Urban Systems: Mapping Interdependencies and Outcomes to Support Systems Thinking

Abstract

This paper argues that urban systems issues are design problems on a grand scale and that various disciplines aiming to address them can have only a partial view of the problem. It is necessary to draw boundaries around the detailed analyses of specific issues, but a way to map the wider system, to contextualize and more deeply understand how they are interrelated, is still lacking. Four complexity obstacles related to reasoning about complex systems are in our way, and to our knowledge no existing approach navigates them effectively. We propose a tool called the Abstraction Hierarchy as a way to do just this, in order to frame complex issues on a large scale, in a way accessible to all disciplines. To demonstrate the power of this systems model, the Abstraction Hierarchy is applied to an urban area. Through its application we demonstrate its capability to navigate all four obstacles and investigate previously unexplored space in urban systems research.

Resilience in Complex Catchment Systems

“…Real-world practice continues to be heavily reliant on indicators to account for the social (and sometimes also technical) spheres, as these provide quantifiable measures wherever simulations cannot be constructed. Increasingly, new conceptual frameworks are being developed in the academic sphere [62] arguably to shift emphasis from indicators which are 'snapshots' of system states (i.e., proxies for system behaviour) to interrelationships or system structures (i.e., system behaviour itself).…”

“…This can be used to build the context and understand the different networks in play within any given catchment. The interactions and feedback can then be mapped and connected on top of this [7,38,62]; and potentially be linked to the long-term outcomes or goals identified for catchment resilience (identified as a gap above).…”

“…However, it needs method development in order to recognise and build interactions. Methods may include o Systems analysis [62]-where are the functional pinch points, risks, and high-level vulnerabilities within the existing interconnected system structure?…”

A Soft Systems Methodology for Business Creation: The Lost World at Tyseley, Birmingham

“…These provided evidence of a shift to the system thinking approach, used by organisations to evaluate the challenges from different perspectives; for example, exploring the livelihood of an area and acceptance of sustainable projects (González, Sandoval, Acosta, & Hena, 2016;Sánchez-García, Ramírez-Gutiérrez, Núñez-Ríos, Cardoso-Castro, & Rojas, 2019). Often, this means that a single-view solution to address a challenge is no longer adequate; rather it requires a system-of-systems approach, and this usually applies to inherently-complex urban projects for which planning should consider solutions using mapping analysis (Bedinger, Beevers, Walker, Visser-Quinn, & McClymont, 2020). This approach can support future design and foresee sustainable solutions, a practise which will educate future generations and advance sustainability science (Gray et al, 2019;Onat, Kucukvar, Halog, & Cloutier, 2017).…”

“…It is necessary to support the right conditions for mutual understanding between all those involved in commercial and sustainability projects (Ahlström, Williams, & Vildåsen, 2020). A systems thinking approach helps in addressing issues of sustainability, for example when tackling climate mitigation and planetary wellbeing, and delivering sustainable solutions-a practise which requires, and supports willingness to sustain, political power in the future (Berry, Waite, Dear, Capon, & Murray, 2018;Király, Köves, & Balázs, 2017). All of this suggests that systematic thinking is taking the lead in the development of sustainable future solutions (Gu, Deal, & Larsen, 2018;Williams, Kennedy, Philipp, & Whiteman, 2017).…”