  In this work, we develop a general method for estimating the Shannon entropy
of a bidimensional sequence based on the extrapolation of block entropies. We
apply this method to analyse the spatial configurations of cities of different
cultures and regions of the world. Findings suggest that this approach can
identify similarities between cities, generating accurate results for
recognising and classifying different urban morphologies. The hierarchical
clustering analysis based on this metric also opens up new questions about the
possibility that urban form can embody characteristics related to different
cultural identities, historical processes and geographical regions.
