[Paper Review] Co-evolution and morphogenetic systems

Juste Raimbault|arXiv (Cornell University)|Mar 30, 2018

Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis2 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a co-evolutionary framework to extend morphogenetic engineering (ME) to socio-technical systems, particularly territorial systems, by redefining morphogenetic systems as interconnected co-evolutionary niches. It establishes a conceptual bridge between morphogenesis and co-evolution, demonstrating that ME can be applied bottom-up to design complex systems through emergent, decentralized interactions, with a case study in territorial planning.

ABSTRACT

The emerging field of morphogenetic engineering proposes to design complex heterogeneous system focused on the paradigm of emergence. Necessarily at the interface of disciplines, its concepts can be defined through multiple viewpoints. This contribution aims at linking a co-evolutionary perspective on such systems with morphogenesis, and therein at bringing a novel conceptual approach to the bottom-up design of complex systems which allows to fully consider co-evolutive processes. We first situate systems of interest at the interface between biological and social systems, and introduce a multidisciplinary perspective on co-evolution. Building on Holland's signals and boundaries theory of complex adaptive systems, we finally suggest that morphogenetic systems are equivalent to combinations of co-evolutionary niches. This introduces an entry to morphogenetic engineering focused on co-evolution between components of a system. Applications can be found in a broad range of subjects, which we illustrate with the example of planning in territorial systems, suggesting an extended scope for the relevance of morphogenetic engineering concepts.

Motivation & Objective

• To extend the scope of morphogenetic engineering (ME) beyond biological and technical systems to include social and territorial systems.
• To establish a conceptual link between morphogenesis and co-evolution, grounded in multidisciplinary perspectives from biology, sociology, and complex systems theory.
• To demonstrate the relevance of ME in planning territorial systems by framing urban development as a co-evolutionary process within morphogenetic subsystems.
• To provide a novel entry point into ME through co-evolutionary niches, offering a complementary perspective to existing top-down or purely agent-based approaches.
• To argue that co-evolutionary dynamics are essential for understanding and designing emergent, self-organizing systems in complex environments.

Proposed method

• Applies Holland’s signals and boundaries theory of complex adaptive systems to model interactions in morphogenetic systems.
• Reinterprets morphogenetic systems as combinations of co-evolutionary niches, where components co-evolve through feedback loops between form and function.
• Uses a multidisciplinary lens—drawing from biology (teleonomy, morphogenesis), sociology (cultural evolution, memetics), and urban studies (scaling laws, innovation diffusion) to ground the framework.
• Maps territorial planning to ME by identifying co-evolving agents (e.g., cities, institutions) and spatial modules (regions) as morphogenetic subsystems.
• Proposes that morphogenetic processes in territorial systems emerge from interdependent, locally adaptive behaviors rather than centralized design.
• Illustrates the conceptual framework through the example of urban and regional planning, suggesting that bottom-up ME can be applied when co-evolutionary dynamics are explicitly modeled.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can co-evolution be formally linked to morphogenetic processes in complex systems?
• RQ2 In what way do co-evolutionary niches serve as the fundamental building blocks of morphogenetic systems?
• RQ3 To what extent can morphogenetic engineering be extended to socio-technical systems such as territorial and urban systems?
• RQ4 What conceptual and methodological shifts are required to apply ME in decentralized, co-evolving environments like cities?
• RQ5 How can co-evolutionary dynamics be leveraged to design more resilient and adaptive territorial systems through bottom-up mechanisms?

Key findings

• Morphogenetic systems are conceptually equivalent to combinations of co-evolutionary niches, where components co-evolve through feedback between form and function.
• The co-evolutionary perspective provides a robust, multidisciplinary foundation for extending morphogenetic engineering beyond biological and technical systems.
• Territorial systems, such as urban networks, exhibit strong co-evolutionary dynamics between cities and regions, suggesting they are natural candidates for ME application.
• The integration of co-evolution into ME enables a bottom-up design logic that better captures emergent, decentralized functionality in complex systems.
• The conceptual framework legitimizes ME’s relevance for socio-technical systems by aligning morphogenesis with co-evolutionary processes across scales.
• The paper establishes the first explicit conceptual link between morphogenesis and co-evolution, offering a new theoretical entry point for ME in complex, adaptive systems.