Open AccessUrban Systems: Mapping Interdependencies and Outcomes to Support Systems Thinking
Author(s) -
Bedinger M.,
Beevers L.,
Walker G. H.,
VisserQuinn A.,
McClymont K.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
earth's future
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.641
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 2328-4277
DOI - 10.1029/2019ef001389
Subject(s) - abstraction , interdependence , hierarchy , computer science , complex system , data science , scale (ratio) , frame (networking) , management science , space (punctuation) , systems thinking , artificial intelligence , sociology , epistemology , engineering , geography , cartography , telecommunications , social science , philosophy , economics , market economy , operating system
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.