The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City

As a preface to a discussion on the proposed strategies that can be used by cities/urbanized areas to ‘bootstrap’ their local political economies, I briefly outlined the creation of the environment that would enable change (see Creating the Environment, Part A , Creating the Environment, Part B , Creating the Environment, Part C .) Cities have to be enablers of change and not reactors to public policy from higher levels of government, as the present leadership at the state and national level is unable or unwilling to devise solutions. Cutting budgets which filter down to local governments also having to cut their budgets is not a solution. It is retrenchment in the hopes that the economy will improve and things can go back to 'normal.' It is evident that it is not only the budgets are in trouble, but also the lack of intellectual resources and morality among our elected leaders to resolve these issues. It is very obvious to the vast amount of the electorate that these repres...

Complexity, Scaling and Cities from Maria Legault on Vimeo .

Here is a testimonial from a couple who has installed a wind generator at their home. The company that sold the unit to these people is Southwest Wind Power. Go to: http://www.windenergy.com/products/skystream  for more information. On the website, one can determine if you property is suitable for wind energy and the amount of savings you will gain. I will discuss more about this in my later blog entry on the Going Green strategy for transforming cities via local initiatives.

An overall environment of change must be established. If one expects this change to come from political leaders from above, then one will wait until infinity for this self-entrenched power-brokers to create an environment of change. At this present time, the atmosphere for change is dreary and pedestrian. This is indicative in the Tea Party Movement in the U.S., the bumbling antics of leaders in the European Union, the lackluster leadership in the China and the stubborn retrenched attitudes of dictators in the Middle East. For change to occur there must be a rejection of the status quo and a view of a promising future. . The Tea Party Movement in the US represents cutting taxes, eliminating benefits, supporting capitalism run by financial institutions, large corporations and the wealthy elite and continuing the constant state of warfare that America has been waging in Iraq and Afghanistan. The diverse leadership in the European Union is confused and fumbling to address monetary problem...

I 'googled' fractal leadership and this link appeared:   http://www.fractalleaders.com/index.html , The consulting company sponsoring this web site offers to train managers in fractal leadership. Thre is not much information about their methods. It would be interesting to find out. This is another example of how the concepts of complexity are creating a quite revolution to counter the rigid manner of operations of all levels of society.

This is the new bicycle bridge in Minneapolis. Cities can do incredible things within a condusive environment. Go to the following link for more information: http://www.streetfilms.org/breathtaking-bike-infrastructure-minnesotas-martin-olav-sabo-bridge/

It would appear that the ‘spark’ or the ‘embryo’ , taking from the example of one of the most successful cities in the world, Curitiba, Brazil, is the presence of a charismatic leader, such as Jaime Lerner and a group of dedicated professionals, citizens and others stake holders committed to changing an urban environment. This is not a ‘talk shop’, but a ‘contracted’ group, which will make things happen once they are planned. This group could be considered the ‘vanguard’ or ‘intelligentsia.’ Every movement starts in this way. There was a ‘vanguard’ for the spread of Christianity and Islam, War of American Independence, French Revolution, Russian Revolution, Chinese Revolution, Velvet Revolution, the independence movement of India, Civil Rights Movement, and now in the Middle East Spring. Thus, to make significant changes in any urbanized area is the necessity of a vanguard. The other element is the establishment of an inclusive and expanding network. The vanguard can start thing...

The Brookings Institute has an interesting study,The State of Metropolitan America, which includes an interactive map. (Go to: http://www.brookings.edu/metro/StateOfMetroAmerica.aspx for the full report.) The link title of this blog entry will direct you to a map portraying median incomes by urbanized area since 2000.In all cases, with a few exceptions--mainly the D.C. area--medium income has decreased in all Metropolitan Areas. Wealth is not being generated, so naturually a recovery which is based on increased consumer spending, will not be forthcoming soon.

Before the strategies that were mentioned in Part II can be discussed, it is important to discuss the environment or foundation that must be established as a prerequisite. I will divide this section into three parts for readability on the blog. . One of the problems has been with traditional planning methods and other means to bring about change in an urban area is that it has been done from the top down or elitist planning. As discussed on this blog and in my published articles, the entire premise of rational comprehensive planning is faulty and ineffective to address post-industrial urban development. The ‘new’ planning environment s based on the concepts of complexity theory should be: incremental, scale less, networked, inclusive, non-hierarchical, dynamic, creative, on the edge of chaos, and ‘tinged’ with utopianism or hope. Ultimately, establishing the most fertile environment for change is more important than the proposed strategies themselves, which may change radically ...