(Re)development, Complexity and Networks: A Framework for Research

Abstract

This paper presents a conceptual framework for the examination of land redevelopment based on a complex systems/networks approach. The agents and networks involved in property development can be seen as constituents of structures that perform complex processes. These structures interact, forming new more complex structures and networks. Redevelopment then can be conceptualised as a process of transformation: a complex system, involving developers, planners, landowners, investors, community groups, etc., through which a previously used site is transformed into new network space. Analysis of network relations points towards the 'duality' of structure and agency in these processes of system transformation and change. Insights from actor network theory can be conjoined with notions of complexity and chaos to build an understanding of the ways in which actors actively seek to shape these structures and systems, whilst at the same time being recursively shaped by them in their strategies and actions. Better understanding of the interactions between actors and the emergent qualities of the networks they form can improve our comprehension of the complex socio-spatial phenomena that redevelopment comprises.