This thesis outlines the experiences of the author in conducting various research and development, projects addressing different means of representing the urban environment. These projects all fall within a fifteen year period that has been characterised by the most rapid growth and diversification of any technology in history. The document steps through four eras in the progress of these projects and, while addressing only a single viewpoint, attempts to follow the developmental thread that has linked all these activities over the years. As with all retrospective treatments of a single technology there is always a time period when a single snapshot represents the expensive state-of-the-art which, some time later, becomes derided as worthless and outdated before finally entering a phase where it may be regarded with nostalgia and perhaps new found worth. This cycle is true to all aspects of computing technology, hardware, software and applications. The rapid pace of progress with the computing industry has distorted this time frame allowing ground breaking applications of only a few years of age to be treated with derision by some of those who have only experienced the latest cutting edge of the technology. Unfortunately this temporal distortion has forced much of our computing history towards an early grave without providing a sufficient period within which fond memories might grow. This is lamentable not just for emotional reasons but mainly because many of today's techniques and technologies are based on yesterday's precedents. In order to appreciate the reasoning behind any one developmental phase of the project it is necessary to place it in its context of the available computing infrastructure both in terms of hardware and software. To this end each chapter seeks to identify the key enabling technological foundations on which the work is constructed.