Eighth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The urban core theory argues that, wherever an urban community exists, either in the past, present, or future, it forms the core of its urban setting. However, it is a unique core because it does not control its surroundings. Instead, it obtains its power from continuous interactions with these surroundings (controlling environments). The reactive attitudes that urban cores (urban communities) take to resist these environments usually strengthens their abilities to shape various urban settings. This theory can evaluate whether the reactive attitudes of urban communities are active or passive, and to infer their abilities to resist their controlling environments. It can examine the sequential development or degradation of any size of urban setting. As a measuring tool, it can study old urban settings and predict changes for the existing ones. The map of this theory provides a static, visual representation for all components of the theory. Applying the map to a sample of three cities, Tripoli, New York, and Venice, resulted in three dynamic maps, characterizing the reactive attitudes of urban communities in each city. The effects of urban cores in shaping urban settings can be easily found and they transfer cumulative experiences over time, which can be globally shared.