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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Human settlements can be conceptualized as two interacting components: social systems and physical infrastructure. The interacting social and physical systems are complex systems of systems where (1) humans interact with one another, (2) humans interact with the landscape, and (3) the landscape interacts with itself. These interactions can be thought of not as connections in one complex system but as a system of systems, since humans are connected to geography and other humans simultaneously, and this integration can produce unexpected behavior, such as the proliferation of ethnic communities mushrooming in places very far from their original homes.
These systems are inextricable but are modeled separately, as social networks or as maps. The economic models that planners may use to model behavior fall short as they rarely account for interpersonal relationships and the system of cities simultaneously. But the benefit of integrating social networks and social flows into geographic information systems models can be realized with the right theoretical perspectives and tools. This talk will go over some of the challenges to integrating social systems into spatial systems, what tools are necessary to address these challenges, and what the outcomes may be.
Host: Aric Hagberg