The Structure and Dynamics of Cities
Urban Data Analysis and Theoretical Modeling

Presents a modern and interdisciplinary perspective on cities that combines new data with tools from statistical physics and urban economics.

Marc Barthelemy (Author)

9781107109179, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 November 2016

278 pages, 112 b/w illus. 7 tables
25.2 x 18 x 1.7 cm, 0.69 kg

'Marc Barthelemy refreshes ideas and opens new avenues for further research in urban/economic quantitative geography. Without ignoring 'Founding Fathers' in geography, he suggests inspiring ideas anchored in physics for modelling urban realities. A path toward multidisciplinary analysis, which has still a long way to go before success.' Isabelle Thomas, Université catholique de Louvain

With over half of the world's population now living in urban areas, the ability to model and understand the structure and dynamics of cities is becoming increasingly valuable. Combining new data with tools and concepts from statistical physics and urban economics, this book presents a modern and interdisciplinary perspective on cities and urban systems. Both empirical observations and theoretical approaches are critically reviewed, with particular emphasis placed on derivations of classical models and results, along with analysis of their limits and validity. Key aspects of cities are thoroughly analyzed, including mobility patterns, the impact of multimodality, the coupling between different transportation modes, the evolution of infrastructure networks, spatial and social organisation, and interactions between cities. Drawing upon knowledge and methods from areas of mathematics, physics, economics and geography, the resulting quantitative description of cities will be of interest to all those studying and researching how to model these complex systems.

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Urban systems
2. Models and methods
3. The spatial organization of cities
4. Infrastructure networks
5. Mobility patterns
6. Multimodality in cities
7. Socio-economical aspects
8. Systems of cities
9. Towards a new science of cities
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Urban & municipal planning [RPC], Regional & area planning [RP], Statistical physics [PHS], Physics [PH], Mathematics & science [P], Urban communities [JFSG], Society & culture: general [JF]