| Course information | |
|---|---|
| Period | Block 1 |
| Timeline | October |
| Number of ECTS | 5 ECTS |
| Coordinators | Dr Jan Fransen and Dr Sofia Pagliarin |
| Methodology | Group work, debates, presentations, tutorial session |
Course description
In the Urban Complexity course, participants learn how urban development tends to moves in path dependent processes, how resilience by adapting to change and shocks and features transformative change at distinct moments of time. As a consequence, cities do not develop in the same direction or at the same pace, nor do successful ‘recipes’ in one place work in another location. So, how can we understand this complexity and how can we harness it for a more aware urban development and management? During this course, students will learn to perceive cities as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), a theoretical perspective which aims to explain why cities evolve as self-organised dynamic networks, constantly adapting to uncertainty and shocks. Complexity sciences offer a conceptual tool to understand urban evolution by knitting (disciplinary) urban theory together.
In navigating the landscape of urban complexity, students examine urban development through three main themes, which structure the course:
Introduction to complexity theories and Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS)
The first part of the course introduces students to complexity sciences, in particular by discussing the concept of complex adaptive systems (CAS). We will also examine what wicked problems are, and how they emerge and endure in cities.
Urban dynamics
The second part of the course aims to enable students to understand and appreciate key elements of complexity-informed urban dynamics. We discuss how cities as complex systems are likely to be path dependent, with incremental change based on historical processes, and also how cities can transform systemically, at best moving out of unsustainable development trajectories. Students will be exposed to and discuss both analytical approaches and also concrete policies and practices that can be conceptually related to urban complexity, including multi-level perspectives on urban change and urban experimentation.
Governing complexity
The third and last part of the course discusses the role of urban actors and their ability to interact with the complexities of cities through policies and practices. We introduce urban governance as an emerging and evolving concept, and critically reflect upon the concepts of urban resilience, adaptive planning and participation by means of concrete examples.
Learning outcomes
The course aims to provide students with foundational knowledge to examine cities as complex systems along the conceptual continuum of urban stasis and change (i.e., urban dynamics), and to critically evaluate the role of urban policies and practices considering the complexity of cities.
By the end of the course, students are able to:
- Describe cities as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS).
- Discuss a selection of theoretical complexity-informed approaches and critically evaluate the extent to which they can help explain urban stasis and change.
- Identify mechanisms that generate stasis and change in cities as Complex Adaptive Systems including (but not limited to) path-dependence and urban experimentation.
- Critically evaluate the role of urban governance from a complexity perspective.
- Reflect on the complexity of cities, parts of cities and actors within cities based on complexity thinking.