This paper is also published in Policy planning and sustainability. Proceedings of Seminar C held at the AET European Transport Conference, Loughborough University, UK, 14-18 September 1998, Vol. P422, p. 119-130, published by PTRC Education and Research Services Ltd, see IRRD E101817. This paper primarily explores a new way of perceiving cities, sharing theories that have arisen from and moved to other disciplines. It argues that a city can be understood in different ways, which give its citizens and workers more freedom to try new ways of achieving community objectives. Although it is important, the integration of land use and transport is not enough. Cities and their transport systems are living, continually learning, self-organising systems. The paper discusses how contemporary theory about self-organising systems can be applied. It then considers how managers of urban systems can provide the right balance between control and participation, and between design and emergent structure. The exercise of power is the greatest challenge here. Perhaps it is really the power to influence a living system through genuine participation and information sharing - power with rather than power over. The paper describes, as an illustrative example, a recent project in the Australian city of Adelaide, using self-organising principles. Here, L. Ampt et al. developed the technique of `travel blending' to facilitate the reduction of car use; members of households were involved in thinking about activities and travel in advance, then blending travel modes, blending activities, and blending over time.
Abstract