Urbanization & Transition of Cities

With their (ecological) footprint cities have a huge effect on the entire ecology of the planet. Their scale creates new dynamics, new complexity and new simultaneity of events and processes – physical, social and economic. With this website I would like to contribute my ideas about complex adaptive urban systems, ecologic sustainable urbanisme and social, cultural and economic urban development. Today there’s still time to share knowledge and ideas. Tomorrow it’s time to act.

Background

Arie Voorburg, consultant and (guest) lecturer & researcher at several universities. Traveled and gained life experience as an officer in the (merchant) navy. Once ashore, he immersed himself in studies of system ecology (co-evolutionary  complex systems, quantum biology), biophysics and philosophy and became fascinated by the urban phenomenon; the city in all its facets. Active for 30 years in the fields of ecology, biodiversity, sustainable development and complex –urban- systems.
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As cities expand in a transnational economy driven by interrelated dynamics (social, economic, financial, formal and informal, cultural, etc.) and through a continuous exchange of materials, energy, knowledge and abilities, they reconstruct ecological systems. Their scale creates new dynamics, new complexity and new simultaneity of events and processes – physical, social and economic. They host intense and complex interactions between different demographic, social, political, economic and ecological processes.
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Lectures & Research

Bio-ecologic inspired design principles (Biomimicry and bioclimatic design), Evolving Economy (Biobased, Circular, Inclusive Economy), Talent development (education and 21st century skills), Disruptive Technologies and new finance models.
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Drive

Globalization 4.0 has only just begun, but we are already vastly underprepared for it. Clinging to an outdated mindset and tinkering with our existing processes and institutions will not do. Rather, we need to redesign them from the ground up, so that we can capitalize on the new opportunities that await us, while avoiding the kind of disruptions that we are witnessing today.
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Tussentijd

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Uit mijn lezing ‘time between worlds’ van 19 september jl. kan afgeleid worden dat we in een tussentijd leven. Een heden tussen verleden en toekomst, oftewel tijd is creatie– en anders is hij helemaal niets. De ervaring van het procesmatige, temporele en steeds veranderende karakter van de werkelijkheid. In een wereld waarin gefixeerde structuren en concepten onder druk komen te staan en ons leven steeds meer door het hebben van ‘geen tijd’ wordt bepaald is het noodzakelijk gestolde en verouderde concepten, denkwijzen en manieren van waarnemen te doordenken en te vernieuwen. Als je jezelf geen tijd gunt en daarmee het…

Nu ik de tijd heb ….

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Mijn motivatie voor studie, onderzoek en werk komt voort uit mijn bezorgdheid over de toestand van de wereld. In mijn leven ben ik nog nooit zo bezorgd geweest over de inefficiënte focus op de complexe, gelijktijdig opkomende kwesties van de omslagpunten van het Earth System, de toenemende ongelijkheid, mondiale conflicten, convergerende DeepTech, hulpbronnen, gebrek aan integriteit en waarheid, de onaantastbare korte termijn focus op winst, enz. We lijken onze menselijkheid te verliezen. Ik zal blijven bijdragen aan de noodzakelijke systeemverandering om de bovengenoemde fundamentele en existentiële uitdagingen aan te pakken. En nu ik de tijd heb…..  ik heb het grootste…

NOT EXCLUSIVELY HUMAN

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Contemporary research on comparative cognition supports the claim that the difference between human and non-human minds is one of degree and not of kind. It must be emphasized that specific physical and social environments create selection pressures that lead to the evolution of certain cognitive adaptations and evolve independently from each other as a concrete result of specific selection pressures, and thus have appeared in distantly related species. Thus, there is not one cognition. The biocentric perspective focuses on each species in its own evolutionary history. In accordance with this biocentric approach there are several aspects of cognition, from sensor-actuator mechanisms to…

REFLECTION; ‘what can happen, will happen’ (?).

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  The development of Humanity is defined by gradual, linear progression. This linearity is not just a geometric metaphor but a reflection of our cognitive, emotional and societal evolution. Human cognition, deeply rooted in the structures of our neocortex and limbic system -the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses- has maintained a consistent pace over millennia. Our emotional responses, learning processes, and memory formations follow a path that is more evolutionary than revolutionary. While individual learning can display moments of rapid growth and adaptation, the overall cognitive development of our species unfolds across generations. Similarly,…