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Understanding and managing the complexity of urban systems under climate change

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  • MATTHIAS RUTH
  • DANA COELHO

Abstract

Recent case studies for individual locations and on individual urban challenges reveal the growing complexity of managing interrelations among population, infrastructure and institutions. Climate change is increasing the pressures on many urban systems and adding to this complexity. Many of the case studies investigating urban dynamics in the light of climate change have chosen narrow, sector-specific approaches. Few projects have built on insights from complexity theory and related bodies of knowledge which are more consistent with the perspective that urban infrastructure systems are tightly coupled with one another and must respond to often subtle, long-term changes of technological, social and environmental conditions. Drawing on that knowledge, and building on insights from previous case studies, this article explores the potential roles of complexity theory in guiding investment and policy decisions in the urban context. Policy and management that are consistent with insights from complexity theory will need to anticipate a wide array of potential trajectories for urban dynamics, identify and implement strategies that are robust under a range of potential developments, continuously innovate the policy-making and management institutions, and intensify the exchange of knowledge between science and society.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias Ruth & Dana Coelho, 2007. "Understanding and managing the complexity of urban systems under climate change," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 317-336, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:tcpoxx:v:7:y:2007:i:4:p:317-336
    DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2007.9685659
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    1. Matthias Ruth (ed.), 2006. "Smart Growth and Climate Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3938.
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    2. Vincent Viguie & Stéphane Hallegatte & Julie Rozenberg, 2014. "Downscaling long term socio-economic scenarios at city scale: A case study on Paris," Post-Print hal-01136217, HAL.
    3. Donatella Porrini & Francesco Masi, 2021. "Managing climate change risk: the case of the Italian Churches," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 105(3), pages 2619-2637, February.
    4. Mohammadamin Khorasani & Moslem Zarghamfard, 2018. "Analyzing the Impacts of Spatial Factors on Livability of Peri-Urban Villages," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 693-717, April.
    5. Viguié, Vincent & Hallegatte, Stéphane & Rozenberg, Julie, 2014. "Downscaling long term socio-economic scenarios at city scale: A case study on Paris," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 305-324.
    6. Noronha Vaz, E. de & Nainggolan, D. & Nijkamp, P. & Painho, M., 2011. "A complex spatial systems analysis of tourism and urban sprawl in the Algarve," Serie Research Memoranda 0003, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics.
    7. Susana Toboso‐Chavero & Gara Villalba & Xavier Gabarrell Durany & Cristina Madrid‐López, 2021. "More than the sum of the parts: System analysis of the usability of roofs in housing estates," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(5), pages 1284-1299, October.
    8. Shoukai Sun & Yuantong Jiang & Shuanning Zheng, 2020. "Research on Ecological Infrastructure from 1990 to 2018: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, March.

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