Geographical Modeling

3Effects of Distance and Scale Dependence in Geographical Models of Cities and Territories

This chapter questions the essential role of distance and scale dependence in models for analyzing the spatial configuration of human settlements and activities, as well as the processes that lead to their evolution, with reference to urban or regional study areas. The subject of study, therefore, concerns both the form of human settlements and the actions of people (individuals and groups) in their territory (or territories).

A human settlement consists of the materialization in space – the physical inscription – of one or more human activities. It is characterized by a certain degree of sustainability. It can be a group of a few buildings or a larger group of thousands of buildings, parks, car parks, orchards, fields, and so on. Each element is connected to others, whether close or far away, with the same or different functions, by means of transport and communication networks. All this – buildings, unbuilt environment, and networks – is the container of human activities. Different models are available to study the spatial configurations, or shapes, of this container. The contents associated with this container are individuals and groups that perform activities and have spatial practices and social relationships. The spatial configurations of this content are studied in terms of locations, flows, and paths.

Geographers tackle three main questions, each of which is equally important, ...