Week 1 - Cities As Systems

Question 1

Systems theory is a branch of science.. What era did it originate in?

Answer 1

The 1960s. Note how it corresponded with the broader quantitative revolution of geography

Question 2

What are the four types of system?

Answer 2

Human, living, physical and mechanical

Question 3

What is a system?

Answer 3

A collection of components under study. They kay be related to each other.

Question 4

Can components of different cities interact?

Answer 4

Yes, for example mechanical systems interact with human systems

Question 5

People places and things can very easily be assembled into different ……. .. …….. , at different scales

Answer 5

Systems of Interest

Question 6

Why is planning services challenging?

Answer 6

Problems are located in polarised places, creating difficulties for planning effectively. Which ‘ideology’ do you follow in providing? Social or economic efficiency?

Question 7

What is an open system?

Answer 7

A system that has connections to, and is influenced by, the outside world.

Question 8

What is a closed system?

Answer 8

A system with no connections, or influences from the outside world.

Question 9

What are most socio/ economic systems?

Answer 9

Open! Much influences

Question 10

What is Entitation ? And why is it important?

Answer 10

The definition of entities in the system observed. Important as it allows us to see how things are related

Question 11

What is aggregation, and why is it important?

Answer 11

The level of resolution used to observe the system, for example, is the city one entity, or instead a collection of many entities? The system of regions? A city region and its internal system? ( Wilson, 2010).

Question 12

Feedback is Important for analysing a system. What is positive feedback, and what could this mean?

Answer 12

The sign of an unstable system… No regulatory controls.

Question 13

What is negative feedback?

Answer 13

A set of regulatory actions, remains in equilibrium. For example, taxes.

Question 14

What happens when systems are linear?

Answer 14

A change in one entity leads to a CORRESPONDING change to other entities.

Question 15

What are non linear systems, are socio economic systems non linear?

Answer 15

A change in one entity can lead to large changes in the corresponding entities.

Question 16

Name some components of a human, city system?

Answer 16

Population, residential location, job choice, service use.
Related to INFRASTRUCTURE, and TRANSPORT. In turn, these affect the location of services and Job location.
These entities are all part of the link between populations and the economy.

Question 17

Thinking about the organisation of systems, what would be the characteristics of a simple system?

Answer 17

Small number of components

Question 18

What is a simple of disorganised complexity?

Answer 18

A system with many components, looses connections

Question 19

What is a system or organised complexity?

Answer 19

Many components, strong connections. Wilson stipulates that cities are systems of organised complexity (Wilson, 2000) as there are clear links between components and connections.

Question 20

Control mechanisms in systems: what are they for?

Answer 20

Use to control the outcomes of systems. Eg cruise control on a car, schools criteria for selection etc

Question 21

urban dynamics, what is it and why is it important?

Answer 21

Cities change temporally, has a number of impacts on systems and geographers interested in in this change and its meaning.

Question 22

Now think of a city as a complex system. A system has an infrastructure to carry a population, and the activities conducted by human agents occur at unique spatial points. What is the movement of people and services between these points?

Answer 22

SPATIAL INTERACTION - a key component of this damn module!! :)

Question 23

When Entitation in progress, can group activities into separate organisations, such as?

Answer 23

primary, industrial and domestic, government services etc

Question 24

When Entitating health services, what organisation does health fall into?

Answer 24

Personal services

Question 25

After Entitating, what is the next step when looking at systems?

Answer 25

Aggregation, what level of resolution?

Question 26

When aggregating a system, what levels of resolution can one uses?

Answer 26

Wards, OAs, LSOAs etc. each has its own benefits for when looking at an urban system.

Question 27

You already know that a city is a complex system, and that spatial interaction is a key component of this, with many origins and destinations. But, what does SPATIAL INTERACTION ALLOW IN A CITY SYSTEM?

Answer 27

Provides a link between all of the independent components in the system.

Question 28

A nice easy one! What facilitates spatial interaction in a system?

Answer 28

The transport networks and infrastructures!!! Stated by Aiken et al 1987 that systems are dependent on their transport networks.

Question 29

It is known that spatial interaction is a complex thing, and different perceptions can influence it. What can affect this?

Answer 29

The perceived attractiveness (or need) of the system, and the costs associated with getting to it. This varies on the service that you wish to use.

Question 30

What can be used to represent a system and and predict the changes of entities? For example… What will the impacts of that hospital closing be?

Answer 30

Spatial interaction models

Question 31

Chisholme 1967 stated that the systems approach to geographical study was important. true or false?

Answer 31

True

Question 32

Aiken et al was published in which year?

Answer 32

1987

Question 33

Aiken et al 1987, states that cities are crucial to systems, as public money gets spent by public agencies where there are more people. What dies this mean in the service system?

Answer 33

That public goods are more likely to be spent here.

Question 34

Name the academic sources for this lecture.

Answer 34

Wilson (2010)
Chisholm, 1962
Aiken et al 1987