About how 'was' 'becomes': emergence of a sustainable spatial-energy system

摘要

In this paper the relationship between the complexity of a spatial system, sustainability and the type of design principles used is researched. In an analytical framework design projects are phased in timeframes and are placed in a complexity-sustainability field. The conclusion is that we are living in a timeframe in which complex systems are most common and that a new planning phenomenon might emerge based on the right impulse at the right time: swarm planning. The aim to reach a fundamental change in our spatial system, leading to a jump ahead in sustainability, is possible by adjusting our designs and planning system to the new laws of swarm. To find the right sustainable impulses to meet these laws an image of a backtracked landscape is useful. Not taking into account the complexity context we are in and not adjusting our planning system accordingly means heading for failure.