Planning and complexity: Engaging with temporal dynamics, uncertainty and complex adaptive systemsThe nature of complex systems as a transdisciplinary collection of concepts from physics and economics to sociology and ecology provides an evolving field of inquiry (Laszlo and Krippner, 1998) for urban planning and urban design. As a result, planning theory has assimilated multiple concepts from the complexity sciences over the past decades. The seemingly chaotic or non-linear urban phenomena resulting from the combination of hard and soft systems (Checkland, 1989) or physical and environmental aspects of the city with human intervention, motivation and perception have been of particular interest in the context of increasing criticism of top-down approaches. Processes such as selforganisation, temporal dynamics and transition, previously ignored or assumed problematic within equilibrium-centred conceptualisations or mechanistic theories, have found their way back into planning through complexity theories of cities (CTC) (Allen, 1997;Batty, 2007;de Roo and Silva, 2010;Marshall, 2012;Portugali, 2011b). While there is an overlap with Structuralist-Marxist and humanistic perspectives (Portugali, 2011c) and a continuity from an older science of cities (Batty, 2013), it is interesting to observe the engagement with bottom-up phenomena, structural and functional co-evolution and resultant adaptable and self-organisational systems within complexity planning. It has taken time for planning to adopt complexity thinking beyond metaphor or common usage of the term, but we now appear to be at a tipping point where complexity planning is exploring methods of engagement and cognition, rather than the question of whether cities are complex.Planners are often challenged by the volatility of city systems and networks, by the impact of both foreseen and unforeseen changes and by the high level of interdependencies between elements, both human and non-human (Balducci et al., 2011;Duit and Galaz, 2008;Moroni, 2010;Rauws, 2015). The small collection of papers presented in this themed issue demonstrates attempts to understand processes of change and continuous interaction and to engage with them in the governance and development of cities using a complexity framework. The papers include theoretical and empirical experiments and present methodological innovations. The focus on self-organisation, temporal dynamics and complex adaptive systems (CAS) (Folke et al., 2004;Holland, 1992;Levin, 1998) is evident in both experimental methods and attempts to engage stakeholders in processes of co-creation. The latter has a particular emphasis on creating the conditions to encourage development and emergent structures with the potential to interface with existing governance frameworks. It is noteworthy that several contributions either explicitly or implicitly bridge between planning theory and socio-spatial modelling. As a stage in the ongoing development of CTC, it is also pertinent to observe the adoption of concepts and methods to deal with bot...
Structural changes in the way we live and interact in cities are occurring due to advances in mobile communication technologies affecting everyday practices. One such practice, at the forefront of digital technology adoption, is digital gaming or play. Location-based mobile games (LBMGs), such as Pokémon Go and Ingress have surged in popularity in recent years through their introduction of a new mode of play, employing mobile GPS and internet-enabled technology. Distinguished by their embedded GIS, LBMGs can influence how people play, interact with and perceive the city, by merging urban and virtual spaces into ‘hybrid realities.’ Despite the popularity of such games, studies into how LBMGs affect urban dweller interactions with each other and the city have been limited. This article examines how the digital interface of the large-scale collaborative LBMG Ingress affects how players experience and use the city. Ingress is a collaborative hybrid or location-based game that uses GPS location information from smartphones, Google maps, and Google POI to create virtual gameplay environments that correspond to and interact with other players and the city. The methodology cross-references the MDA framework from game studies (Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics) within the urban mobility, sociability and spatiality characteristics of the hybrid realities theoretical framework. In this article, we explore how Ingress (re)produces hybrid space through deliberate design of interface game elements. By applying this analytical approach, we identify the game mechanics and their role in producing a hybrid gameplay environment with impacts on social and mobility practices altering the perception of and engagement with the city.
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