Brook Revitalization in Zürich: A Multisystems Analysis of Sustainable Development

Abstract

This chapter proposes a conceptual framework for a multisystems analysis of urban development processes. It links aspects of environmental sustainability (properties of chemical, physical and biological systems) with those related to individual well being, and social and cultural processes. This approach is valuable because it expands the so-called “green agenda” for urban planning (public transportation, recycling and reuse of waste, water and air quality, etc.), to include more specific aspects of what is generally termed social sustainability. As D. Satterthwaite has noted, “a diverse range of environmental, economic, social, political, demographic, institutional and cultural goals have been said to be part of ‘sustainable development’ in one location, while neglecting their ‘unsustainable’ impact on other sectors and locations” (Satterthwaite, 1997). The proposed analytical framework addresses this problem through a simultaneous analysis of the impact of urban interventions on multiple systems. In its general form, this approach can be used both to evaluate outcomes of intervention and change processes and to determine intervention goals based on comprehensive situation analyses. In addition, we propose a series of descriptive hypotheses related to planning and process optimization toward sustainable outcomes.¹