Table 6.2 Indicators used for the analysis
Indicator
Unit
Note (particularly if no
explanation for the
variable is given, the
figure shown will be the
average inside the urban
area)
Response variables
Population
density
People/km
2
Perimeter
indicator (PI)
Nondimensional (Actual perimeter divided
by the perimeter of a circle
with the same size as the
actual size): the more an
urban area has a
noncomplex shape close
to a perfect circle, the
closer it reaches 1 on this
indicator.
Explanatory
variables
Ecological
environmental
elements
Degree of
mixing of land
cover classes
Nondimensional Degree of mixing of land
cover classes (from 0 to 1)
Annual average
temperatures
C
Annual
rainfall
mm
Extent of
annual fluctuation in
monthly
rainfall
mm
Elevation
diversity
inside the
urban area
(STD)
m
Variance of elevation
inside the urban area
(standard deviation)
Average topographical gradient inside
the urban area
Degree
Distance to a
coastline
km
Percentage of
size of agricultural land
(11)
%
Percentage of size of
farmland inside the urban
area
Percentage of
size of agricultural land
(12)
%
Percentage of size of irrigated rice fields inside the
urban area
(continued)
6 Generation of Urban Morphologies Through Long-Term Evolution of. . .
113