The objective of this paper is to examine the development of the urban form of the city of Olomouc since the 1920s in terms of fractal dimension, and to link the observation with two other descriptors of shape - area and perimeter. The fractal dimension of built-up areas and fractal dimension of the boundary of the city are calculated employing the box-counting method; the possibilities of their interpretation and usage in urban planning are discussed. The process of urban growth is observed with respect to its fractality and perspectives of this approach are discussed. An interesting dependence between area and its fractal dimension is derived.