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Logic of Diversity

Complex Geometry and Spatial Modelling of Spontaneous Settlements
 
 

This experimental web page refers to the Ph.D. Research about spatial analysis of slums (favelas) and combine concepts and theories as complexity, fragmentation,  fractal analysis and celular models. This project has been carried out at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA) - University College London, as part of the Doctorate Course at the Graduate Program on Urban Development - Federal University of Pernambuco.

Previous results suggested that spontaneous settlements, when constrained by urban and natural boundaries, present robust configurational patterns, expressed by statistical distributions with the scaling property. Such scaling properties, when applied to planning purposes, can be useful on describing and predicting spatial and social parameters of such squatter settlements. Several scaling functions and other mathematical expressions, which are of interest in planning purposes, are also derived and discussed.

The working paper Geometry of Slums presents some of the previous results obtained from the analysis of the geometry of squatter settlements in the northeastern coast of Brazil  and compared to settlements in the central region of Kenya; in particular, the fragmented structures of the built elements and the open spaces (regions unoccupied by houses) are studied.