Emergence in the self-organizing city : a multi-functional intervention

Abstract

The dissertation looks at the city as an emergent product of the lower-level activities of the city components. City components refer to the smaller elements which make up the fabric of a city like buildings, roads, inhabitants, cars etc. Lower-level activities refer to the interaction between these components, and define the consequential feedback into the city as a whole. An understanding of these aspects of emergence allows for the identification of tools and guidelines which, in turn, forms the basis for design and building performance criteria.