Emergent Urbanism

Rediscovering Urban Complexity

emergence

The manifesto of the Emergent Urbanism Network

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 14:33, last updated Mon, 09/05/2011 - 21:47

As the idea of an emergent urbanism has become more popular, I'm receiving more and more emails asking me to look over some link or another and provide an opinion of the content. As I have unfortunately limited time, I cannot answer many of these requests. This led me to the realization that this little website needs to take a new, bold step into becoming something more than a blog/lesson, into an experiment in a new type of media.

Emergent Urbanism at the University of Montreal

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 15:24, last updated Mon, 09/05/2011 - 21:47

I was invited to the complex systems laboratory of the Université de Montréal this week to present emergent urbanism to their twenty-member large research group. Click through to SlideShare in order to see the full text of the presentation under the "notes on" tab. The entire text is in French, however I know a significant share of this website's visitors enjoy French once in a while.

Fake complexity: traffic control

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 18:23, last updated Sun, 11/06/2011 - 00:54

The University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute has produced a handy little flash game where you can experience the life of a traffic planner in a series of increasingly complicated traffic challenges.

Principles published

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 13:57, last updated Sun, 11/06/2011 - 00:55

The full article conceptualizing the principles of emergent urbanism has been published by the International Journal of Architectural Research volume 3 issue 2. You can download the complete article or read the whole issue.

The Cultivation of a Spontaneous City

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Sun, 07/12/2009 - 22:11, last updated Sun, 11/06/2011 - 01:01

This is the last of a series of excerpts from my article in the upcoming issue of the International Journal of Architectural Research, about the principles of emergent urbanism. Click here for part I, The Journey to Emergence. Click here for part II, The Fundamentals of Urban Complexity.

Modeling the processes of urban emergence

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 01:57, last updated Sun, 04/08/2012 - 23:07

Placelife

Organization and intelligence

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Mon, 06/01/2009 - 09:00, last updated Sun, 11/06/2011 - 00:56

1. Sun Tzu said: The control of a large force
is the same principle as the control of a few men:
it is merely a question of dividing up their numbers.

2. Fighting with a large army under your command
is nowise different from fighting with a small one:
it is merely a question of instituting signs and signals.
- From The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Journey to Emergence

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 07:00, last updated Sun, 11/06/2011 - 01:02

This is part I of a series of excerpts of an article to be published in the International Journal of Architectural Research entitled The Principles of Emergent Urbanism. Additional parts will be posted on this blog with the editor's permission until the complete article appears exclusively in the journal's upcoming issue.

Squaring the circle

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Thu, 02/26/2009 - 19:42, last updated Mon, 09/05/2011 - 21:47

tultepec

The complex grid

Submitted by Mathieu Helie on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 19:52, last updated Mon, 04/09/2012 - 15:29

In a medieval-era city the pace of urban growth is slow to a point where the growth of the city is not consciously noticed. Buildings are added sporadically, in random shape and order, as the extremely scarce economic situation makes no other pattern possible. Typically this means that the shape of streets will match the existing natural paths of movement, giving the street network an organic structure that is preserved through successive transformations in the urban fabric.

Further comment

Please send your comments by email at mthl@mthl.info, or find me on Twitter @mathieuhelie. The commenting system is closed at the moment as no measures can hold back blog spamming bots.

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