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The synoptic and dynamic paradigms of city planning : re-interpreting planning methods through Newtonian physics and chaos theory

University of British Columbia

The goal of city planning is the ordering of the city. Modern city planners have adopted a particular paradigm of order, originally developed during the Industrial Revolution when the profession of city planning came into existence. This "synoptic" planning method replaced traditional views of order with a new world-view which stressed a 'scientific' understanding of natural ordering processes. Because the natural ordering processes described by Newtonian physics were the only ones known to Victorian science, city planners have subsequently understood scientifically-valid 'order' to be limited to that produced by "Newtonian systems". The characteristics of Newtonian systems are examined in the thesis, and are related to specific aims and assumptions of synoptic planning as revealed in examples of theory and practice. Since the late 1950's, many practical and theoretical shortcomings of the synoptic planning method have become apparent. While there have been many attempts to reform the practice of synoptic planning, its fundamental reliance upon the axioms of linear dynamical systems has barely been acknowledged, let alone questioned. As a result, none of the reforms suggested in planning methods to date have managed to resolve the profession's current crisis of faith. However, recent scientific discoveries have been made regarding a second type of natural ordering processes, popularly termed "chaos", and referred to as "Lorenzian systems" within the thesis. Given that Lorenzian systems are order-creating processes, and that city planning seeks to promote order, this thesis argues that in addition to "synoptic" planning, there could additionally be a method of "dynamic" planning based upon the characteristics of Lorenzian systems. Consequently, the characteristics of Lorenzian systems are also explored, and their axioms are extrapolated to create a hypothetical method of "dynamic" planning. Independent precedents in planning theory and practice which accord with the aims and assumptions derived for this hypothetical method are employed to demonstrate the plausibility of dynamic planning. Because dynamic planning may well prove similarly ineffective in important areas of city planning, the thesis concludes that dynamic planning should be seen as a useful adjunct to, but not a replacement for, synoptic planning.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-03-20

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6264

Planning

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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