Appreciating the Wicked Problem: A Systems Approach to Sustainable Cities

Sustainable city place making is a complex process and can deliver systemic unintended or undesirable development paths such as poverty, health inequality or environmental degradation over generations. The application of socio-technical and socio-ecological systems thinking is applied to this critical challenge of how to create sustainable cities. Creating sustainable cities demands a different process of inquiry by decision makers, policy makers and practitioners to support sustainable holistic thinking and transformational outcomes (Lonsdale, Pringle and Turner 2015). The application of complex systems theory (Holland 1987; 1992; 2006), and socio-technical systems thinking, such as “appreciative systems” theories (Vickers 1965; Checkland 1994) and “systemic learning cycles” from soft systems methodologies (Checkland and Winter 2000, pp 380-381) are explored as mechanisms to support this new dynamic of skills, behaviour and mindset to foster transformational leadership of place. A new conceptual model and alternative reference frames are proposed as a way to understand and influence transformative action necessary to realise sustainable cities.

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