Only recently, these assumptions have been questioned, giving rise to models employing dissipative dynamics, s- chastic cellular automata and multi-agent models, fractal geometry, and evoluti- ary change models, and to further mathematically oriented approaches.

Fifty Years of Urban Modeling: Macro-Statics to Micro-Dynamics.- Complexity: the Integrating Framework for Models of Urban and Regional Systems.- Ontogeny and Ontology in Complex Systems Modeling.- A Model for Asystematic Mobility in Urban Space.- Preliminary Results of a Multi-Agent Traffic Simulation for Berlin.- Hybrid Geographical Models of Urban Spatial Structure and Behaviour.- Two Complexities and a Few Models.- Cities as Evolutionary Systems in Random Media.- Grilling the Grid: a Non-Ultimate (Nor Objective) Report on the Configurational Approach to Urban Phenomena.- Validating and Calibrating Integrated Cellular Automata Based Models of Land Use Change.- Fractal Geometry for Measuring and Modelling Urban Patterns.- The Dynamics of Complex Urban Systems: Theory and Application of the STASA-Model within the Scatter Project.- Study of Urban Developers’ Behavior in a Game Environment.- Self-Organization and Optimization of Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic in Urban Environments.- Multidimensional Events in Multilevel Systems.- The Simulation of Spatial Change: What Relation Between Knowledge and Modeling? A Proposal and Its Application.- A Structural-Cognitive Approach to Urban Simulation Models.- The Socio-Spatial Dynamics of Systems of Cities and Innovation Processes: a Multi-Level Model.- The Great Return of Large Scale Urban Models: Revival or “Renaissance”?.- The Multi-Agent Simulation of the Economic and Spatial Dynamics of a Poli-Nucleated Urban Area.- Modelling the Micro-Dynamics of Urban Systems with Continuum Valued Cellular Automata.- Multiplicative Processes and City Sizes.

The present book outlines a conceptual framework for modelling and forecasting the dynamics of both growth-limited cities and megacities bringing together experts from several disciplines. The interdisciplinary point of view is particularly stressed. The contributions presented reflect the various interdependencies between structural (physics and mathematics models) and social development (spatial decision making and urban planning models). The volume emphasizes not only the contributions from different disciplines but also pays attention to specific problems like model calibration, data availability and management, case studies and interactions with urban planners. It is the collection of all the contributions of the speakers at the international workshop "The Dynamics of Complex Urban Systems: an interdisciplinary approach" held at Monte Verità (Ascona/Switzerland) from 4th to 6th of November 2004.

From the reviews: “‘The Dynamics of Complex Urban Systems’ is about … new kind of science, and how we might use it to improve our understanding of urban growth and change. … the collection is an excellent combination of model-oriented discussions, relevant data issues and various case studies involving interactions with urban planners. … it provides a collection of starting points for researchers who are seriously interested in applying some of the toolkit of complex systems science to study the possible evolution of urban form.” (David F. Batten, Papers in Regional Science, Vol. 87 (4), November, 2008)