Due to the increasing availability of high-resolution remotely sensed imagery and detailed terrain surface elevation models, urban planners and municipal managers can now model and visualize the urban space in three dimensions. The traditional approach to the representation of urban space is 2D planimetric maps with building footprints, facilities and road networks. Recently, a number of methods have been developed to represent true 3D urban models. Those include panoramic imaging, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), and Computer-aided Design (CAD). These methods focus on aesthetic representation, but they do not have sufficient spatial query and analytical capabilities. This research evaluates the conventional approaches to 3D urban models, and identifies their advantages and limitations; GIS functionalities have been combined with 3D urban visualization techniques to develop a GIS-based urban modeling method; The algorithms and techniques have been explored to derive urban objects and their attributes from airborne LiDAR and high-resolution imagery for constructing and visualizing 3D urban models; and 3D urban models for the Texas A&M University (TAMU) campus and downtown Houston have been implemented using the algorithms and techniques developed in this research. By adding close-range camera images and highresolution aerial photographs as the texture of urban objects, effect of photorealism visualization has been achieved for walk-through and fly-through animations. The Texas A&M University campus model and the downtown Houston model have been implemented to offer proof-of-concept, namely, to demonstrate the advantages of the GIS-based approach. These two prototype applications show that the GIS-based 3D urban modeling method, by coupling ArcGIS and MultiGen-Paradigm Site Builder 3D software, can realize the desired functionalities in georeferencing, geographical measurements, spatial query, spatial analysis, and numerical modeling in 3D visual environment.

Dans cette étude, nous allons établir une comparaison diachronique de la ville de Tegucigalpa, capitale du honduras et les transformations urbaines qui se mènent à bien à partir de deux moments politiques et historiques : la réforme libérale du xixème siècle et la période néo-libérale de la fin du xxème siècle. pour cela, nous allons nous appuyer sur deux axes principaux : la reconstitution de discours des administrations libérales et néo-libérales, de manière que cela nous permette d'établir les similitudes entre les deux discours aussi bien que les différences. le deuxième axe sera constitué par l'analyse des résultats matériels de tous les deux discours dans le paysage urbain. comment vivent les habitants de la ville ces deux politiques de modernisation ? l'aspiration à la modernité de la part des autorités, traduite en politique urbaine, est-elle souhaitée ou subie par les tegucigalpais ? répondre à ces questions constituera notre problématique de recherche, autour de laquelle on articulera les facteurs politiques, sociaux, économiques et urbains qui conditionnent la modernisation de tegucigalpa. / In this study, we will establish a diachronic comparison of the city of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and the urban transformations that took place in two political and historical moments: the liberal reform of the Nineteenth century and the neo-liberal period of the end of the Twentieth century. For that, we will rely on two main axes: the reconstitution of discourses of the liberal and neo-liberal administrations, so that it allows us to establish the similarities between the two speeches as well as the differences. The second axis will be the analysis of the material results of both speeches in the urban landscape. How do the inhabitants Tegucigalpa live these two modernization policies? Is the ideal of modernity on behalf of the authorities, desired or suffered by its inhabitants? Answering these questions will constitute our research problem, around which we will articulate the political, social, economic and urban factors that condition the modernization of Tegucigalpa.

Social and natural sciences share an interest for collective phenomena, which constitute an important part of the domain of complex systems. This thesis focuses on the study of urban systems, using analytical tools inspired by statistical physics, and also simulations, in particular agent-based models. A first analytical resolution of a Schelling spatial segregation model is presented, using a statistical physics framework linking individual and collective dynamics. This framework shows that utility or welfare in socio-economic models corresponds to a chemical potential in physics, a correspondence which is applied to a urban housing model. The housing market is further studied with a parsimonious price formation model. The implementation of an agent-based model, which reproduces the results of the standard urban economics (AMM) model, provides a second point of view on urban systems and the interaction between transport and land use. The simulations give results also when analytical resolution is lacking. The model is used to study the economic, environmental and social outcomes of having an amenity in the urban area and of polycentric cities. With two income groups, this work provides insights on the different urban social structures in North American and European cities for instance.

Les sciences "dures" et les sciences humaines ont un intérêt commun pour les phénomènes collectifs, qui sont également un sujet de recherche important dans le domaine des systèmes complexes. Cette thèse se focalise sur l’étude des systèmes urbains, en utilisant des outils analytiques venant de la physique statistique, et des simulations, en particulier la modélisation multi-agents. Une première résolution analytique d’un modèle de ségrégation spatiale de Schelling est obtenue à l’aide d’un formalisme de physique statistique qui relie la dynamique individuelle et collective. Ce formalisme montre que l’utilité ou le bien être des modèles socio-économiques correspond à un potentiel chimique en physique, ce qu’illustre un modèle de logement urbain. Le marché du logement est étudié plus en détail grâce à un modèle parcimonieux de formation du prix. La mise en oeuvre d’un modèle multi-agents, qui reproduit les résultats du modèle standard de l’économie urbaine (AMM), donne un deuxième point de vue sur les systèmes urbains et l’interaction entre transport et localisation résidentielle. Les simulations fournissent des résultats là où la résolution analytique fait défaut. Ce modèle est utilisé pour étudier les impacts économique, environnemental et social de l’introduction d’une aménité dans l’espace urbain et de la ville polycentrique. Avec deux catégories de revenu, ce travail fournit des hypothèses quant aux différentes structures sociales urbaines dans les villes nord-américaines et européennes par exemple. / Social and natural sciences share an interest for collective phenomena, which constitute an important part of the domain of complex systems. This thesis focuses on the study of urban systems, using analytical tools inspired by statistical physics, and also simulations, in particular agent-based models.A first analytical resolution of a Schelling spatial segregation model is presented, using a statistical physics framework linking individual and collective dynamics. This framework shows that utility or welfare in socio-economic models corresponds to a chemical potential in physics, a correspondence which is applied to a urban housing model. The housing market is further studied with a parsimonious price formation model. The implementation of an agent-based model, which reproduces the results of the standard urban economics (AMM) model, provides a second point of view on urban systems and the interaction between transport and land use. The simulations give results also when analytical resolution is lacking. The model is used to study the economic, environmental and social outcomes of having an amenity in the urban area and of polycentric cities. With two income groups, this work provides insights on the different urban social structures in North American and European cities for instance.

An increasing national focus on problems related to urban sprawl has fueled debate on the best way for urban areas to accommodate increasing populations. Portland, Oregon has attracted international attention for its growth policies, which are among the most stringent in the United States. Metro, the area's regional government in charge of long-range planning, has designated certain locations as regional centers where increased density and development are to occur. A logical question is whether or not these centers are developing as intended; do Metro's plans match reality on the ground? This study of Washington County, Oregon analyzes land value, building volume, road intersection density, and public transportation availability using ArcGIS to locate potential regional centers in the county to answer that question. Subjective criteria are used during field visits to these locations to determine whether potential centers identified in the ArcGIS analysis are truly regional centers. Change over time is analyzed from 2000 to 2010 to see if the variables mentioned above contribute to regional center development. This study's results show Metro's designated regional centers are, in fact, regional centers or emerging regional centers using the above criteria, meaning this aspect of Metro's plans do match reality on the ground. Commercial land value tends to be the strongest indicator of regional centeredness. This study's findings aid in the understanding of urban areas. They help urban planners in their efforts to create viable plans that accommodate population growth and future development.

Le champ de l’aménagement urbain structure fortement la vie politique locale de la capitale du Texas. Les acteurs s’affrontent autour des enjeux d’aménagement, allant du simple cas de zonage à l’élaboration complexe du plan d’urbanisme. La crispation des relations actorielles dans ce domaine s’effectue sur fond de croissance démographique et économique rapide qui aiguise les enjeux d’aménagement. Alors que l’attractivité d’Austin est érigée en modèle exemplaire du succès de la théorie de la classe créative, l’objectif de ce travail est de révéler le rôle des différents types de modèle dans la structuration et l’évolution de la culture des acteurs de l’aménagement austinite. La première partie précise les objets de recherche et développe une méthodologie adaptée. L’étude de la culture de l’aménagement urbain s’appuie sur les analyses des professionnels de l’urbanisme et les travaux d’analyse comparative des cultures de l’urbanisme en les adaptant à un champ actoriel ouvert à tous les acteurs impliqués, porteurs d’une stratégie spatiale. Les différents types de modèles actifs dans la vaste communauté discursive et comparative de l’urbanisme à l’échelle mondiale sont définis avant d’être envisagés à la lumière des policy mobility studies.La deuxième partie retrace l’histoire de l’urbanisation d’Austin au miroir des modèles théoriques utilisés pour en étudier le développement, tout en pointant les modèles urbanistiques dominants à chaque époque. La construction des modèles contemporains est analysée dans leur relation dialectique avec le cas d’Austin afin de souligner les mécanismes de la modélisation scientifique et l’influence réciproque entre ces modèles théoriques et les acteurs de l’aménagement urbain.La troisième partie analyse le système actoriel de l’aménagement d’Austin, sa gouvernance et la conception de l’urbanisme des divers groupes d’acteurs impliqués. Elle montre qu’au-delà des communautés épistémiques, de véritables communautés culturelles se forment autour d’objectifs politiques afin de surmonter les enjeux contemporains.La dernière partie approfondit l’analyse des jeux d’acteurs et des modèles urbanistiques dominants à travers l’outil de planification. Elle souligne les mécanismes de l’évolution culturelle dans le champ de l’aménagement et révèle les stratégies des acteurs pour promouvoir de nouveaux modèles urbanistiques.La profondeur des fractures révélées au sein du champ actoriel explique les difficultés à faire évoluer le système aménagiste qui reste crispé et litigieux. Le développement d’une culture commune de l’aménagement permettrait de retisser progressivement un lien de confiance et remplacer la défiance qui bloque pour le moment les processus d’adaptation aux nouvelles réalités urbaines d’une grande ville en émergence. / The urban planning field strongly structures the Texas capital’s local political life. The actors confront each others on planning issues, ranging from the simple zoning case to the more complex elaboration of a comprehensive plan. The tense relationships between the actors in this domain are taking place against a backdrop of rapid demographic and economic growth, which sharpens urban development issues. While Austin's attractiveness is set as an exemplary model of the success of creative class theory, the goal of this work is to reveal the role of the various types of models in the structuring and evolution of Austin’s planning culture.The first section specifies the research objects and develops an appropriate methodology. The study of the urban planning culture is based on the analysis of urban planning professionals and on the comparative analysis of urban planning cultures, adapting them to a larger variety of actors to take into account all the people involved through a spatial strategy. The different types of active models in the global discursive and comparative urban planning community are first defined, then considered in the light of the policy mobility studies.The second section traces the history of Austin's urbanization through the lens of the theoretical models used to study its development, while pointing out the prevailing urban models at each period. The construction of contemporary models is analyzed through their dialectical relationship with the case of Austin in order to emphasize the mechanisms of scientific modeling and the reciprocal influence between these theoretical models and the urban planning actors.The third section analyzes Austin’s planning system, its governance and the conception of the urban planning held by the various groups of actors involved. It shows that beyond epistemic communities, real cultural communities are formed around policies imagined to overcome contemporary planning issues.The last section deepens the analysis of the actors’ interplay and of preveiling urban models thanks to a planning tool: the comprehensive plan. It highlights the mechanisms of cultural evolution in the field of planning and reveals the actors’ strategies to promote new urban models.The depth of the fractures revealed within the planning field explains the difficulties for its system to evolve. Its processes therefore remain very tense and litigious. The development of a common culture of planning could gradually restore a bond of trust and replace the mistrust that, for the moment, stalls the process of adaptation to the new urban realities of an emerging big large city.

Cette thèse vise à établir une réponse de structures urbaines optimisant les caractéristiques des préférences des habitants. Plus simplement écrit, nous cherchons à explorer quelle forme de ville tenc à répondre le plus favorablement aux aspirations de la population en suivant leurs préférences de consommation pour les aménités urbaines et vertes. En considérant un terrain d'étude théorique et en caractérisant la population par un modèle comportemental de type Cobb-Douglas, nous construisons le développement de la ville par étapes avec une arrivée successive des individus et explorons quelle réponse géométrique est la mieux adaptée. L'objectif final de la thèse est alors de montrer la possibilité d'élaborer une ville à géométrie fractale comme réponse aux demandes des personnes. Nous montrons qu'elle permet un équilibre entre accès aux deux aménités opposées, urbaines et vertes. Cette compensation des distances permet par suite d'offrir à chaque individu, à la fois un équilibre pour ses aménités et son budget, tout en satisfaisant aux exigences globales de la ville / This thesis aims to establish a urban structure that optimizes inhabitant's preferences. In other words, we want to find out which city shape answers the best the residents' aspirations, according to their consumption preferences for urban and green amenities. By considering a theoretical field of study and by characterizing the population by a Cobb-Douglas behavioral pattern, we will build step by step a city, assuming successive arrivais of new individuals, in order to find out which geometric shape gives the most suitable answer. The final goal of this thesis is there to suggest a city with a fractal shape as an appro- priate answer to the resident's expectations. We will show that this structure provides indeed both a balance between accesses to urban amenities and accesses to green amenities and a balance between amenities and budget, with an effective distance compensation that satisfies the overall exigencies of the city

O movimento de pedestres está associado ao espaço em que ele acontece, de maneira local, onde cada calçada oferece vantagens físicas e de maneira global ao determinar rotas através dos caminhos da cidade. Entender como os pedestres escolhem as calçadas por onde se locomovem é essencial para determinar as características do ambiente necessárias aos espaços. Uma maneira de entender essas relações é através da criação de modelos urbanos, um modo de associar diretamente os atributos aos fenômenos. Buscou-se analisar metodologias utilizadas em modelos de pedestres, bem como novas tecnologias incorporadas a eles, para avaliar a movimentação peatonal urbana em áreas centrais de tecido tradicional. Dentre as metodologias observadas, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e as medidas de desempenho dos passeios. A sintaxe se destaca por relacionar o efeito da malha urbana como indutora do movimento de pedestres, e as medidas de desempenho por criarem maneiras de avaliar a qualidade do passeio. Esta pesquisa procura compatibilizar esses dois métodos de abordar o movimento para descrever e compreender as relações entre o espaço e o fluxo de pedestres na área central da cidade de Santa Maria-RS. As variáveis do espaço urbano foram processadas com as redes neurais artificiais, uma tecnologia inovadora com muito potencial na área de modelagem urbana, por sua aptidão de aprendizado a partir de exemplos - fenômenos que não possuem regras explícitas - e processamento em paralelo dos dados - todas as variáveis se influenciam ao mesmo tempo para resultar no fenômeno estudado. Os resultados obtidos mostraram-se pertinentes às bases teóricas e contribuem para a explicação do movimento natural em cidades. / The pedestrians’ movement is associated to the space where it happens, on a local way, where each sidewalk offers physical advantages and in a global way when determining routes through the city roads. To understand how the pedestrians choose the sidewalks where they will move around is essential to determine the ambient characteristics that are necessary on the spaces. A way of understanding these relations is by creating urban models, a way of associating directly the attributes to the phenomena. It was tried to analyze methodologies used in pedestrians' models, as well as new technologies incorporated to them, to evaluate the urban pedestrian movement at central areas of the traditional cities. Among the observed methodologies, those which were more appropriated to understand the factors contained in the urban space were the spatial syntax and the measures of sidewalks performance. The syntax stands out by relating the effect of the urban grid as the factor that induces the pedestrians’ movement and the performance measures because they create forms of evaluating the sidewalk’s quality. This research attempts to make compatible those two methods of approaching the movement to describe and to understand the relations between the space and the pedestrians' flow in the central area of Santa Maria-RS The urban space variables were processed with the artificial neural networks, an innovative technology with a lot of potential in the urban modeling area, on account of its learning aptitude starting from examples - phenomena that don't have explicit rules - and the parallel processing of the data - all the variables influence each other at the same time to result in the studied phenomenon. The obtained results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to the explanation of the natural movement in cities. The results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to explaining the natural movement in the cities.

O movimento de pedestres está associado ao espaço em que ele acontece, de maneira local, onde cada calçada oferece vantagens físicas e de maneira global ao determinar rotas através dos caminhos da cidade. Entender como os pedestres escolhem as calçadas por onde se locomovem é essencial para determinar as características do ambiente necessárias aos espaços. Uma maneira de entender essas relações é através da criação de modelos urbanos, um modo de associar diretamente os atributos aos fenômenos. Buscou-se analisar metodologias utilizadas em modelos de pedestres, bem como novas tecnologias incorporadas a eles, para avaliar a movimentação peatonal urbana em áreas centrais de tecido tradicional. Dentre as metodologias observadas, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e as medidas de desempenho dos passeios. A sintaxe se destaca por relacionar o efeito da malha urbana como indutora do movimento de pedestres, e as medidas de desempenho por criarem maneiras de avaliar a qualidade do passeio. Esta pesquisa procura compatibilizar esses dois métodos de abordar o movimento para descrever e compreender as relações entre o espaço e o fluxo de pedestres na área central da cidade de Santa Maria-RS. As variáveis do espaço urbano foram processadas com as redes neurais artificiais, uma tecnologia inovadora com muito potencial na área de modelagem urbana, por sua aptidão de aprendizado a partir de exemplos - fenômenos que não possuem regras explícitas - e processamento em paralelo dos dados - todas as variáveis se influenciam ao mesmo tempo para resultar no fenômeno estudado. Os resultados obtidos mostraram-se pertinentes às bases teóricas e contribuem para a explicação do movimento natural em cidades. / The pedestrians’ movement is associated to the space where it happens, on a local way, where each sidewalk offers physical advantages and in a global way when determining routes through the city roads. To understand how the pedestrians choose the sidewalks where they will move around is essential to determine the ambient characteristics that are necessary on the spaces. A way of understanding these relations is by creating urban models, a way of associating directly the attributes to the phenomena. It was tried to analyze methodologies used in pedestrians' models, as well as new technologies incorporated to them, to evaluate the urban pedestrian movement at central areas of the traditional cities. Among the observed methodologies, those which were more appropriated to understand the factors contained in the urban space were the spatial syntax and the measures of sidewalks performance. The syntax stands out by relating the effect of the urban grid as the factor that induces the pedestrians’ movement and the performance measures because they create forms of evaluating the sidewalk’s quality. This research attempts to make compatible those two methods of approaching the movement to describe and to understand the relations between the space and the pedestrians' flow in the central area of Santa Maria-RS The urban space variables were processed with the artificial neural networks, an innovative technology with a lot of potential in the urban modeling area, on account of its learning aptitude starting from examples - phenomena that don't have explicit rules - and the parallel processing of the data - all the variables influence each other at the same time to result in the studied phenomenon. The obtained results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to the explanation of the natural movement in cities. The results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to explaining the natural movement in the cities.

O movimento de pedestres está associado ao espaço em que ele acontece, de maneira local, onde cada calçada oferece vantagens físicas e de maneira global ao determinar rotas através dos caminhos da cidade. Entender como os pedestres escolhem as calçadas por onde se locomovem é essencial para determinar as características do ambiente necessárias aos espaços. Uma maneira de entender essas relações é através da criação de modelos urbanos, um modo de associar diretamente os atributos aos fenômenos. Buscou-se analisar metodologias utilizadas em modelos de pedestres, bem como novas tecnologias incorporadas a eles, para avaliar a movimentação peatonal urbana em áreas centrais de tecido tradicional. Dentre as metodologias observadas, aquelas que mais se adequaram para entender os fatores contidos no espaço urbano foram a sintaxe espacial e as medidas de desempenho dos passeios. A sintaxe se destaca por relacionar o efeito da malha urbana como indutora do movimento de pedestres, e as medidas de desempenho por criarem maneiras de avaliar a qualidade do passeio. Esta pesquisa procura compatibilizar esses dois métodos de abordar o movimento para descrever e compreender as relações entre o espaço e o fluxo de pedestres na área central da cidade de Santa Maria-RS. As variáveis do espaço urbano foram processadas com as redes neurais artificiais, uma tecnologia inovadora com muito potencial na área de modelagem urbana, por sua aptidão de aprendizado a partir de exemplos - fenômenos que não possuem regras explícitas - e processamento em paralelo dos dados - todas as variáveis se influenciam ao mesmo tempo para resultar no fenômeno estudado. Os resultados obtidos mostraram-se pertinentes às bases teóricas e contribuem para a explicação do movimento natural em cidades. / The pedestrians’ movement is associated to the space where it happens, on a local way, where each sidewalk offers physical advantages and in a global way when determining routes through the city roads. To understand how the pedestrians choose the sidewalks where they will move around is essential to determine the ambient characteristics that are necessary on the spaces. A way of understanding these relations is by creating urban models, a way of associating directly the attributes to the phenomena. It was tried to analyze methodologies used in pedestrians' models, as well as new technologies incorporated to them, to evaluate the urban pedestrian movement at central areas of the traditional cities. Among the observed methodologies, those which were more appropriated to understand the factors contained in the urban space were the spatial syntax and the measures of sidewalks performance. The syntax stands out by relating the effect of the urban grid as the factor that induces the pedestrians’ movement and the performance measures because they create forms of evaluating the sidewalk’s quality. This research attempts to make compatible those two methods of approaching the movement to describe and to understand the relations between the space and the pedestrians' flow in the central area of Santa Maria-RS The urban space variables were processed with the artificial neural networks, an innovative technology with a lot of potential in the urban modeling area, on account of its learning aptitude starting from examples - phenomena that don't have explicit rules - and the parallel processing of the data - all the variables influence each other at the same time to result in the studied phenomenon. The obtained results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to the explanation of the natural movement in cities. The results were shown pertinent to the theoretical bases and they contribute to explaining the natural movement in the cities.