Using fractal dimensions for characterizing intra-urban diversity : the example of Brussels

International audience; The objective of this paper is to compare fractal-based parameters calculated by different fractal methods for urban built-up areas and to link the observed spatial variations to variables commonly used in urban geography, urban economics, or land-use planning. Computations are performed on Brussels, Belgium. Two fractal methods (correlation and dilation) are systematically applied for evaluating the fractal dimension of built-up surfaces; correlation is used to evaluate the fractal dimension of the borders (lines). Analyses show that while fractal dimension is ideal for distinguishing the morphology of Brussels, each estimation technique leads to slightly different …