The problem of formal classification in urban morphological studies is addressed and a method of profiling the distinctive form of urban neighbourhoods is presented. The approach searches for regularity of pattern in tessellated surfaces of cities and constructs textural signatures that can distinguish between very fine differences in form. An experiment is reported that demonstrates the profiling power of these devices by using them as explanatory terms in a model that predicts residential density for 200 m2 neighbourhoods. The wider application of image-based morphology measures is discussed.
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