Strategic Network: Data and Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems (DACAS)

城市化已被宣布为一种全球状况。城市和城市进程已经成为几个学科和跨学科领域研究议程的核心。需要新的分析框架和实用工具来模拟、理解和管理城市转型。然而，尽管城市(大数据)和分析方法的可用性越来越高，有可能对不同地理环境下的社会空间变化进行循证理解，但目前的方法未能将城市理解为复杂的适应系统。尽管智能城市被视为为紧迫的全球挑战提供了解决方案，但主流战略尚未深入了解不同城市系统之间的关联和因果关系，也未能解决“软”(经济、生态和社会)和“硬”(工程)系统之间的联系。然而，连接和模拟不同类型的城市数据和系统的能力对于从整体上理解城市作为复杂的适应系统是不可或缺的，并将成为未来城市研究和实践的议程设置。拟议的国际战略网络数据和城市作为复杂适应系统(DACAS)旨在促进一种决定性的跨学科方法，利用复杂性科学框架通过(大数据)城市数据来理解城市进程和变化。战略网络有三个与政府商业、创新和技能部密切相关的目标：(A)智慧城市和(B)发展援助战略，具体方式如下：(A)DACAS将汇集具有社会科学和自然科学背景的著名学者，包括建筑师、工程师、物理学家、地理学家、数学家和生态经济学家。网络活动将使用复杂性科学框架澄清和校准常见的跨学科术语。将确定相关的城市系统数据；将比较数据来源、结构和获取方法，并将通过软、硬城市数据集的交叉案例分析来测试数据分析方法(Obj1)。网络活动将确定是否以及如何使用数据来连接硬城市系统和软城市系统。将比较不同学科的建模技术并将其联系起来，并将建立创新的方案，以确定大型复杂(城市)数据集中的因果关系(Obj2)。网络活动将促进开发实用工具和创新技术应用，以利用(大数据)城市数据，反映城市复杂性，并帮助城市决策和实践(目标3)。(B)DACAS研究人员将常驻日本和英国以及牛顿国家巴西和中国。三项活动和一项暑期班(专门针对博士和早期职业研究人员)将把学术界与公共、私营和第三部门的用户社区联系起来。其中两项活动将由我们在巴西的合作伙伴和中国主办。鉴于城市化压力不断扩大的全球环境和经济危机，DACAS有可能通过多项成果在学术界、政策界和实践界产生实际影响。除了个别网络成员发表的学术论文外，DACAS还将在一家国际知名期刊上发表一篇综合文章。除了专门的网站和对流行杂志和网络博客的一系列投稿外，DACAS还将为研究人员和从业人员编写综合报告，并为政策制定者编写联合国大学政策报告/政策简报。在曼彻斯特建筑学院，建筑专业的学生将通过基于数字研究的三月工作室复杂性、规划和城市主义(CPU)直接受益于DACAS活动。将制定跨学科研究的资助建议，以确保DACAS在获奖后继续开展活动(例如，RCUK、ERC H2020、贝尔蒙论坛)。

Urbanisation has been declared a planetary condition. Cities and urban processes have moved to the core of research agendas across several academic disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. New analytical frameworks and practical tools are needed to model, understand and manage urban transformations. Yet despite the increasing availability of urban (big) data and methods of analysis with the potential to allow an evidence-based understanding of socio-spatial change in different geographical contexts, current approaches fail to understand cities as complex adaptive systems. Although smart cities are seen as offering solutions to pressing global challenges, mainstream strategies do not yet offer an in-depth understanding of correlations and causalities between different urban systems and fail to address the links between 'soft' (economic, ecological and social) and 'hard' (engineered) systems. However, the ability to link and model different kinds of urban data and systems is indispensable for a holistic understanding of cities as complex adaptive systems and will be agenda-setting for future urban research and practice. The proposed international Strategic Network Data and Cities as Complex Adaptive Systems (DACAS) aims to promote a decisively interdisciplinary approach to understanding urban processes and transformations through (big) urban data using a complexity science framework. The Strategic Network has three objectives which are closely aligned with the Government's Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (a) smart cities and (b) development assistance strategies in the following ways:(a) DACAS will bring together noted academics with backgrounds in the social and natural sciences, including architects, engineers, physicists, geographers, mathematicians and ecological economists. Network activities will clarify and calibrate common interdisciplinary terminology using a complexity science framework. Relevant urban systems data will be identified; data sources, structures and methods of acquisition will be compared and methods of data analysis will be tested through cross-case analysis of soft and hard urban data sets (Obj1). Network activities will establish if and how data can be used to link hard and soft urban systems. Modelling techniques will be compared and linked across disciplines and innovative protocols will be established to identify cause-effect relationships in large complex (urban) data sets (Obj2). Network activities will facilitate the development of practical tools and innovative technological applications to exploit (big) urban data, reflect urban complexity and aid urban policy-making and practice (Obj3). (b) DACAS researchers will be based in Japan and the UK as well as Newton countries Brazil and China. Three events and one summer school (targeting specifically PhD and Early Career Researchers) will link academics with user communities from the public, private and third sectors. Two of these events will be hosted by our partners in Brazil and China. In view of global environmental and economic crises where the pressures of urbanisation are expanding, DACAS has the potential to make a real impact in academic, policy and practice circles through multiple deliverables. Alongside academic papers produced by individual Network members, DACAS will publish a synthesis article in an internationally renowned journal. In addition to a dedicated website and a series of contributions to popular magazines and web blogs, DACAS will produce synthesis reports for researchers and practitioners and a UNU Policy Report/Policy Brief for policy makers. At the Manchester School of Architecture, students of Architecture will benefit directly from DACAS activities through the digital research-based MArch atelier Complexity, Planning and Urbanism (CPU). Funding proposals for interdisciplinary research will be developed to ensure continued DACAS activities post-award (e.g. RCUK, ERC H2020, Belmont Forum).