Spatial accessibility to amenities, natural areas and urban green spaces: using a multiscale, multifractal simulation model for managing urban sprawl

We are confronted with rising energy consumption inter alia due to increasing worldwide mobility contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Thus, one of the challenges in planning is to manage urban sprawl by introducing an efficient distribution of agglomerations and an optimal urban pattern incorporating economic, ecological, and social expectations of sustainable regional and urban development. In order to tackle these challenges we have taken a specific interest in the benefits of using a multifractal logic combined with measures of accessibility to urban and rural amenities including temporal settings for planning. Herein, we propose a multiscale, multifractal simulation model named Fractalopolis for simulating and evaluating scenarios consistently from a regional to a neighbourhood scale. Access to shops, services, and facilities can be improved by altering the location, whereas access to natural areas and urban green spaces can be improved by suggesting different areas for urbanization. The urbanization strategy will impact on the future regional layout and urban form. The computer application supports GIS data for incorporating the simulation system into planning support systems to support planning processes and assist with choice processes.