Uncertainty, Innovation and the City: Philosophical Explorations

by Daniele Chiffi, Stefano Moroni

Overview

This pioneering book investigates the complex nature of urban systems, exploring how uncertainty plays a crucial role in understanding cities. Daniele Chiffi and Stefano Moroni develop a relational theory to examine cities as dynamic networks of interaction between people and objects, rather than as fixed structures.

Chiffi and Moroni analyse how uncertainty affects urban planning, infrastructure and technological advancement, challenging conventional paradigms by demonstrating how uncertainty can spark innovation. They further assess how public authorities make decisions in complicated urban contexts, focusing on areas such as land use and building transformations. The book proposes a novel framework for understanding technological innovations in the city, emphasising that progress is not solely driven by economic factors, but also by societal preferences and underlying uncertainties.

Providing fresh insights into the epistemology of urban systems, this book is an inspiring read for students and scholars of urban planning, urban geography and cities more broadly. It is also a useful resource for policymakers and practitioners in planning, as well as academics interested in the philosophy of urban studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781035342662
Publisher:	Edward Elgar Publishing
Publication date:	08/10/2025
Series:	Elgar Studies in Planning Theory, Policy and Practice
Pages:	118
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Daniele Chiffi, Associate Professor of Philosophy of Science, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano, Italy and Stefano Moroni, Professor of Planning, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

Table of Contents

Contents
1 Introduction: uncertainty, innovation and the city
2 A relational theory of the city: sources of uncertainty
3 How uncertainty affects infrastructural and regulatory
intervention
4 Addressing deep uncertainty: rethinking regulatory
intervention
5 Types of innovation: city, uncertainty and technology
6 Conclusion: city knowledge and its limits
References

Editorial Reviews

‘One of the central insights of studying cities as complex systems is that their uncertainty is not a consequence of lack of knowledge that can be eliminated by further research and more data, but an inherent property of complex systems, and of cities as such. In their Uncertainty, Innovation and the City, Daniele Chiffi and Stefano Moroni further show that the uncertainty typifying cities and their planning is not merely a negative phenomenon, but also a property that tend to catalyze creative innovations and pioneering ideas. The book should be a reference to anyone interested in the dynamics of cities, their planning and design, as complex systems.’

Juval Portugali

‘Daniele Chiffi and Stefano Moroni show how urban planning and other public decisions under uncertainty can be improved if we distinguish between different types of uncertainty, different types of innovations, and different types of decisions. This is applied philosophy at its very best. The intellectual tools presented in this book can and should be used by urban planners and other decision makers to improve their procedures.’

Sven Ove Hansson