The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City

There is an evolving movement in the European Union that would place more decision-making in the hands of its citizens.  The most common method is through participatory budgeting, but other forms of participatory democracy are emerging.  On 22 March 2011, Group III of the European Economic and Social Committee held an extraordinary meeting on “What are the prospects for participatory democracy in Europe? (EESC, 2011)” During the event there was a lively discussion on the need of a more active involvement of the public in politics and public policy. The report that emerged from the discussions acknowledges the well documented alienation of citizens from their government.  It also reminds us of the mandate in Article 11 of the Treaty of Lisbon stating that participatory democracy should be integrated into government as related to a modern form of democracy.  In light of the economic crisis in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean countries, the need for participato...

Representative democracy has been ‘hijacked’ by the One Percent. Our representatives do not represent us but multi-national corporations, special interest groups and the extremely wealthy. This statement can be verified any time a politician advocates a policy.  The evidence for this is overwhelming and cannot be denied.  One of the best solutions for this is to decrease the need for politicians entirely.  Direct Democracy is a way for the people to take back their government. What is Direct Democracy?  Direct Democracy is the concept of placing decision-making with the citizens and not with representatives.  A concept opposed by the Founding Fathers, the elite at this time, and our present plutocracy. The most common form of Direct Democracy is the referendum. This has limited impact on democracy as it still leaves the representatives in charge. It is also very difficult to organize a referendum and relies on extreme effort by the organizers to...

I finally decided that it was appropriate for a new blog, just for my political comments, You can count me out (in) .  Oh no not another blog, Mr Bill. Previously, I was using my this blog , The Chaotic, Fractal and Complex City for political comments. I have realized that some of my discussions were over powering the original intent of this blog. Also, I wanted a more 'fuzzy' blog so I could make broader political comments.   The title of the blog, You can count me out (in). , is a lyric from the Beatles song "Revolution 1" from the White Album conveying John Lennon's' reluctance to be considered part of dogmatic revolutionary movements. The whole song conveys my feeling about some of the current political movements, so I thought it was appropriate for a title of my blog. So drop by my new blog, join as a follower, make comments, become a guest blogger.

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The Occupy Movement is providing a model of participatory democracy that has the promise to replace the government of cities and regions.   There are many stages that have to happen before this become a reality. But, this blog entry will not discuss this.  It will discuss in a possible framework of how that this can be ultimately institutionalized within the U.S. political system.  However, to arrive at how local governments will ultimately be governed by general assemblies, it is useful to develop the foundation on which it will be built which is a chaotic, fractal and complex urban environment .  I have discussed how urban planning can be adapted on this blog and in articles (see “Complexity Theory and Urban Planning ” in Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy  ) In this blog entry, I discuss: 1)the complexity of cities; 2) brief look at the procession of  political economy paradigms  (focusing on the present transitory phase);  and 3)St...

A new volume of Urbana: Urban Affairs and Public Policy  has now been posted. (see http://www.urbanauapp.org/   ,) The three articles include authors from Latin America (Brazil and Mexico) and the United States, continuing the international view of urbanism that has bee the hallmark of the Journal since its inception more than fifteen years ago.  The articles are presently 'under review.'  Comments from the readers of the articles are welcome and should be addressed to Dr. Michael A. McAdams,  Managing Editor at michaelamcadams@yahoo.com . or submitted on the webpage under the list of articles or  by going to the Contact webpage. This is a moderated site and the Managing Editor has the prerogative not to  post any comments that are not appropriate for an academic journal. Urbana, also has a new server and its webpage has been given a 'facelift' to improve its  useability and design. The new website includes all volumes of Urbana back to 19...

The concepts of participatory democracy which encompasses direct and deliberative democracy was at one-time theoretical and associated with Anarchism. But, no more. These ideas are gaining strength and are being activity practiced by the Occupy Movement at all locations.  Likewise, there are a number of books by academics in the field of political science and others disciplines that are supporting this notion as a viable mode to involve the public in government and produce more equitable solutions than are being made through the present form of representative democracy at the local level.  There is no doubt that the world is ‘turning’ in a different direction that will change local politics forever.  The One Percent (multinational corporations and the ‘economic elite’) have involved themselves in local politics and economy in the same manner that has been done on a national scale. The city is their spatial loci for their operations.  Every phenomena is played out in...