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In this paper we explore further the use of fractal dimensions by comparing values for built-up spaces and values for road networks, both being estimated by the same method. This is done in an attempt to explain the differences theoretically and empirically, and to show how far both indices are complementary and useful in urban planning. Empirical analyses are performed at the scale of the townships within the urban region of Antwerp (Belgium). Fractal dimensions, curves of scaling behavior, and concordance analyses are computed and their usefulness explained. We conclude that both dimensions translate subtly different realities and that they should be used with caution in morphological analyses: the fractal dimension for built-up spaces indicates how uniformly buildings fill space when zooming to ever finer scales, while the fractal dimension for networks indicates the extent to which street segments are distributed more or less uniformly in the study area. The two are not the same, as roads can serve spaces that are not built up.

Measurement of change throughout conglomerates of small geographical areas is of increasing importance in urban planning. Measurement of demographic change in several geographical areas simultaneously is presently not supported by a structured conceptual framework other than the cohort component model. This poses a problem since application of the cohort component model to multitudes of very small populations, such as those in neighbourhoods or census tracts throughout a city, is questionable. Considering the ultimate use of demographic information in urban planning, an alternative reference framework is being proposed along with an application procedure. It is aimed at measuring change between two census dates in four demographic parameters, throughout a conglomerate of subareas. This enables the simultaneous monitoring of demographic change across the conglomerate, listing the subareas by a fuzzy value of change in any of the four parameters. The fuzzy measurement of several demographic parameters compensates for the precision measurement of survivorship, fertility and migration in cohort demography. The degree of fuzziness in the selected parameters, furthermore, allows us to view the record of demographic change in each small area as a fractal relating to the whole city. The degree of fuzziness and the size of small-area populations are related to the fractal dimension of demographic change in the city as a whole.