System Thinking in the Age of Complexity: A Practical Urban Problem-Solving Framework

Journal of Systems Thinking in Practice

مقالات آماده انتشار، پذیرفته شده، انتشار آنلاین از تاریخ 22 تیر 1404

نوع مقاله: Research Article

شناسه دیجیتال (DOI): 10.22067/jstinp.2025.92673.1146

نویسندگان

Iman Ghalandarian^{* 1}؛ Zahra Sadat Faghih²

¹Assistant Professor, Department of Urbanism, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

²Department of Urbanism, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

چکیده

Urban environments are becoming more complicated, so urban planning needs new and creative ways to tackle problems. This study explores a detailed framework to address these challenges by combining different problem-solving techniques across three key stages: identifying the problem (What), analysing the problem (Why), and developing solutions (How). The research extracts tools like SWOT analysis, Fishbone diagrams, World café, and Causal loop diagrams, and also evaluates the effectiveness of their usage while using a mix of methods, including questionnaires with urban planning students and real-world case studies. The findings emphasize the value of qualitative and quantitative techniques to encourage collaboration and better decision-making. For example, tools like Discovery & action dialogue (DAD) help create inclusive engagement, while data-driven approaches like GIS mapping provide actionable insights. The study also highlights patterns in how these techniques perform at different stages. The proposed framework addresses a wide range of challenges, from simple to complex, such as ill-defined, ethical, and wicked problems. It shows the importance of adaptability and learning through iteration. This research offers a comprehensive, structured, and integrative framework for urban settings. This framework is designed to help urban practitioners, policymakers, and educators navigate the complexities of urban systems while improving decision-making, and it can adapt to different contexts..

کلیدواژه‌ها

Urban Problem-Solving؛ Problem-Solving Techniques؛ System Thinking؛ Case Analysis؛ Integrated Methodology