2012 Volume 68 Issue 5 Pages I_339-I_348
Compact city is a promising urban form from a sustainability viewpoint, especially in developed countries. For urban planners, however, it is difficult to determine which areas should be expected to retreat and which should be concentrated. This paper discusses the morphology of an urban area after a retreat and concentration policy is implemented. The authors design and implement a genetic algorithm to determine areas that should retreat and those where concentration should occur to secure sustainability of a real local city. Changes in various indices related with Quality Of Life (QOL) and the urban forms that emerge are discussed. To evaluate this optimization technique, we focus on reducing maintenance expenses and improving the QOL within city government budget constraints. It is found that, in least maintenance cost option, people living in old houses/buildings or low land price areas may leave those districts and re-concentrate into areas where transport is convenient such as around train stations and national routes. In QOL maximization option, people living in the suburbs where transport is relatively inconvenient may move to more accessible areas. In medium option between least maintenance cost and most QOL, suburbs where land prices are low and where houses are old are the prior areas to retreat, followed by suburbs where transport is inconvenient. It is concluded that proposed optimization method, using a genetic algorithm for the evaluation of retreat and re-concentrate policies, is efficient and reliable.
