Dissipative Urbanism: Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics in American Metropolitan Areas

This thesis reconceptualizes American metropolitan areas as dissipative thermodynamic structures governed by non-equilibrium dynamics. Drawing on process philosophy, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, and information geometry, I analyze 386 MSAs using publicly US Census data from 2006–2024 (2020 excluded due to data disruption). I found that among 102 major US MSAs, 9 (8.5%) meet all criteria for confirmed dissipative structures, with 46.2% operating in the dissipative regime; 340 MSAs (88%) exhibit predominantly geodesic demographic trajectories with a mean geodesic efficiency η of 72.6%. Furthermore, only one manifold tearing event was found to have occurred (2008 Financial Crisis), creating societal transformative changes; But 95.6% of MSAs showed adiabatic (resilient) responses to the 2008 crisis and 91.3% to COVID-19, with zero non-adiabatic classifications. Validation confirms non-equilibrium dynamics (p=0.023). The findings challenge equilibrium-based urban planning, suggesting policy should focus on managing flows and enabling adaptive capacity rather than optimizing fixed forms. A surprising result was the universal adiabatic response of all major MSAs surveyed, suggest great resilience in medium to large American cities while refuting the “urban doom” thesis following the COVID-19 pandemic. All source codes are available at: http://github.com/rogerwzeng/dissipative-urbanism Keywords: dissipative structures, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, information geometry, urban complexity, process philosophy, metropolitan dynamics, demographic flows