Open AccessTOPOI – A method for analysing settlement units and their linkages in an urban–rural fabric
Author(s) -
Vanessa Miriam Carlow,
Olaf Mumm,
Dirk Neumann,
Anne-Kathrin Schneider,
Boris Schröder,
Zitao Li,
Ryan Zeringue
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
environment and planning. b, urban analytics and city science/environment and planning. b, urban analytics and city science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 2399-8091
pISSN - 2399-8083
DOI - 10.1177/23998083211043882
Subject(s) - settlement (finance) , megacity , urban agglomeration , topos theory , urbanization , geography , economic geography , regional science , function (biology) , sustainable development , environmental planning , business , economic growth , economy , political science , economics , law , art , literature , finance , evolutionary biology , payment , biology
Many years, urbanisation research has largely focused the development of urban agglomerations and megacity regions, whereas less attention was paid on the development of medium-sized cities, small towns, villages, or rural areas. Yet many interrelations and spatial linkages between urban and rural areas exist. In this paper, we present a novel method called ‘TOPOI’ for the integrated analysis and description of settlement units in an urban–rural setting. The TOPOI-method enhances the understanding of the built environment by clustering and describing settlement units of similar characteristics with view to their physical form, function, and connectivity. The method is built on known planning parameters, but does not limit the analysis of settlement units to their administrative boundaries. Based on 11 indicators, 13 TOPOI-classes were identified in two exemplary study regions revealing new insights into urban–rural settlement types. This allows a better understanding of urban–rural linkages and therefore opens up new pathways for a more sustainable development.