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City

  • Writer: Ade McCormack
    Ade McCormack
  • Jul 31
  • 1 min read

What is a City?

City is a complex socio-economic system comprising people, organisations, infrastructure and institutions that interact to create economic, social and cultural value.


Like an ecosystem, a city senses, decides and acts through the collective behaviour of its participants, although the degree to which these activities are coordinated varies considerably.


A city is governed, but it is not controlled. While elected leaders, public authorities and institutions establish laws, provide services and shape the conditions in which the city operates, they do not direct the countless decisions made each day by residents, businesses and communities. The behaviour of the city emerges from the interactions of its participants rather than from central command. In this respect, a city exhibits many of the characteristics of a complex adaptive system, where leadership is expressed through governance and coordination rather than direct control.


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