FIRST COURSE ON REGIONAL PLANNING. THEME 4: TOWN PLANNING. 4.1. FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE OF URBAN SYSTEMS

AFTER DESCRIBING THE COMPLEX PROCESS OF GOING FROM THE TRADITIONAL URBAN CONCEPT TO THAT WHERE A TOWN IS ONLY ONE OF THE FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF A REGION, THE AUTHOR ANALYZES THE NOTION OF URBAN STRUCTURE FROM THE PHYSICAL AND SPATIAL POINT OF VIEW AND CONSIDERS IT AS ONE COMMUNICATION LINK. ALL NEW NOTIONS OF THE FUNCTION AND STRUCTURE OF URBAN SYSTEMS MUST BE BASED ON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION OF TOWNS AND THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT. A STUDY IS CONDUCTED OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN CORES AND THEIR SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION AS A FUNCTION OF TWO BASIC VARIABLES: TRANSPORT COSTS AND DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS. AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LOCATION OF TOWNS IS PRESENTED TOGETHER WITH VARIATIONS IN THE DIMENSIONS OF TOWNS WHICH ARE PART OF AN URBAN SYSTEM AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT SEE IRRD ABSTRACT NO 106086.