City-Organization: Elucidating the Paradigmatic Foundations Governing Urban Self-Organization

Rashidghalam, Parichehr; Saremi, Hamidreza; Safavi, Ali

doi:10.22034/aaud.2025.508697.2961

City-Organization: Elucidating the Paradigmatic Foundations Governing Urban Self-Organization

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Parichehr Rashidghalam ¹

Hamidreza Saremi ²

Ali Safavi ³

¹ Ph.D. Candidate in Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

² Associate Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/aaud.2025.508697.2961

Abstract

Today, unexpected events have reproduced urban complexities and driven urban areas toward an unpredictable future; only through continuous, dynamic management can progress be achieved in keeping pace with change. Therefore, a shift in approach toward “city-ordering” is essential to respond to current and future challenges. Self-organizing cities are considered a new paradigm in urban planning worldwide, representing a comprehensive, multidimensional, and complex phenomenon grounded in contemporary theoretical frameworks. On the other hand, the problems arising from the dispersion of opinions in the literature on the self-organizing city and the lack of consensus regarding its theoretical definition become even more pronounced with the introduction of the concept of city-ordering. Accordingly, this study aims to elucidate the paradigmatic foundations governing the self-organizing city. To achieve this objective, a meta-analysis following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted to identify and classify the theoretical and paradigmatic dimensions of the self-organizing city (in the initial search, articles published from 1944 to 2024 were considered, and after final screening, 27 articles were selected for analysis). The findings of the study indicate that self-organization derives from three distinct theories: the theory of dissipative structures, the synergetic theory, and the autopoietic theory, each emphasizing different principles, including the external and internal orientation of the system. Moreover, the philosophical dimensions of urban self-organization theory are framed within two ontologies: critical realism and post-structuralism. These two epistemological perspectives go beyond positivism and linear cause-and-effect relations. They are seen as a bridge connecting the non-human and human worlds, providing a space for planning dynamism that can adapt to unforeseen conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded that urban self-organization is a multilayered process emerging from the interaction of structural forces, local actions, and identity reproduction, and effective urban planning should focus on facilitating and strengthening these capacities.

Keywords

City-Organization

Urban Self-Organization

Self-Organizing City Paradigm

PRISMA Protocol

Allen, Peter M. 1998. Cities as Self-Organising Complex Systems. The City and Its Sciences: 95-144. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-95929-5_2
Ashby, W. R. 1947. Principles of the self-organizing dynamic system. Journal of General Psychology 37(2): 125-128. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.1947.9918144
Barros, Joana, and Fabiano Sobreira. 2008. City of Slums: self-organisation across scales. Unifying Themes in Complex Systems IV: 265-273. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-73849-7_30
Batty, Micgael. 2012. Building a science of cities. Cities 29(SUPPL. 1): S9–S16. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CITIES.2011.11.008
Bates, Marcia J., and Maack Mary Niles. 2016. Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. Taylor & Francis. Third Edition, 1215–1224. https://doi.org/10.1081/E-ELIS3-120043869
Batty, Micgael. 2005. Cities and Complexity: Understanding Cities with Cellular Automata, Agent-Based Models, and Fractals. MIT Press, Cambridge.
Bettencourt, Luis. 2013. “The kind of problem a city”. Santa fe institute.
Boonstra, Beitske, and Rauws Ward. 2016. Conceptualizing self-organization in urban planning: turning diverging paths into consistency.
Boonstra, Beitske, and L. Boelens. 2011. Self-organization in urban development: towards a new perspective on spatial planning. Urban Research & Practice 4(2): 99-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2011.579767
Boonstra, Beitske, and Rauws Ward. 2021. Ontological diversity in urban self-organization: Complexity, critical realism and post-structuralism. Planning Theory 20(4): 303-324. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095221992392
Brueckner, Seven A., Di Marzo Serugendo, Anthony Giovanna Karageorgos, and Radhika Nagpal. (Eds.). 2005. Engineering Self-Organising Systems. 3464. https://doi.org/10.1007/B136984
Bruijn, Ewald De, and Gerrits Lasse. 2018. Epistemic communities in urban self-organization: a systematic review and assessment. Journals.Sagepub.ComE de Bruijn, L. GerritsJournal of Planning Literature. https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412218794083
Byrne, David. 2003. Complexity theory and planning theory: A necessary encounter. Planning Theory 2(3): 171-178. https://doi.org/10.1177/147309520323002
Cilliers, Paul. 2002. Complexity and Postmodernism. Complexity and Postmodernism. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203012253
Cleveland, john. 2009. Complexity theory: Basic concepts and application to system thinking. Innovation networks for communities.
DeLanda, Manuel. 2019. A New Philosophy of Society. Bloomsbury Academic. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350096769
H. Von Foerster. 2024. On Self-Organizing Systems and Their Environmen. Retrieved February 1. doi:10.1007/0-387-21722-3_1
Haken, Hermann. 1983. Synergetics – An Introduction. Springer.
Haken, Hermann. 1978. Synergetics. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96469-5
Haken, Hermann (Ed.). 1980. Dynamics of Synergetic Systems. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-67592-8
Helbing, Dirk, Peter Molnár, Iiles J. Farkas, and Kai Bolay. 2001. Self-Organizing Pedestrian Movement. SAGE PublicationsSage UK: London, England. https://doi.org/10.1068/B2697
Heylighen, Francis. 2008. Complexity and Self-organization, in: M. J. Bates & M. N. Maack (Eds) Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, Taylor and Francis: London, pp. 1215-1224.
Heylighen, Francis. 1999. The Science of Self-Organization and Adaptivity. Physics, Computer Science, Mathematics.
Heylighen, Francis, and Paul Cilliers. 2006. Complexity and philosophy. Arxiv.OrgF Heylighen, P Cilliers, C GershensonarXiv Preprint Cs. https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0604072
Heylighen, Francis. 2002. The Science of Self-organization and Adaptivity. EOLSS Publishers Co Ltd. https://researchportal.vub.be/en/publications/the-science-of-self-organization-and-adaptivity
Heylighen, Francis. 2009. Complexity and Self-organization. Taylor and Francis. https://researchportal.vub.be/en/publications/complexity-and-self-organization
Hidayanti, M. M. 2013. Self-organization at the neighborhood level: comparison of three case studies in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Horelli, Lissa, Joanna Saad-Sulonen, Sirkku Wallin, and Andrea Botero. 2015. When Self-Organization Intersects with Urban Planning: Two Cases from Helsinki. Planning Practice & Research 30(3): 286-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2015.1052941
Innes, Judith. E., and David. E. Booher. 1999. Metropolitan development as a complex system: A new approach to sustainability. Economic Development Quarterly 13(2): 141-156. https://doi.org/10.1177/089124249901300204
Kerner, B. S. 1998. Experimental Features of Self-Organization in Traffic Flow. Phys Rev Lett, 81.
Mamei, Marco, Ronaldo Menezes, Robert Tolksdorf, and Franco Zambonelli. 2006. Case studies for self-organization in computer science. Journal of Systems Architecture 52(8-9): 443-460. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SYSARC.2006.02.002
Meerkerk, Ingmar v., Beistke Boonstra, and Jurian Edelenbos. 2012. Self-organization in urban regeneration: A two case comparative research. European Planning Studies.
Moroni, Stefano, and Stefano Cozzolino. 2019. Action and the city. Emergence, complexity, planning. Cities 90: 42-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.01.039
Mousavian, Mohammad Reza. 2001. Principles and Foundations in Architecture and Urban Planning, Azarakhsh. http://opac.nlai.ir/opac-prod/bibliographic/632614. [in Persian]
Mousavinejad, Seyed Vali, and Seyed Hamdollah Akvani. 2013. A New Perspective on Development Theory: Self-Organization of Development (Transition from the Theories of Modernization and Dependence to the Theory of Chaos and Self-Organization). Conference on the Iranian Islamic Model of Progress. https://sid.ir/paper/846183/fa. [in Persian]
Nunbogu, Abraham Marshall, and Prospel Issahaku Korah. 2017. Self-organisation in urban spatial planning: evidence from the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Urban Research and Practice 10(4): 423-441. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2016.1238502
Portugali, Juval. 2000. Self-Organization and the City. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-04099-7
Portugali, Juval. 2006. Complexity theory as a link between space and place. Environment and Planning A. 38(4): 647-664. https://doi.org/10.1068/A37260
Portugali, Juval. 2011. Cognition, Complexity and the City. 113-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19451-1_6
Portugali, Juval. 2012. Complexity Theories of Cities: Achievements, Criticism and Potentials (pp. 47–62). Springer. https://research.tudelft.nl/en/publications/complexity-theories-of-cities-achievements-criticism-and-potentia
Prigogine, Ilya, and Isabelle Stengers. 2000. Chaos, Complexity, Self-organization and US. 349.
Prigogine, Ilya, and G. Nicolis. 1977. Self-Organisation in Nonequilibrium Systems: Towards A Dynamics of Complexity. Bifurcation Analysis: 3-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6239-2_1
Rauws, Ward, Stefano Cozzolino, and Stefano Moroni. 2020. Framework rules for self-organizing cities: Introduction. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science 47(2): 195-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808320905377
Roo, Gert De. 2016. Self-organization and Spatial Planning: Foundations, Challenges, Constraints and consequences. 54-97. https://doi.org/10.17418/B.2016.9789491937279
Seidl, David. 2004. Luhmann’s theory of autopoietic social systems. s.l.:Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen.
Shieh, Esmaeil. 2000. Introduction to urban planning. University of Science and Technology Publications. [in Persian]
Shieh, Esmaeil. 1999. City and region in Iran. University of Science and Technology Publications. [in Persian]
Sneyd, James, Guy Theraula, Eric Bonabeau, and Jean Deneubourg. 2001. Self-organization in biological systems. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691212920/html
Suhartini, Ninik, and Paul Jones. 2020. Better understanding self-organizing cities: A typology of order and rules in informal settlements. Journal of Regional and City Planning 31(3): 237-263. https://doi.org/10.5614/JPWK.2020.31.3.2
Suhartini, Ninik, and Paul Jones. 2023. Inquiring into Self-organization and the Self-organized City. Urban Book Series: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22239-9_1
Thrift, Nigel. 1999. The Place of Complexity. Theory, Culture & Society 16(3): 31-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/02632769922050610
Urry, John. 2007. Global complexities. Frontiers of Globalization Research: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches: 151-162. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33596-4_6
UN-Habitat. 2022. “Action Framework for the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda.” Nairobi: United Nations.
Varela, Francisco, 1981. Autonomy and autopoiesis. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag.
Ye, Dayong, Minijie Zhang, and Athanasios Vasilakos. 2017. A survey of self-organization mechanisms in multiagent systems. IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems 47(3): 441-461. https://doi.org/10.1109/TSMC.2015.2504350
Zhang, Shuhai, Gert De Roo, and Terry Van Dijk. 2015. Urban Land Changes as the Interaction Between Self-Organization and Institutions. Planning Practice and Research 30(2): 160-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2015.1014226