The complex science of cities and how they grow – with Elsa Arcaute

What can fractal patterns tell us about how cities are formed and grow? And can you use complexity science to predict voting patterns based on infrastructure? Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe Become a YouTube channel member for exclusive access to the Q&A: fhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeF244yNGuFefuFKqxIAXw/join Complexity science teaches us that "more is different," meaning that interacting parts, for example, people, give rise to new and unexpected properties. Despite cities being often seen as opposite to nature, discover that they share many similar processes with natural systems. In this lecture, Elsa Arcaute explores fascinating connections, such as how the structure of leaves can help us understand the layout of cities, how urban footprints left over thousands of years resemble the organisation of the brain, and whether there is a collective urban memory that influences socio-economic trends like inequality. Additionally, we will question whether these resemblances are the outcome of our fractal nature. ------ Elsa Arcaute is Professor of Complexity Science at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. Her research focuses on modelling and analysing urban systems from the perspective of complexity sciences. Her main branches of research are urban scaling laws, hierarchies in urban systems, defining city boundaries, and the analysis of urban processes using percolation theory and networks. ------ The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ri_science Listen to the Ri podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ri-science-podcast Donate to the RI and help us bring you more lectures: https://www.rigb.org/support-us/donate-ri Our editorial policy: https://www.rigb.org/editing-ri-talks-and-moderating-comments Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter Product links on this page may be affiliate links which means it won't cost you any extra but we may earn a small commission if you decide to purchase through the link.