Designing for the Real World: The Importance of Chaos

There is a side of urban planning and architecture that planners, urban designers, architects and their clients ignore at their peril: the un-categorised, difficult to pigeonhole, contingent activity that is the life force of cities and buildings. They see this activity as chaotic, in need of control and moulding. Yet, what this essay argues is that far from needing to control this what can emerge from this seeming chaos is a different, resilient and more humane pattern for living.

Keywords: Bottom up processes ; Invisible actions ; Loose fit ; Organised complexity ; Pattern for living ; Planners ; Self-organisation ; Surveillance society ; Uncertainty ; Urban Planning