Parametric Urbanism

In 2011, the global population reached 7 billion people -- with more than half residing in urban areas. The world’s population is expected to increase to 9.3 billion by 2050. As the level of urbanization is also expected to rise (from 50 to 70% globally), the bulk of population increase will occur in cities. As a result, even those of us in land-rich countries like Canada will be expected to live at higher densities. Responding to this challenge, this thesis explores the potential of parametric design to facilitate the process of urban design – specifically in assessing the effects of various forces, targets policies and bylaws on the form and density of the city. As such, the goal is to incorporate a multitude of variables into a cohesive system to evaluate the dynamic effects of different parameters on each other and on the form of cities.