Discovering Urban Systemology

What is Urban Systemology?

Have you ever wondered how cities really work? How all the different parts fit together to create the places we live in? That’s what the study of Urban Systems is all about—understanding how the many pieces of urban life connect and impact each other.

My First Steps into Urban Systems

My journey into this fascinating field began in 2012 when I started grad school at Rutgers in the Urban Systems program. Back then, the idea of systems thinking was mostly applied to science, engineering, and technology. It was rare to hear it used to talk about people. That changed for me in a reading group where we dived into a book called "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows. We discussed how these concepts could apply to education, which clicked with me. With a master’s degree in urban planning, I had always thought that studying Urban Planning would help me understand New York City's education system and its broader context within the city, state, and nation.

A World of Interconnected Ideas

The Urban Systems program highlighted interdisciplinary learning. Officially, we explored how education, health, and the environment (think physical spaces, politics, economy) intersected. This helped us understand urban history and how people’s lives are shaped by these elements. Here are a few projects my classmates and I worked on that are examples of study in this field:

• Hip-Hop and Housing: I wrote a paper using Hip-Hop theory to explore young people’s perceptions of their housing conditions in Co-op City, NY. It was eye-opening to see how cultural elements like music could help explain urban experiences.

• Playground Spaces: One of my classmates studied how young children—boys and girls—used space differently on school and city playgrounds. This highlighted how gender influences the way we interact with our environment.

• Tiny Houses: Another classmate investigated the tiny house movement, exploring the economic and social reasons behind it. This showed how lifestyle choices reflect broader social trends.

• Hair and Health: Another colleague’s project on Black girls’ relationships with their hair examined how this affected their levels of physical activity, revealing a unique intersection of culture and health.

• Iran's History: One of my peers developed a history of his home country, Iran, focusing on the contexts that shaped it today, specifically the oil economy. This demonstrated how historical and political factors influence a place’s current state.
  

These projects showed the freedom and creativity Urban Systems thinking offers because of its interdisciplinary nature. We could study a wide variety of factors that impact people living in cities, using our knowledge and experiences to tailor our work to our interests. This leads to my dissertation journey.

My Dissertation Journey

My dissertation journey itself shows the wide variety of phenomena that can be put under the umbrella of urban systemology. Initially, I explored the effects of state control of local schools in Newark, NJ. But I quickly realized that this topic didn’t inspire me. I needed something more engaging. I switched topics. Next, I became obsessed with how the environment affects stress and mental health. I successfully defended a proposal to investigate the influence of neighborhood distress on young people's mental health and their education their education outcomes. Then the pandemic hit, and I lost access to my potential participants. I had to pivot again. The final time, I used secondary data to study how social connections help Black and Latinx students in a coding program designed to support underrepresented students in tech access and navigate technology education and career spaces.

Urban Systems Thinking is about seeing the big picture. It’s understanding how different parts of a city work together and affect the people living there. This interdisciplinary approach lets us explore the nuances of urban life, making connections that might not be obvious at first glance.

So next time you walk through your city, think about all the interconnected systems at play. From the buildings to the people, from the parks to the politics—everything is part of a larger system. And understanding that system can help us create better, more inclusive urban spaces.

Join the Conversation

What aspects of your city intrigue you the most? How do you see different systems interacting in your daily life? Share your thoughts and let's explore Urban Systems Thinking together!