Thinking about complexity and planning

John Friedmann

International Planning Studies, 2019, vol. 24, issue 1, 13-22

Abstract: This paper proposes to examine the concept of complexity and its relevance for charting the newly emerging mega-conurbations in Asia. From the hyper-complexity of these giant constellations of the urban resulting from their scale, density, speed of development and the multiplicity of centres of governance and power. This paper tries to draw some conclusions for what can be planned and what cannot, and how planning might be organized. The paper is divided into five sections: the views of complex systems by three distinguished social scientists; a brief review of the planning literature on urban complexity; a sketch of the Yangtze Delta as a hyper-complex, pluricentric urban region; a rethinking of spatial planning in the face of urban complexity; and some principles for spatial planning under conditions of hyper-complexity in Asia.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/13563475.2018.1517594

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