ABSTRACT
Modelling urban development has been the objective of urban research for over a hundred years (Batty 1998). This book presented a simulation model of urban development using the cellular automata approach incorporating fuzzy set theories and spatial information technology. Through the development of the model, the book contributes to the integration of fuzzy sets, cellular automata modelling, and geographical information systems (GIS) for urban development research. Significant advances have been made to the application of the fuzzy set theory for delimiting urban areas, as well as the application of fuzzy logic control in defining the transition rules of an urban cellular automata model. The application of the model has enabled an understanding to be developed of the controls and patterns of the urban development of Sydney from 1976 to 2006, and the provision of perspective views on the future directions of urban development under physical constraints, socio-economic conditions, and urban planning controls. Moreover, by implementing various transition rules in the model and examining its behaviour under various conditions, this book demonstrates how the cellular automata model of urban development can be used, first as an analytical tool to explore the rules or factors underpinning the process of urban development, and second as a planning tool to generate predictive scenarios of urban development and to answer various “what if” questions.
