What is it about?
The notion of ‘order’ has been central in 20th-century attempts to explain complex phenomena. In the case of complex phenomena, the idea of order has been generally associated with the idea of ‘sel-forganization’; that is, the spontaneous emergence of coordinating patterns in complex systems. In briefly reconsidering the idea of order, this article focuses on ‘self-organizing orders’ and the implication of this issue not only for a theory of the city but also for a theory of intervention on the city (i.e. a theory of planning).
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Why is it important?
The article suggests that it is possible to recognize a third alternative between (i) planned orders and (ii) disorder; that is, (iii) self-organizing orders. Note that self-organizing orders are not orders ‘without rules’ but orders where certain basic rules only define framework conditions that do not specify or prefigure the (emergent) order.
Perspectives
While the traditional neglect by planners and planning theorists of self-organizing orders is partially attenuated today, discussion on how planning strategies and policies can enable, constrain, or trigger urban self-coordination is still limited. This is a crucial line of research that deserves critical attention.
prof. Stefano Moroni
Politecnico di Milano
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Self-organizing orders, urban studies and planning theory, Dialogues in Urban Research, October 2024, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/27541258241288804.
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