to model
urban morphogenesis, and several authors have suggested growth models
based on fractal rules (Frankhauser, 1994b; Batty, Longley, 1994; White,
Engelen, 1994a; Makse, Halvin, Stanley, 1995). Particular mention can be
(24) w. Weidlich and G. Haag (1988) have elaborated a synergetic model of a network
of towns to show the spontaneous growth of one town to the detriment of the others. The
multi-agents model, elaborated by the P.A.R.I.S. team (Gurin-Pace, 1995), also reveals the
development of an urban hierarchy. In both cases, however, these are demographic models
rather than a morphogenetic approach. It may be added that the socio-economic aspects of
the fragmentation of the urban space are discussed in Frankhauser, 1994b.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

235

made of the attempts by Batty et al. and more recently A. Makse et al. to
model urban growth by applying methods used in physics to describe phe
nomena
of diffusion and of electrical discharges. These results are inter
esting in that what is being modelled is the peripheral growth of cities.
In addition, Makse et al. also consider the influence that the surroundings
of a place have on its probability or not of being urbanized. However,
such an approach remains essentially descriptive, since it is still hard to
justify this method on the basis of micro-economic processes, as for
example, decisions over residential location. In this respect, the approach
adopted by R. White and G. Engelen represents a different logic: they i
ntroduce
the laws of spatial interaction between different land-uses. For
example, the proximity of an industrial zone is unfavourable to the deve
lopment
of a residential zone. With this model is it also possible to take
into account the influence of supplementary models. On the other hand,
no allowance is made for changes in the behaviour of the human agents,
for example a greater sensitivity to increasing density of the built-up space.
Yet such phenomena appear to have an important role in explaining the
reasons which contribute to the fragmentation of the periurban space. The
use of spatial models to explore urban growth does seem nonetheless a
promising field, since space is explicitly present in this approach, in cont
rast to the traditional models whose approach is essentially economic. A
modelling concept has recently been proposed which attempts to integrate
the reaction of the human agents to the spatial transformation provoked
by the process of urbanization (Frankhauser, 1996b).
IV. - Towards an analysis of population distribution
Our discussion so far has been limited to studying the distribution
of built-up surfaces. In terms of demography, this point of view corre
sponds to a homogeneous distribution of the population across the built-up
surface. At the level of a more detailed analysis of urban patterns, it would
be desirable to also take into account other aspects of urban spatial or
ganization,
such as the density of built-up surfaces and the distribution
of the population. Reference was made earlier to the work of H. Le Bras
who has used a multifractal approach to analyse the non-homogeneous
distribution of the population. This approach is based on an iteration
whereby at each step a part of the population is allocated to a part of
the available surface. A similar approach has recently also been used by
S. Appelby to analyse the distribution of population at the scale of the
urban network (Appelby, 1996).
Application of such an approach at the scale of agglomerations re
quires
introduction of a bivalent logic with which to model both the dis
tribution
of the built-up surface and the density of land use. We need to
measure the radial decay of the occupied surface from a city centre and

P. FRANKHAUSER

236

a distribution of the population which may be different/25' The aim is thus

to combine two different logics of distribution.
The generator

Iteration step 2

Figure 11. - The generator discussed in the text and the iteration
step 2. The percentages of population present in each square are
represented by different degrees of shading: the greyer the scale,
the higher the percentage
(25) It is known, for example, that the residential population is concentrated in the
peripheral zones even though densities of built-up surfaces in the urban cores reach very
high levels.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

237

Figure 11 gives the example of a fractal which corresponds to such

a logic: the initial figure is a square containing the entire population. A
generator is then introduced comprising nine squares reduced to one fifth.
Five of these squares are arranged in the initial square in the form of a
chess-board, and another is added in each corner. This construction is not
much more complicated than the carpet in figure 1. Unlike the Sierpinski
carpet, however, the population is distributed over the occupied squares in
a non-homogenous way. We allocate only /?i=| to the central square,
whereas each of the squares in the first suburban ring have p2 = | of the
population, and we assume that the furthest squares, situated in the corners,
have only = -^ of the population. This operation is repeated in the next
step. The logic is thus like that of figure 3: also produced are factors of
reduction which contain the factors pu p2 and p3. A hierarchy of sub-centres
is obtained which obey a logic equivalent to that of the central cluster.
The proportion of the built-up surface does indeed fall as distance from the
centre increases. However, the distribution of the population is consistent with
the idea that the largest share of the population lives in the inner suburbs,
while the centre and outer suburbs are less densely populated.
A fractal analysis based on this approach could be used to study this
phenomenon and to divide the zones by their type of demographic dis
tribution.
This requires the adaptation of multifractal methods of measure
ment
to this phenomenon of distribution.
Conclusion
Application of fractal theory is not simply about the introduction of
alternative methods of spatial measurement. It in fact involves a new ge
ometrical
approach for understanding the organization of humanized space:
the paradigm referred to is no longer that of homogeneity as in the Eu
clidean
perception but that of the hierarchical distribution of elements in
space. This logic appears to be consistent with many observations and with
a number of theoretical formalizations such as the rank-size law and central
place theory. By using the fractal approach it is possible to establish the
existence of such an organization within a spatial system, even when it is
not directly visible because masked by random phenomena. Regular and
constructed geometrical structures can thus be compared with structures
which though they appear to be irregular follow the same principle of internal
order. In addition, the possibility of studying a phenomenon across scales also
allows the identification of critical thresholds in a spatial system.
The geometrical character of the fractal formalization makes it par
ticularly
suited to exploration of the morphology and genesis of urban pat
terns,
and in a way which goes beyond a simple topological approach. For
example, the curves of fractal analyses obtained for different periods are

238

P. FRANKHAUSER

found to become more regular which reflects an underlying phenomenon

of self-organization. The same type of evolution is also observed for small
towns as for large agglomerations. Yet it must not be thought that this is
a trivial phenomenon, as topographical, socio-economic conditions and ac
ces ibility
can all influence morphogenesis and hence the fractal indices.
It must therefore be concluded that the fractal indices characterize the
morphology of urban structures. Fractal dimensions have a concrete meaning:
they measure the degree of non-homogeneity in a spatial distribution. A fractal
dimension close to two expresses an almost uniform distribution of the ele
ments,
whereas a dimension close to zero is indicative of a strong concentrat
ion.
Compared with some traditional measures which relate to topology, such
as measures of connectivity, fractal analysis provides supplementary informat
ion,
since it measures the non-topological properties of these structures. In
other cases the fractal indices indicate the unsuitability of traditional measures:
if density varies greatly with the scale of observation, fractal analysis can
eliminate this ambiguity, for example.
Fractal analysis is primarily a descriptive tool: we may observe a
structure which obeys a fractal law or identify the existence of a threshold,
but these facts are not explained. However, identifying a certain type of
spatial organization provides a tool with which to test theories or expla
natory models from a morphological standpoint: first, a model of urban
morphogenesis has to respect the results obtained by this approach, while
second, as in the physical sciences, the discovery of a certain type of struc
ture can contribute to reflections about explanatory theories which repro
duce the observed spatial logic.
Although the fractal measures currently in use enable us to compare
and classify, it can be seen that they are sometimes inadequate. Future
research should thus be directed at developing supplementary measures but
which are consistent with the logic of spatial hierarchies. As has been
shown, a promising direction for conceptual extension appears to be that
of the notion of multifractality. This should facilitate the interpretation of
certain results obtained by earlier analyses.
Pierre Frankhauser

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank Denise Pumain, Lena Sanders and France
Gurin-Pace of the P.A.R.I.S. group of the CNRS, for many fruitful discussions,
and my colleagues at the IRADES (CNRS THEMA group) for the interest they
have shown in this work. Thanks also to Jolle Maillardet and Thomas Thevenin
for the diagrams, and to Anne Marie Odouze for her critical comments on the text.

THE FRACTAL APPROACH

239
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P. FRANKHAUSER

Frankhauser (Pierre).- The fractal approach. A new tool for the spatial analysis of ur
ban agglomerations.
Fractal geometry is a new approach for the study of spatial distributions. The basic
model is a law of hierarchical distribution corresponding to Pareto's law which is familiar
to urban geographers and demographers. The methods of fractal analysis can be used to stu
dy the spatial organization of human activities across scales. The regularities and the dis
continuities
in the distributions can then be identified. These discontinuities can be
spatially situated. Applying this concept to urbanized areas has shown that districts can be
defined and classified according to their scaling relations, thereby allowing development of
a typology of locational patterns. This observation reveals the existence of a principle of
self-similarity in land-use patterns. An examination of time series shows that despite the
apparent fragmentation of these urban tissues, urbanization is often accompanied by selfstructuring development.
Subsequent research will need to employ complementary morphological measures,
such as measures of space filling and of population distribution, which could be used to va
lidate
the simulation models based on fractal geometry.
Frankhauser (Pierre).- L'approche fractale. Un outil de rflexion dans l'analyse spa
tiale des agglomrations urbaines.
La gomtrie fractale est une nouvelle approche pour tudier des rpartitions spatial
es.Le modle de rfrence est une loi de distribution hirarchique qui correspond la loi
de Pareto, bien connue en gographie urbaine et en dmographie. L'utilisation des mtho
des
d'analyse fractale permet d'tudier l'organisation spatiale des activits humaines tra
vers les chelles. Il est ainsi possible de dcouvrir aussi bien des hirarchies rgulires que
des ruptures. Ces ruptures peuvent tre identifies dans l'espace. L'application de ce con
cept aux tissus urbains a montr qu'il est possible de distinguer et de classifier des quartiers
selon leur comportement sealant, et de dvelopper une typologie des tissus urbains. Cette
observation met en vidence l'existence d'un principe d'auto-similarit dans les tissus ur
bains.
L'tude de sries temporelles montre que l'urbanisation est souvent accompagne de
phnomnes de structuration, en dpit de la fragmentation apparente de ces tissus.
Les futures recherches devraient utiliser des mesures morphologiques complmentair
es:
mesures de lacunarit, mesures concernant la rpartition de la population. Ces mesures
pourront servir valider des modles de simulation bass sur la gomtrie fractale.
Frankhauser (Pierre). - El anlisis fractal. Un nuevo instrumente de reflexion en el
anlisis espacial de las aglomeraciones urbanas.
La geometria fractal es un nuevo mtodo de estudio de reparticiones espaciales. El
modelo de referencia es una ley de distribucin jerrquica que corresponde a la ley de Paret
o,bien conocida en geografia urbana y en demografia. La utilizacin de los mtodos de
anlisis fractal permite estudiar la organizacin espacial de las actividades humanas a travs de escalas. Estas escalas permiten establecer tanto jerarquias regulares como rupturas,
que se pueden identificar y situar en el espacio. La aplicacin de este concepto a los tejidos
urbanos ha abierto la posibilidad de distinguir y clasificar gradualmente barrios segn su
comportamiento, y de esta forma desarrollar tipologias urbanas. Este mtodo muestra la existencia de un principio de auto-similaridad en los tejidos urbanos. El estudio de series tem
porales
muestra que el proceso de urbanizacin va frecuentemente acompafiado de un
proceso de estructuracin, a pesar de la fragmentacin aparente de taies tejidos.
En investigaciones futuras deberian utilizarse medidas morfologicas complementarias: medidas de lagunaridad, medidas referentes a la reparticin de la poblacin. Estas me
didas
podrian utilizarse tambin para validar los modelos de simulacin basados en la
geometria fractal.
Pierre Frankhauser, Universit de Franche-Comt, 32, rue Mgevand, 25030 Besanon, France,
tel: [33] (0)3 81 66 54 21, fax: [33] (0)3 81 66 53 55, e-mail: pierre.frankhauser@univ-fcomte.fr