Adaptive Flexibility of the City’s Complex Systems

The city represents a complex adaptive system consisting of a set of interconnected subsystems within self-organization and flexible structures that give it the ability to adapt to continue operating over time. This research discusses the adaptive flexibility of the complex urban system by measuring the degree of complexity and adaptation of secondary systems within the general system depending on its kinetic and visual system, making it self-organized and within a coherent and harmonious unit. Thus, the research problem arises from “the lack of knowledge on how to determine the appropriate degree of complexity and adaptation for urban systems, providing them with adaptive flexibility that allows them to maintain their energy and ensure their survival and continuity over time”. This research aims to determine the adaptive flexibility of the complex urban system, which keeps it self-organized and able to survive depending on its kinetic and visual system that links the secondary systems of the general system based on the degree of complexity and adaptation ideal. The research adopted quantitative analysis, which includes calculating the adaptive dimensions of the complex system based on the kinetic and visual system, as well as the nodes connecting the parts of the secondary system, in addition to determining both the area and the perimeter of the study area. The historic Karkh area in Baghdad was selected for implementation because it includes a model of the complex system that originated and developed within different time stages. The system’s adaptive flexibility was calculated to determine its ability to survive and continue. This research found that it is possible to determine the strength of the urban format and its ability to survive or not, as well as the possibility of developing it, by understanding the ideal degree of adaptive flexibility for the format. This ideal degree is 1, achieved through visual and kinetic coherence among the nodes that make up the parts of the format. The farther the format is from this degree, the less adaptive flexibility it has, which affects its ability to survive and continue. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the strength of the interconnections between the parts of the kinetic and visual system and between the parts of the complex format, which directly affects its ability to self-regulate and survive.