A city is considered as a complex system. It consists of numerous interactivesub-systems and is affected by diverse factors including governmental landpolicies, population growth, transportation infrastructure, and market behavior.Land use and transportation systems are considered as the two most importantsubsystems determining urban form and structure in the long term. Meanwhile,urban growth is one of the most important topics in urban studies, and its maindriving forces are population growth and transportation development. Modelingand simulation are believed to be powerful tools to explore the mechanisms ofurban evolution and provide planning support in growth management. The overall objective of the thesis is to analyze and model urban growth basedon the simulation of land-use changes and the modeling of road networkexpansion. Since most previous urban growth models apply fixed transportnetworks, the evolution of road networks was particularly modeled. Besides,urban growth modeling is an interdisciplinary field, so this thesis made bigefforts to integrate knowledge and methods from other scientific and technicalareas to advance geographical information science, especially the aspects ofnetwork analysis and modeling. A multi-agent system was applied to model urban growth in Toronto whenpopulation growth is considered as being the main driving factor of urbangrowth. Agents were adopted to simulate different types of interactiveindividuals who promote urban expansion. The multi-agent model with spatiotemporalallocation criterions was shown effectiveness in simulation. Then, anurban growth model for long-term simulation was developed by integratingland-use development with procedural road network modeling. The dynamicidealized traffic flow estimated by the space syntax metric was not only used forselecting major roads, but also for calculating accessibility in land-usesimulation. The model was applied in the city centre of Stockholm andconfirmed the reciprocal influence between land use and street network duringthe long-term growth. To further study network growth modeling, a novel weighted network model,involving nonlinear growth and neighboring connections, was built from theperspective of promising complex networks. Both mathematical analysis andnumerical simulation were examined in the evolution process, and the effects ofneighboring connections were particular investigated to study the preferentialattachment mechanisms in the evolution. Since road network is a weightedplanar graph, the growth model for urban street networks was subsequentlymodeled. It succeeded in reproducing diverse patterns and each pattern wasexamined by a series of measures. The similarity between the properties of derived patterns and empirical studies implies that there is a universal growthmechanism in the evolution of urban morphology. To better understand the complicated relationship between land use and roadnetwork, centrality indices from different aspects were fully analyzed in a casestudy over Stockholm. The correlation coefficients between different land-usetypes and road network centralities suggest that various centrality indices,reflecting human activities in different ways, can capture land development andconsequently influence urban structure. The strength of this thesis lies in its interdisciplinary approaches to analyze andmodel urban growth. The integration of ‘bottom-up’ land-use simulation androad network growth model in urban growth simulation is the major contribution.The road network growth model in terms of complex network science is anothercontribution to advance spatial network modeling within the field of GIScience.The works in this thesis vary from a novel theoretical weighted network modelto the particular models of land use, urban street network and hybrid urbangrowth, and to the specific applications and statistical analysis in real cases.These models help to improve our understanding of urban growth phenomenaand urban morphological evolution through long-term simulations. Thesimulation results can further support urban planning and growth management.The study of hybrid models integrating methods and techniques frommultidisciplinary fields has attracted a lot attention and still needs constantefforts in near future. / <p>QC 20130514</p>

Entender as causas geradoras do movimento de pedestres é muito importante para o planejamento urbano das cidades, a fim de inferir se as atitudes tomadas na concepção e manutenção dos espaços estão de fato contribuindo para o fortalecimento da dinâmica social. No entanto, determinar como funciona o movimento dos pedestres é uma tarefa difícil devido à complexidade das estruturas sociais que criam esse fenômeno. Uma maneira de contornar esse problema é através da criação de modelos que associam diretamente os atributos das calçadas e suas relações. Dentre as metodologias observadas para a construção do modelo, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e o nível de serviço dos passeios. A Sintaxe Espacial ajuda na compreensão desse fenômeno, pois permite a análise das relações espaciais da cidade. No entanto, possui a limitação de prever apenas parte desse movimento e, ainda, só encontrar correlações significativas quando a medida de inteligibilidade (correlação entre a integração e conectividade) apresenta valores elevados. Do mesmo modo, a qualidade do passeio interfere diretamente no modo que o pedestre utiliza esse espaço. O fluxo de pedestre é um fenômeno complexo e, como tal, não pode ser entendido através de relações lineares ou de causa e efeito entre quaisquer variáveis, sejam elas espaciais ou não. Para entender a complexidade desse fenômeno será utilizada a abordagem conexionista das redes neurais artificiais, uma forma de processamento em paralelo com capacidade de trabalhar através de exemplos, generalizando e abstraindo as informações das variáveis e suas ligações. Deste modo, este trabalho pretende apresentar uma abordagem diferenciada para entender parte da dinâmica social através do fenômeno da movimentação de pedestres. / In Urban Planning, understanding pedestrian movement generative causes is key issue. Through it is possible to check if public policies targeting maintenance and improvement of open spaces are effectively reaching their goals in strengthening social dynamics. Nevertheless it is quite difficult to determinate how pedestrian movement functions due to social structure complexity driving these phenomena emergency and the extensive row of variables underlying it. One of the most effective problem-solving tools targeting the subject is modeling sidewalk attributes through the relations held amidst their physical variables and measured levels of use. Among several methods applied in model building, Space Syntax and Sidewalks Service Leveling were those which provided the best suitable tools to face the research problems. Space Syntax methods are helpful to understand the phenomena, since they allow to depict tendencies for pedestrian movement related directly to grid deformation patterns and spatial configuration. But its scope is limited since it substantiates movement potential rather than measured. Also because correlations found between pedestrian movement measurements and urban morphology are only robust when Integibility measure (correlating Integration to connectivity) is high. Likewise, sidewalk physical qualities are directly responsible for the way in which people move around, establish their routes or use public spaces, fulfilling or hijacking movement potential standards. Pedestrian fluxes are complex phenomena and being such, unable to be pictured by linear relations or explained through cause – effect conditioning between spatial or a-spatial variables. To depict the interdependence between variables amidst these phenomena complexity we opted for a connective approach found at Artificial Neural Nets; a way of parallel data processing which is able to modeling from samples due to their generalization capacity and that of extract information from the structuring variables and their relationships and linkages. Being so, this research presents an original combination of tools and methods that allow approaching social dynamics starting from pedestrian movement phenomena empirical data.

A complexidade espacial das cidades contemporâneas se deve a novas formas de segmentação social que reorganizam as expectativas de interação entre categorias sociais e informam a produção e apropriação do espaço urbano. Estes processos são mediados pela mobilidade através de fronteiras nacionais que tem suas funções atualizadas a partir da integração econômica regional. Cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteiras internacionais adquirem novas funções como polos de integração transnacionais, chamando atenção os processos de conurbação transnacionais a que estão sujeitas. A pesquisa geográfica analisa estes processos e tipifica o fenômeno através de classificações baseadas em contiguidade, continuidade e densidade de funções compartilhadas para mensurar integração, subsidiar estratégias de cooperação internacional e estabelecer hierarquias regionais para redes de cidades. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se dialogar com estas noções a partir do campo da Arquitetura, numa abordagem socioespacial dos problemas de Planejamento Urbano de configuração de territórios híbridos que emergem do processo de conurbação entre cidades-gêmeas da fronteira Brasil – Uruguai. A partir de dois estudos de caso Santana do Livramento (BR) - Rivera (UY) e Chuí (BR) - Chuy (UY) descritos e analisados usando-se ferramentas e métodos da Sintaxe Espacial. Verificam-se categorias de semelhança entre conurbações internacionais ponderando o próprio processo de fusão dos sistemas urbanos como variável implicada na transformação da apropriação social do espaço. A hipótese é que estas conurbações não podem ser descritas como configurações sociais e espaciais a partir de suas partes, sem que se arrisque minorar a importância que a estrutura do espaço construído e o próprio processo de conurbação têm na organização das interações entre categorias sociais na vida cotidiana de cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteira internacional, transformando integração espacial, social e econômica. O processo de conurbação e a nodificação de redes de comércio popular são analisados a partir de hierarquias de integração-segregação, acessibilidade-conectividade, continuidade - interpenetração e relacionados à produção de categorias sociais moradorestranho e a emergência de centralidades funcionais transfronteiriças enfocando-se a agencia de imigrantes árabe-palestinos sobre a dinâmica urbana. / Social and spatial complexity is the most outstanding feature of contemporary cities. Spatial complexity is enhanced by new patterns of urban expansion informed by the restructuring of interactions between social categories which consider more often new forms of social and economic segmentation. These processes are mediated by mobility across national borders which have their functions updated by economic integration within geographical regions such as MERCOSUL. In this context, cities located along international borderlines acquire new functions related to their role as transnational integration hubs. It also calls attention to conurbation processes between twin cities. Geographical research has been particularly keen in investigating these processes addressing a wide range of typical cross border conurbations. Classification is based on interaction patterns and fluxes intensity between its parts, usually targeting cooperative strategies, economic and commuting between cities to evaluate their strength and hierarchical position amidst regional urban nets. These classifications are based on spatial continuity, contiguity and, especially, on shared or complementary functional centralities, since lower level economical activities such as street commerce are forces driving the conurbation process. Here these conurbations are described and analyzed as spatial configurations using Space Syntax theory and methods to verify structural similarities which enable to classify them as a distinguished urban type. The problem focuses on the urban system relational hierarchy of spatial integrationsegregation, accessibility-connectivity allowing the evaluation of these conurbations spatial patterns performance in relation to the emergence of transborder functional centralities, grassroots commercial networks nodes and middlemen minorities agency. Our hypothesis is that those conurbations cannot be described as a social and spatial configuration through its parts without risking obliterating the role material space has on regulating human interactions.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:57:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FernandaLP_DISSERT.pdf: 5416443 bytes, checksum: 179175cb44c462129a12d10bfc036342 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-07 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / This research aims to study dimensions of urban life in the contemporaneous city. It is an effort to understand the functioning of the contemporary city as an artifact that somehow affects social relations. The study focuses on the limits and possibilities of urbanity in the city today, understanding urbanity as a set of factors that favor wealth, diversity and spontaneity of public life. The research aims to show that cities today tend to criate fragmented urban life into at least one of the three urbanity dimensions: spatial dimension, social and temporal dimension. The study involves the analysis of two public spaces in Fortaleza (Pra?a do Ferreira and the open urban public spaces of the Centro Cultural Drag?o do Mar), using Space Syntax Analysis methods and for Post Occupancy Evaluation procedures. Research shows that temporal dimension of urbanity is limited in the public spaces studied. In Pra?a do Ferreira, spatial and social dimensions are present, but their effects are limited by the temporal dimension. The Drag?o do Mar, on the other hand, the spatial and social dimensions of urban life are more limited and more concentrated in time / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo geral estudar dimens?es da vida urbana na cidade atual. ? um esfor?o de compreens?o do funcionamento da cidade contempor?nea enquanto artefato que afeta de algum modo as rela??es sociais. O trabalho enfoca os limites e as possibilidades da urbanidade na cidade atual, entendendo-se urbanidade como um conjunto de fatores que favorecem a riqueza, a diversidade e a espontaneidade da vida p?blica. A pesquisa procura mostrar que as cidades atuais tendem a conformar uma vida urbana fragmentada em pelo menos uma das tr?s dimens?es da urbanidade: a dimens?o espacial, a dimens?o social e dimens?o temporal. Para tanto o trabalho envolve a an?lise de dois espa?os p?blicos da cidade de Fortaleza (a Pra?a do Ferreira e os espa?os abertos do Centro Cultural Drag?o do Mar), a partir da aplica??o de m?todos de An?lise Sint?tica do Espa?o e de procedimentos de Avalia??o P?s-ocupa??o. A pesquisa mostra que a dimens?o temporal da urbanidade ? limitada nos dois espa?os p?blicos estudados. No caso da Pra?a do Ferreira as dimens?es espacial e social est?o presentes, mas tem seu efeito limitado pela dimens?o temporal. No Drag?o do Mar, por outro lado, as dimens?es espacial e social da urbanidade s?o mais limitadas e mais concentradas em termos temporais

Entender as causas geradoras do movimento de pedestres é muito importante para o planejamento urbano das cidades, a fim de inferir se as atitudes tomadas na concepção e manutenção dos espaços estão de fato contribuindo para o fortalecimento da dinâmica social. No entanto, determinar como funciona o movimento dos pedestres é uma tarefa difícil devido à complexidade das estruturas sociais que criam esse fenômeno. Uma maneira de contornar esse problema é através da criação de modelos que associam diretamente os atributos das calçadas e suas relações. Dentre as metodologias observadas para a construção do modelo, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e o nível de serviço dos passeios. A Sintaxe Espacial ajuda na compreensão desse fenômeno, pois permite a análise das relações espaciais da cidade. No entanto, possui a limitação de prever apenas parte desse movimento e, ainda, só encontrar correlações significativas quando a medida de inteligibilidade (correlação entre a integração e conectividade) apresenta valores elevados. Do mesmo modo, a qualidade do passeio interfere diretamente no modo que o pedestre utiliza esse espaço. O fluxo de pedestre é um fenômeno complexo e, como tal, não pode ser entendido através de relações lineares ou de causa e efeito entre quaisquer variáveis, sejam elas espaciais ou não. Para entender a complexidade desse fenômeno será utilizada a abordagem conexionista das redes neurais artificiais, uma forma de processamento em paralelo com capacidade de trabalhar através de exemplos, generalizando e abstraindo as informações das variáveis e suas ligações. Deste modo, este trabalho pretende apresentar uma abordagem diferenciada para entender parte da dinâmica social através do fenômeno da movimentação de pedestres. / In Urban Planning, understanding pedestrian movement generative causes is key issue. Through it is possible to check if public policies targeting maintenance and improvement of open spaces are effectively reaching their goals in strengthening social dynamics. Nevertheless it is quite difficult to determinate how pedestrian movement functions due to social structure complexity driving these phenomena emergency and the extensive row of variables underlying it. One of the most effective problem-solving tools targeting the subject is modeling sidewalk attributes through the relations held amidst their physical variables and measured levels of use. Among several methods applied in model building, Space Syntax and Sidewalks Service Leveling were those which provided the best suitable tools to face the research problems. Space Syntax methods are helpful to understand the phenomena, since they allow to depict tendencies for pedestrian movement related directly to grid deformation patterns and spatial configuration. But its scope is limited since it substantiates movement potential rather than measured. Also because correlations found between pedestrian movement measurements and urban morphology are only robust when Integibility measure (correlating Integration to connectivity) is high. Likewise, sidewalk physical qualities are directly responsible for the way in which people move around, establish their routes or use public spaces, fulfilling or hijacking movement potential standards. Pedestrian fluxes are complex phenomena and being such, unable to be pictured by linear relations or explained through cause – effect conditioning between spatial or a-spatial variables. To depict the interdependence between variables amidst these phenomena complexity we opted for a connective approach found at Artificial Neural Nets; a way of parallel data processing which is able to modeling from samples due to their generalization capacity and that of extract information from the structuring variables and their relationships and linkages. Being so, this research presents an original combination of tools and methods that allow approaching social dynamics starting from pedestrian movement phenomena empirical data.

A complexidade espacial das cidades contemporâneas se deve a novas formas de segmentação social que reorganizam as expectativas de interação entre categorias sociais e informam a produção e apropriação do espaço urbano. Estes processos são mediados pela mobilidade através de fronteiras nacionais que tem suas funções atualizadas a partir da integração econômica regional. Cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteiras internacionais adquirem novas funções como polos de integração transnacionais, chamando atenção os processos de conurbação transnacionais a que estão sujeitas. A pesquisa geográfica analisa estes processos e tipifica o fenômeno através de classificações baseadas em contiguidade, continuidade e densidade de funções compartilhadas para mensurar integração, subsidiar estratégias de cooperação internacional e estabelecer hierarquias regionais para redes de cidades. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se dialogar com estas noções a partir do campo da Arquitetura, numa abordagem socioespacial dos problemas de Planejamento Urbano de configuração de territórios híbridos que emergem do processo de conurbação entre cidades-gêmeas da fronteira Brasil – Uruguai. A partir de dois estudos de caso Santana do Livramento (BR) - Rivera (UY) e Chuí (BR) - Chuy (UY) descritos e analisados usando-se ferramentas e métodos da Sintaxe Espacial. Verificam-se categorias de semelhança entre conurbações internacionais ponderando o próprio processo de fusão dos sistemas urbanos como variável implicada na transformação da apropriação social do espaço. A hipótese é que estas conurbações não podem ser descritas como configurações sociais e espaciais a partir de suas partes, sem que se arrisque minorar a importância que a estrutura do espaço construído e o próprio processo de conurbação têm na organização das interações entre categorias sociais na vida cotidiana de cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteira internacional, transformando integração espacial, social e econômica. O processo de conurbação e a nodificação de redes de comércio popular são analisados a partir de hierarquias de integração-segregação, acessibilidade-conectividade, continuidade - interpenetração e relacionados à produção de categorias sociais moradorestranho e a emergência de centralidades funcionais transfronteiriças enfocando-se a agencia de imigrantes árabe-palestinos sobre a dinâmica urbana. / Social and spatial complexity is the most outstanding feature of contemporary cities. Spatial complexity is enhanced by new patterns of urban expansion informed by the restructuring of interactions between social categories which consider more often new forms of social and economic segmentation. These processes are mediated by mobility across national borders which have their functions updated by economic integration within geographical regions such as MERCOSUL. In this context, cities located along international borderlines acquire new functions related to their role as transnational integration hubs. It also calls attention to conurbation processes between twin cities. Geographical research has been particularly keen in investigating these processes addressing a wide range of typical cross border conurbations. Classification is based on interaction patterns and fluxes intensity between its parts, usually targeting cooperative strategies, economic and commuting between cities to evaluate their strength and hierarchical position amidst regional urban nets. These classifications are based on spatial continuity, contiguity and, especially, on shared or complementary functional centralities, since lower level economical activities such as street commerce are forces driving the conurbation process. Here these conurbations are described and analyzed as spatial configurations using Space Syntax theory and methods to verify structural similarities which enable to classify them as a distinguished urban type. The problem focuses on the urban system relational hierarchy of spatial integrationsegregation, accessibility-connectivity allowing the evaluation of these conurbations spatial patterns performance in relation to the emergence of transborder functional centralities, grassroots commercial networks nodes and middlemen minorities agency. Our hypothesis is that those conurbations cannot be described as a social and spatial configuration through its parts without risking obliterating the role material space has on regulating human interactions.

Entender as causas geradoras do movimento de pedestres é muito importante para o planejamento urbano das cidades, a fim de inferir se as atitudes tomadas na concepção e manutenção dos espaços estão de fato contribuindo para o fortalecimento da dinâmica social. No entanto, determinar como funciona o movimento dos pedestres é uma tarefa difícil devido à complexidade das estruturas sociais que criam esse fenômeno. Uma maneira de contornar esse problema é através da criação de modelos que associam diretamente os atributos das calçadas e suas relações. Dentre as metodologias observadas para a construção do modelo, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e o nível de serviço dos passeios. A Sintaxe Espacial ajuda na compreensão desse fenômeno, pois permite a análise das relações espaciais da cidade. No entanto, possui a limitação de prever apenas parte desse movimento e, ainda, só encontrar correlações significativas quando a medida de inteligibilidade (correlação entre a integração e conectividade) apresenta valores elevados. Do mesmo modo, a qualidade do passeio interfere diretamente no modo que o pedestre utiliza esse espaço. O fluxo de pedestre é um fenômeno complexo e, como tal, não pode ser entendido através de relações lineares ou de causa e efeito entre quaisquer variáveis, sejam elas espaciais ou não. Para entender a complexidade desse fenômeno será utilizada a abordagem conexionista das redes neurais artificiais, uma forma de processamento em paralelo com capacidade de trabalhar através de exemplos, generalizando e abstraindo as informações das variáveis e suas ligações. Deste modo, este trabalho pretende apresentar uma abordagem diferenciada para entender parte da dinâmica social através do fenômeno da movimentação de pedestres. / In Urban Planning, understanding pedestrian movement generative causes is key issue. Through it is possible to check if public policies targeting maintenance and improvement of open spaces are effectively reaching their goals in strengthening social dynamics. Nevertheless it is quite difficult to determinate how pedestrian movement functions due to social structure complexity driving these phenomena emergency and the extensive row of variables underlying it. One of the most effective problem-solving tools targeting the subject is modeling sidewalk attributes through the relations held amidst their physical variables and measured levels of use. Among several methods applied in model building, Space Syntax and Sidewalks Service Leveling were those which provided the best suitable tools to face the research problems. Space Syntax methods are helpful to understand the phenomena, since they allow to depict tendencies for pedestrian movement related directly to grid deformation patterns and spatial configuration. But its scope is limited since it substantiates movement potential rather than measured. Also because correlations found between pedestrian movement measurements and urban morphology are only robust when Integibility measure (correlating Integration to connectivity) is high. Likewise, sidewalk physical qualities are directly responsible for the way in which people move around, establish their routes or use public spaces, fulfilling or hijacking movement potential standards. Pedestrian fluxes are complex phenomena and being such, unable to be pictured by linear relations or explained through cause – effect conditioning between spatial or a-spatial variables. To depict the interdependence between variables amidst these phenomena complexity we opted for a connective approach found at Artificial Neural Nets; a way of parallel data processing which is able to modeling from samples due to their generalization capacity and that of extract information from the structuring variables and their relationships and linkages. Being so, this research presents an original combination of tools and methods that allow approaching social dynamics starting from pedestrian movement phenomena empirical data.

A complexidade espacial das cidades contemporâneas se deve a novas formas de segmentação social que reorganizam as expectativas de interação entre categorias sociais e informam a produção e apropriação do espaço urbano. Estes processos são mediados pela mobilidade através de fronteiras nacionais que tem suas funções atualizadas a partir da integração econômica regional. Cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteiras internacionais adquirem novas funções como polos de integração transnacionais, chamando atenção os processos de conurbação transnacionais a que estão sujeitas. A pesquisa geográfica analisa estes processos e tipifica o fenômeno através de classificações baseadas em contiguidade, continuidade e densidade de funções compartilhadas para mensurar integração, subsidiar estratégias de cooperação internacional e estabelecer hierarquias regionais para redes de cidades. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se dialogar com estas noções a partir do campo da Arquitetura, numa abordagem socioespacial dos problemas de Planejamento Urbano de configuração de territórios híbridos que emergem do processo de conurbação entre cidades-gêmeas da fronteira Brasil – Uruguai. A partir de dois estudos de caso Santana do Livramento (BR) - Rivera (UY) e Chuí (BR) - Chuy (UY) descritos e analisados usando-se ferramentas e métodos da Sintaxe Espacial. Verificam-se categorias de semelhança entre conurbações internacionais ponderando o próprio processo de fusão dos sistemas urbanos como variável implicada na transformação da apropriação social do espaço. A hipótese é que estas conurbações não podem ser descritas como configurações sociais e espaciais a partir de suas partes, sem que se arrisque minorar a importância que a estrutura do espaço construído e o próprio processo de conurbação têm na organização das interações entre categorias sociais na vida cotidiana de cidades-gêmeas em zonas de fronteira internacional, transformando integração espacial, social e econômica. O processo de conurbação e a nodificação de redes de comércio popular são analisados a partir de hierarquias de integração-segregação, acessibilidade-conectividade, continuidade - interpenetração e relacionados à produção de categorias sociais moradorestranho e a emergência de centralidades funcionais transfronteiriças enfocando-se a agencia de imigrantes árabe-palestinos sobre a dinâmica urbana. / Social and spatial complexity is the most outstanding feature of contemporary cities. Spatial complexity is enhanced by new patterns of urban expansion informed by the restructuring of interactions between social categories which consider more often new forms of social and economic segmentation. These processes are mediated by mobility across national borders which have their functions updated by economic integration within geographical regions such as MERCOSUL. In this context, cities located along international borderlines acquire new functions related to their role as transnational integration hubs. It also calls attention to conurbation processes between twin cities. Geographical research has been particularly keen in investigating these processes addressing a wide range of typical cross border conurbations. Classification is based on interaction patterns and fluxes intensity between its parts, usually targeting cooperative strategies, economic and commuting between cities to evaluate their strength and hierarchical position amidst regional urban nets. These classifications are based on spatial continuity, contiguity and, especially, on shared or complementary functional centralities, since lower level economical activities such as street commerce are forces driving the conurbation process. Here these conurbations are described and analyzed as spatial configurations using Space Syntax theory and methods to verify structural similarities which enable to classify them as a distinguished urban type. The problem focuses on the urban system relational hierarchy of spatial integrationsegregation, accessibility-connectivity allowing the evaluation of these conurbations spatial patterns performance in relation to the emergence of transborder functional centralities, grassroots commercial networks nodes and middlemen minorities agency. Our hypothesis is that those conurbations cannot be described as a social and spatial configuration through its parts without risking obliterating the role material space has on regulating human interactions.

Tehran, the capital of Iran has undergone major urbanization in the last century, which has caused uncontrollable urban growth. Poor regulation and control of this growth has given rise to environmental problems including high air and water pollution. In turn, this has led to urban growth towards the mountains in the north, where the environment is better. However, this pressure to develop in the north has increased segregation of the city and created a clear social division of class between the northern and southern parts of the City. In light of this, and in the context of Tehran as an extremely dense city with limited green space, the City sees a possibility in transforming an unused military airport in the southern districts of the city into a new urban park. This master thesis explores how to reclaim the 270Ha former airfield and develop it as an urban park with strengthened links to surrounding neighbourhoods. The work aims to gain an understanding of how large vacant areas can become successful public areas and green places in the community. The work is based on urban theory and site analysis and brings forward design proposals for the park. Analysis work is divided into an investigative and exploratory stage. The investigative part includes literature studies, data collection and mapping of the city’s urban morphological development, taking into account physical and socio-economic processes. The exploratory part consisted of inventories, site studies and interviews in Tehran, as well as integration analysis with space syntax to explore accessibility and connections in the new park. Throughout the study shows how and why the city has evolved and highlights a connection between living in the southern districts, which are low-income areas, with also having poor access to public and recreation areas. This analysis forms the foundations for the design proposal, visualizations and programs presented about how the area can be designed as a new urban city park. In conclusion, the study highlights that in order to be able to develop new places or renew existing area’s, consideration must be given to urban morphological development. This includes the socio-economic and socio-ecological process. It further concludes, that a ecological viewpoint together with a understanding of the physical environment, the urban landscape identity and the need of people in the context needs to be brought together to plan and create parks and urban spaces

Rapporten är en undersökning gällande det som händer när en plats ändrarfunktion och karaktär. I Stockholm har pendeltågstationen Karlberg en centraloch social roll som kan komma att rubbas av dess stängning. Vår rapport kommersåledes handla om att undersöka och förstå platsen för att sedan geåtgärdsförslag på ett gestaltningsarbete i form av ett byggnadsverk. / This report is a study of what happens when a place changes its function and character. In Stockholm, the commuter train station Karlberg has a social part that may be disturbed by its closure. Our report will therefore focus on investigating and understanding the place and then give proposals for action on a design work in the form of a building.