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The taming of chaos: Optimal cities and the state of the art in urban systems research

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  • Linnet Taylor

Abstract

What can urban big data research tell us about cities? While studying cities as complex systems offers a new perspective on urban dynamics, we should dig deeper into the epistemological claims made by these studies and ask what it means to distance the urban researcher from the city. Big data research has the tendency to flatten our perspective: it shows us technology users and their interactions with digital systems but does so often at the expense of the informal and irregular aspects of city life. It also presents us with the city as optimisable system, offering up the chance to engineer it for particular forms of efficiency or productivity. Both optimisation itself, and the process of ordering of the city for optimisation, confer political and economic power and produce a hierarchy of interests. This commentary advocates that researchers connect systems research to questions of structure and power. To do this requires a critical approach to what is missing, what is implied by the choices about which data to collect and how to make them available, and an understanding of the ontologies that shape both the data sets and the urban spaces they describe.

Suggested Citation

  • Linnet Taylor, 2021. "The taming of chaos: Optimal cities and the state of the art in urban systems research," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(15), pages 3196-3202, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:58:y:2021:i:15:p:3196-3202
    DOI: 10.1177/00420980211012838
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Luyu Liu & Harvey J Miller, 2021. "Measuring risk of missing transfers in public transit systems using high-resolution schedule and real-time bus location data," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(15), pages 3140-3156, November.
    2. Mingshu Wang & Floris Vermeulen, 2021. "Life between buildings from a street view image: What do big data analytics reveal about neighbourhood organisational vitality?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(15), pages 3118-3139, November.
    3. Jennifer Candipan & Nolan Edward Phillips & Robert J Sampson & Mario Small, 2021. "From residence to movement: The nature of racial segregation in everyday urban mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(15), pages 3095-3117, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jon Bannister & Anthony O’Sullivan, 2021. "Big Data in the city," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(15), pages 3061-3070, November.

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