Journal on Policy and Complex Systems
tention to the social dimensions of our collective challenges will continue :
The very rapid growth of the field of industrial relations as a professional specialty dramatizes the fact that our larger social systems , whether organizations or communities , are becoming more and more aware of their problems in the area of social progress in human relations and are turning more and more often to sources of outside professional help in solving them ( Lippitt , Watson , & Westley , 1958 , pp . 275-276 ).
I have argued that using a critical realist philosophical framework provides a rationale for empirical work through complex systems , network science , and the interactions of socio-spatial data . This framework enables us to enlarge our understanding of the dynamics of the social infrastructure of our cities at across scales . New knowledge about these social dynamics is increasingly critical as we contend with the simultaneous dynamics of decreasing stocks of social capital and emerging forms of social generation that are shaping our cities and communities . Our ability to describe and interact with these dynamics is essential if we are to continue to meet the needs of the full range of citizens that comprise our rapidly urbanizing world .
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