Research Group Urban Complexity (UCP)

The research group Urban Complexity (UCP) in the Research Area Spatial Information and Modeling is dedicated to complex problems of cities and urban systems. These are properties and characteristics that are too complicated to be penetrated cognitively by understanding their components. Emergent phenomena play an important role here - whereby the city itself is also considered as such. Research focuses on (i) morphology, (ii) scale properties, (iii) gravitational approaches and (iv) conflicting goals and their resolution.

The aim is to understand cities and urban systems in a generic way. However, the knowledge gained is not an end in itself, but is used to make cities more sustainable. Urban sustainability is about the sustainable functioning of people and infrastructure at high densities. How can high density be organized in a way that is beneficial for global sustainability? We need to understand cities before we can improve them. The description and explanation of statistical regularities are key to the quest for urban sustainability. Understanding cities and the dynamics of urban systems consists of an interplay of empirical characterization and the development of a predictive theory with the aim of improving global and local urban sustainability through theoretical understanding.