The Information Architecture of  Cities Export

@article{citeulike:3328515, abstract = {Cities can be viewed as information architecture systems. Here, "architecture" is used in the sense of computer architecture -- it refers not to the design of buildings, but to how the components of a complex system interact. Information exchange includes the movement of people and goods, personal contact and interactions, telecommunications, as well as visual input from the environment. Information networks provide a basis for understanding living cities and for diagnosing urban problems. This paper argues that a city works less like an electronic computer, and more like the human brain. As a functionally complex system, it heuristically defines its own functionality by changing connections so as to optimize how components interact. An effective city will be one with a system architecture that can respond to changing conditions. This analysis shifts the focus of understanding cities from their physical structure to the flow of information.}, author = {Coward, Andrew L. and Salingaros, Nikos A.}, citeulike-article-id = {3328515}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/InfoCities.html}, journal = {Journal of Information Science}, keywords = {adaptive, communication, economics, informationtheory, urban}, number = {2}, pages = {107--118}, posted-at = {2008-09-24 08:33:49}, priority = {2}, title = {The Information Architecture of  Cities}, url = {http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/InfoCities.html}, volume = {30}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3328515 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3328515 N2 - Cities can be viewed as information architecture systems. Here, "architecture" is used in the sense of computer architecture -- it refers not to the design of buildings, but to how the components of a complex system interact. Information exchange includes the movement of people and goods, personal contact and interactions, telecommunications, as well as visual input from the environment. Information networks provide a basis for understanding living cities and for diagnosing urban problems. This paper argues that a city works less like an electronic computer, and more like the human brain. As a functionally complex system, it heuristically defines its own functionality by changing connections so as to optimize how components interact. An effective city will be one with a system architecture that can respond to changing conditions. This analysis shifts the focus of understanding cities from their physical structure to the flow of information. IS - 2 JF - Journal of Information Science EP - 118 TI - The Information Architecture of  Cities VL - 30 SP - 107 KW - adaptive KW - communication KW - economics KW - informationtheory KW - urban AU - Coward, Andrew AU - Salingaros, Nikos PY - 2004/// UR - http://zeta.math.utsa.edu/~yxk833/InfoCities.html ER -