This paper
presents some processes that shape urban settings in complex ways: practicing
places, alliances, circuits, assemblages, and hybridization. We contend that
such processes are at the foundation of embedded economies in complex urban
ecosystems.
Design/methodology/approach
We use a
qualitative methodology based on archival research, survey of key research
ideas, conceptual analysis and rapid ethnography to describe exemplary
conceptual and analytical strategies. We also describe three relevant case
studies: Grounding Urban Natures, Urban Planet and Ecological Urbanism.
Findings
A new
vision fostering sustainable principles requires a rethinking of human values, and a
reconsideration of the integration among the flow of perception, experience and
consciousness. It is impossible to imagine a single solution to the problem of
sustainability, but many complex, interrelated and evolving solutions. Holistic
and unified knowledge can deal with complex global problems of sustainable
development.
Research/Practical
Implications
One of our
main working assumptions is the idea that the economy is a material assemblage
of complex urban ecosystems organized around processes of knowledge exchange in
networks of high density.
Originality/Value
We suggest
that a transdisciplinary approach to urban research is necessary in order to
account for the inherent complexity of cities and the analytical challenges of
such urban complexity: interactions, adaptation and governance. We also suggest
some approaches to urban sustainability that are consistent with material
economies and the complexity of territorial ecosystems.
