The Geometry of Urban Layouts ― A Global Comparative Study

This book presents a compendium of the urban layout maps of 2-mile square downtown areas of more than one hundred cities in developed and developing countries—all drawn at the same scale using high-resolution satellite images of Google Maps. The book also presents analytic studies using metric geometrical, topological (or network), and fractal measures of these maps. These analytic studies identify ordinaries, extremes, similarities, and differences in these maps; investigate the scaling properties of these maps; and develop precise descriptive categories, types and indicators for multidimensional comparative studies of these maps. The findings of these studies indicate that many geometric relations of the urban layouts of downtown areas follow regular patterns; that despite social, economic, and cultural differences among cities, the geometric measures of downtown areas in cities of developed and developing countries do not show significant differences; and that the geometric possibilities of urban layouts are vastly greater than those that have been realized so far in our cities.

Mahbub Rashid is a Professor of the School of Architecture, Design, and Urban Planning at the University of Kanas. Presently, he serves as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies of the school, and the Chair of the MA/PhD Programs in Architecture. With a Master’s degree from MIT and a PhD degree from Georgia Tech, Dr. Rashid is an expert in theories and methods of architectural research with a focus on the structures of form and space. He uses innovative spatial and social network, fractal, and statistical analysis techniques along with more traditional research methods and methodologies to study the effects of built form and space on human behavior, psychology, society and culture in office, healthcare, and urban environments. Registered as an architect in Georgia, USA, Dr. Rashid also works as an architectural consultant for reputable architectural design firms. Dr. Rashid has over 80 major and minor publications. His major publications include over 50 peer-reviewed articles (about 40 of them as the sole and/or main author) in journals, books, and conference proceedings.