Modelling and Planning Urban Development: A Case Study of Lublin in the Context of the Challenges of 21st Century Urbanism

This paper presents an urban approach to modelling and planning the development of cities, with particular focus on Lublin as a case study. Research into models of the spatial structure of a city is crucial to the effectiveness and efficiency of urban planning decisions and policies. The study analysed Lublin to identify the key elements and relationships that make up its urban layout. The scientific objective of the study is a model interpretation of the spatial and functional structure of Lublin. Following Zuziak’s example, it was called the urban structure, and it will be analysed as a proposal for a potential tool to facilitate the control of city development. The research used classical methods applied in urban planning and architecture but was inspired at the by the logic of algorithms simplifying road networks and preserving their typological properties. Thus, different types of layers, information and spatial data were translated into an accessible language and were finally presented in the form of an urban design, consisting of urbanity nodes and development corridors. The main conclusion of the research is that an intelligible model (plan/scheme/graph) of the city can become a useful tool for shaping a high-quality urbanised environment that responds quickly to new challenges.