The idea of a planning support system, if not the label, has been with us for at least twenty-five years. Many components have been developed but we lack an underlying structure with which to integrate these components. GIS provide useful tools but the map concepts on which they are built are...

During the past twenty years a major change has occurred in the structure, style, and content of regional planning and development in the United Kingdom, and especially in England. Whereas the pre-1979 model was dictated by central government and promoted a hierarchical 'family of plans', within...

Formal models of urban systems have the potential to reveal a lot about the form and functioning of urban settlements, yet much of this potential has still to be realised. In this paper we focus on the extent to which this has reflected the dearth of digital data that are rich, relevant, and...

In this paper I propose a clear, efficient, and accurate method for determining if a block of contiguous buildings has an overall character. The work is needed because most contemporary design reviews presuppose the existence of visual character, but existing design principles are often too...

In this article an attempt is made to understand the relationship between the spatial structure of museum layouts and the patterns of visitors' exploration and encounter. Eight art museum settings are analysed by using space syntax. The analysis suggests that the configuration of museum layouts...

The issue of decidability in relation to shape grammars is considered here. Decidability concerns, first, the identification of different types of grammars and, second, the answerability or solvability of questions about these types of grammars. In this paper, the first of these two topics is...

Algebras of design are defined as two-sorted, with parts that handle structure and symmetry, the indispensable ingredients of design. A number of algebras for different design applications are constructed on the basis of this definition.

Over 80% of new housing output is produced by private speculative housebuilders. In this paper we will examine the employment of standard house types in speculative housebuilding. We will present new empirical data, gained from a number of interviews with high-level technical and design...

A genetic algorithm (GA) approach to solid-waste policy planning is introduced. The GA is implemented as part of the policy design phase of planning. An evaluative tool is then used for comparative analysis of proposed plans prior to final selection and implementation of a solid-waste policy by...