The significance of urban systems on sustainability and public health

Transformative urban development is urgent to achieve future sustainable development and wellbeing. Transformation can benefit from shared and cumulative learning on strategies to guide urban development across local to national scales, while also reflecting the complex emergent nature of urban systems, and the need for context-specific and place-based solutions. The article addresses this challenge, drawing on extensive transdisciplinary engagement and National Strategy co-development processes for Australia. This includes generation of two frameworks as boundary objects to assist such transdisciplinary strategy development. An ‘enabling urban systems transformation’ framework comprises four generic overarching transformation enablers and a set of necessary underpinning urban capacities. This also built cumulatively on other sustainability and urban transformation studies. A complementary ‘knowledge for urban systems transformation’ framework comprises key knowledge themes that can support an integrated systems approach to mission-focused urban transformations, such as decarbonising cities. The article provides insights on the transdisciplinary processes, urban systems frameworks, and scoping of key strategies that may help those developing transformation strategies from local to national scales.Science highlights• Transdisciplinary national urban strategy development is used to distil generic frameworks and strategy scopes with potential international application.• The frameworks also build on other published framings to support convergent, cumulative and transdisciplinary urban science.• The ‘enabling transformations’ and ‘urban knowledge’ frameworks include the perspective of those developing sustainable urban systems strategies.• The enabling framework also informs ‘National Urban Policy’ and ‘Knowledge and Innovation Hub’ strategies, and prevailing power imbalances.• The knowledge framework can help frame urban challenges, missions and knowledge programs.Policy and practice recommendations• An urban ‘transformation imperative’ and ‘strategic response’ can be co-developed from local to national scales.• Local initiative is crucial to drive urban strategies, but sustained national leadership with coherent policy across sectors and scales is also key.• Diversity in engagement participation and processes generates whole-of-urban-systems and local-to-national perspectives.• Urban solutions are context-specific but generic frameworks can help collaborative issue framing and responses.• Collaborative issue framing informed by generic frameworks can bring broader perspectives to context-specific and contested policy and practice issues.

show abstract

The Theory of Complexity and Sustainable Urban Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Abujder Ochoa,

Iarozinski Neto,

Vitorio Junior

et al. 2024

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Urbanization is a rapidly accelerating global phenomenon that challenges sustainable development, requiring innovative frameworks for understanding and managing urban complexity. This study explores the application of Complexity Theory in sustainable urban development, framing cities as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS), where dynamic social, economic, environmental, and technological interactions generate emergent behaviors. A systematic literature review was conducted, analyzing 91 studies retrieved from Scopus that explicitly link Complexity Theory to urban sustainability. Key findings reveal trade-offs, such as balancing economic growth with ecological preservation and social equity, while emphasizing the role of self-organization and adaptive governance in enhancing urban resilience. Concrete examples include the application of fractal analysis in urban planning to predict sprawl and optimize infrastructure and the use of system dynamics models to align smart city initiatives with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Wider co-benefits identified include improved public health through integrated green infrastructure and the reinforcement of social cohesion via participatory urban planning. This research concludes that embracing Complexity Theory enables a holistic approach to urban sustainability, fostering adaptable, resilient systems that can better manage uncertainty. This study highlights the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative policy frameworks to navigate the multifaceted challenges of modern urbanization.

show abstract

The significance of urban systems on sustainability and public health

Cited by 3 publications

References 48 publications

Introduction

Introduction

Enabling urban systems transformations: co-developing national and local strategies

The Theory of Complexity and Sustainable Urban Development: A Systematic Literature Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About