The Urban Organism

Introduction: At the root of the definition of life there exists theoretical flexibility not popularly acknowledged in the teaching of evolutionary theory. The idea that cities are living organisms may be a foreign thought, yet the growth patterns of cities are strikingly similar to patterns exhibited in conventionally living organisms. Useful biological implications emerge about the nature of human civilisation when one adopts the correct perspective of scale and relative time, observes human nature in its entirety (e.g. via satellite imagery) and puts aside the impossible notion that "human nature" is somehow unnatural. It is possible for human civilization to philosophically reconnect with its natural and evolutionary history. Herein may lie the answers to fundamental questions such as, who are we? why are we here?

This paper suggests a method for biologically studying cities. The first chapter is rooted in biological and evolutionary theory, followed by method description and application consisting of case analyses.