Reframing Urban Transportation As Complex Systems: A Three-Dimensional Evolutionary Perspective

Hongliang Lu; Ziyi Shi; Hui Zhong; Junjie Yang; Shuqi Shen; Xinhu Zheng; Yuxuan Liang; Chao Lu; Qiumeng Li; Meng Xu; Wei Liu; Jintao Ke; Siyuan Feng; Zheng Zhu; Yu Zheng; Chengzhong Xu; Hai Yang

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.08.012

Engineering ›› :202608012 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.08.012

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Reframing Urban Transportation As Complex Systems: A Three-Dimensional Evolutionary Perspective

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^a Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen 518055, China

^b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Hong Kong 999077, China

^c Intelligent Transportation Thrust, Systems Hub, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) , Guangzhou 511453, China

^d Computer and Information Engineering, School of Science and Engineering , The Chinese University of Hong Kong—Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518172, China

^e School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology , Beijing 100081, China

^f Urban Transport Systems Laboratory (LUTS), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) , Lausanne CH—1015, Switzerland

^g Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University , Hong Kong 999077, China

^h Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong , Hong Kong 999077, China

ⁱ Institute of Intelligent Transportation Systems, College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University , Hangzhou 310058, China

^j JD Technology & JD Intelligent Cities Research , Beijing 101111, China

^k State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City, University of Macao , Macao 999078, China

^*E-mail addresses: luhl3@sustech.edu.cn (H. Lu),

xinhuzheng@hkust-gz.edu.cn (X. Zheng),

cehyang@ust.hk (H. Yang).

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Abstract

Drawing a parallel with blood vessels in living organisms, transportation catalyzes today’s urban development by creating connections, enhancing mobility, and enriching urban activities. Traditional perspectives often treat transportation merely as a component of cities, leaving us without a systematic understanding of how it evolves and functions within cities. Here, we argue that transportation should be reframed from the perspective of complex systems and propose a three-dimensional framework to look at how urban transportation evolves across three dimensions, including transportation infrastructures (x), transportation vehicles (y), and transportation space (z). By examining how these dimensions come into play both individually and collectively within cities, we can grasp the historical trajectory and current state of transportation evolution, and, in particular, how they have shaped urban development over time. More importantly, our framework illuminates the future directions of transportation evolution, as well as the potential forms of urban inequity that future transportation may generate.

Keywords

Urban transportation / Complex systems / Transportation evolution / Urban accessibility / Urban efficiency

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Hongliang Lu, Ziyi Shi, Hui Zhong, Junjie Yang, Shuqi Shen, Xinhu Zheng, Yuxuan Liang, Chao Lu, Qiumeng Li, Meng Xu, Wei Liu, Jintao Ke, Siyuan Feng, Zheng Zhu, Yu Zheng, Chengzhong Xu, Hai Yang. Reframing Urban Transportation As Complex Systems: A Three-Dimensional Evolutionary Perspective. Engineering 202608012 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.08.012

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