BEYOND ANALOG MODELS - SPACE-FILLING AND DENSITY-MEASUREMENT OF AN URBAN SETTLEMENT

The innovation of computer graphics into regional science has already stimulated development of new types of analogue models of city structu res. Now, progressive integration of satellite data and socio-economic information within geographical information systems (GIS) is making p ossible the creation of tailor-made datasets through which such models might be evaluated. This paper begins with a retrospective assessment of Fotheringham, Batty and Longley's (1989) diffusion-limited aggrega tion (DLA) analogue model of urban growth. Using satellite imagery and a surface model derived from the UK Census, we develop a dataset whic h facilitates empirical evaluation of this analogy. Implications of th is approach are explored.