The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City

Urban: Urban Affairs and Public Policy  has just posted a new article entry, this one concerning the importance of urban space in urban conflicts. Click on link for the following new article: Jennifer L. De Maio, THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF SPACE: SPATIAL STRUCTURE AND IDENTITY POLITICS in the Online First section.

The Global Economic Crash of 2008 was a watershed which is continuing to have effects in all aspects of the economy, politics and society. However, it was merely an exclamation mark within the developing trends in the U.S. that are pertinent to suburbanization in the country, such as: -The national economy will not bounce back to pre-2008 in the foreseeable future with continued slow growth -Demographics have changed (Baby Boomers retiring, smaller family sizes, more single adults, more ethnic diversity etc.) -The smaller labor force in manufacturing requiring unskilled labor -A decline in the middle class’s purchasing power due to declining wages -Increasing individuals in poverty -Unemployment/under-employment of young adults and those ‘near-retirement” group (55-70) -Increasing energy costs -Changing view of what cities should offer and lifestyle (i.e., ’24/7″ city) -Oversupply and over valuing of housing with tighter credit -Diminished hyper-consumerism In sub...

(Reprinted from the Progressive Press article ) 3-D printing combined with its increasing affordability could be an important element in accelerating the world away from the Post-Industrial to the Information Age.    3-D printing is the process of producing a physical object from a digital blue print or a scanned object. It is an additive process, not a subtractive process, as used in the machine tooling for a metal or plastic object. It relies on a mold that is inserted with a material (plastic, iron, copper etc.) to make a finished product. Using a digital schematic, the 3-D printer builds a series of layers using material such as: plastic, glass, metal, ceramics or even cells to produce a single seamless product. One could think of this as similar to making a cake by putting down the different layers. This one machine might revolutionize manufacturing, the global economy and cities (Blua, 2013). The cost may vary from as low as $1,000 to as hi...

(Re-posted from the Progressive Press. )  For most of the last century and continuing into this century, transportation planning in the United States has been mainly concerned with accommodating vehicular transportation. This automobile-oriented bias was embedded in travel demand forecasting models, transportation funding, zoning/subdivision regulations, street design ordinances, the general public and the general mindset of policy makers. The result in most cities has been a continual process of widening, and building new roads to alleviate traffic congestion due to increasing automobile ownership. What was not accounted in this automobile bias oriented transportation system was the detrimental impact that it would have on neighborhoods; making them dangerous for pedestrians and bicycles. Neighborhood residents and local commercial establishments  previously would have put up with the problems for a while but, eventually if they could afford it or their bus...

  (This article is re-posted from the Progressive Press. )  Cities are rapidly becoming engulfed in the technological revolution which is advancing at “warp speed”, rocketing the entire globe out of the post-industrial age into the emerging Information/Hyper-Global Age. The ability for the complex networked structures of a city (government, services, institutions, residents etc.) to effectively utilize its human capital, connect with the global economy, collaborate and use its infrastructure is becoming essential for its future welfare. This is being facilitated by the burst of technological devices and the Internet. In the Information Age, the most connected cities are becoming the most dominate, resting on their financial capability, their human capital and infrastructure (i.e., New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong). A city’s hinterland, its access to ports and manufacturing base, are becoming inconsequential to a city’s importance. All cit...

This article  is a re-post of an article that appeared 8 March 2013 in the Progressive Press: http://www.progressivepress.net/a-quite-green-revolution-urban-agriculture/ The mainstream media concentrates on the sensational and current news – obsessed with celebrity scandals, the daily fluctuations of the stock market, the deficit, and international conflicts – but under the radar is an alternative to industrial agriculture: the urban agricultural movement. The individuals and groups opposing industrial agriculture are not picketing, organizing rallies, destroying property, suing corporations; they are putting their hands in the dirt, straining their backs, enjoying quality organic food, and creating social capital by organizing diverse informal groups or non-profit organizations to forge a new future. In modern developed countries, we have left the growing of vegetables to industry. We go to our local mainline grocery store and buy produce (tomatoes, onions,...