Acknowledgements
The journey taken when researching a Ph.D. is often said to be travelled along a lonely road. The incalculable hours the researcher spends alone would seem to corroborate such a feeling. Yet in truth the journey of this research has been waymarked by several people who assist, question, advice and guide, without whom I would undoubtedly become disoriented, if not lost altogether. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people who have helped me during the course of undertaking the research.

Prof. Dr. Peter Larkham, Director of Studies, for his deep knowledge, excellent supervision, guidance, argument, disagreement, academic support and encouragement throughout the research process. I have learnt a lot and my first gratitude goes to him.

Prof. Dr. Michael Batty, Director of CASA at UCL and my external supervisor, for his theoretical and practical advice on complexity theory and fractals, and for his kind suggestions, constant stimulation and unfailing support from the beginning of this research. I am indebted to him.

Dr. Sepideh Shafaie, Director of Sharan (Engineering Consultants Company), for her knowledge, useful advice and urban planning information about the research case study. I sincerely appreciate her kind support.

Prof. Dr. Jim Low and Dr. Richard Coles for their valuable advice and support at different stages of this research.

Dr. Anne Boultwood for her useful guidance about the research methods.

Beccy Boydell for her administration, assistance and support throughout the research.

Jenny Hewings, Yanyan Wang and Yvette Burn for their kind assistance, technical support and always being accommodating.

Norman Ashfield and other librarians at BIAD whose assistance supplying a copy of all required articles and books is highly appreciated.
Erick Mead and Rasheed Khandker for their technical support and the IT assistance in using facilities at BIAD.

Christiane Morgan and Sonja Curtis for their assistance and administration at CASA, University College of London.

Engineer Amir Alidoost and other urban planners in Sharan Engineering Consultants Company in Tehran for their technical support providing the essential GIS data required for this research.

Tehran Geographic Information Centre (TGIC) for providing access to their archived data, maps and the aerial photos of Tehran in particular. I was also delighted to have the opportunity to present my research and to share the ideas with the experts at this centre.

My special thanks are reserved for my wife Anahita. Beyond the hours she spent proof reading and editing every word I have written and acting as a sounding board for ideas that were sometimes less than well-considered, Ana has been a continuous source of motivation and encouragement. Her steadfast belief that I was capable of completing this thesis has provided the perpetual impetus I have needed to write. Ana knows and understands far more than her modesty will allow her to admit; I feel extremely fortunate to be the beneficiary of her wisdom and common sense. For all this I am eternally in her debt. Finally but foremost, my thanks to my parents Shahin and Mohammad for their moral and financial support and encouragement, and making the belief that nothing is impossible. I am always indebted to them.