ABSTRACT
Based on the assumptions that cities are semi-lattices and that their spatial configurations are complex structures, I used a one-dimensional elementary cellular automaton (CA) representing a hypothetical, linear city as an analytic tool to investigate possible transition rules fulfilling these requirements and based on that metaphor to draw some implications for urban change. The results imply that a few deterministic rules might indeed be embedded in the seemingly stochastic processes of urban evolution. Based on the one-dimensional elementary CA and the prisoner’s dilemma game, I further developed a computer simulation to examine the influence of plans as information gathering on system evolutions. The results suggest that an increase in planning investments from multiple planners increases the range of b, a controlling parameter of the spatial game, causing the system to become increasingly diverse. I also designed and developed a computer simulation of urban evolution and self-organization. The research design focused on individual behaviors and the basic characteristics of urban spatial evolution. The results indicate that the critical state of self-organization emerges from local bottom-up interactions and that specific rules, such as bounded rationality, could lead to a power law distribution which is very similar to the common fractal distribution in real urban systems. Are cities dissipative structures? Based on the analyses in this chapter, my answer is “yes.” Policy implications can be derived from this simulation on how much we should plan for urban development and how.
