Summarized highlights from Place, localism, relationality, proximity and systems change | Dark Matter Labs
The document explores how terms like “place” and “localism” are merely proxies for deeper relational dynamics that enable systems to function effectively. These terms point to important concepts but can mask what truly determines a system’s vitality:
Place = density of entanglements: reciprocal ties binding actors, artifacts, and ecologies
Localism = preference for cultivating entanglement within a delimited geography
Relationality = qualitative tenor of those ties: strength, symmetry, intelligence, adaptivity
Proximity = bias for amplifying relational quality through nearness
The author proposes moving beyond these colloquial terms to more precise metrics for understanding systems:
Feedback latency
Agency distribution
Sensing bandwidth
Contextual intelligence
Adaptive plasticity
Norm alignment
These metrics function as “dials” on a system’s autopoietic engine (self-creating, self-maintaining). By adjusting these dials, systems can be transformed:
Increasing feedback speed and contextual intelligence makes a network more responsive
Expanding agency while maintaining mutual dependency enables co-evolution
Enhancing adaptive capacity turns shocks into learning opportunities
This framework provides a “compass” for:
Diagnosing system vitality
Designing targeted interventions
Comparing different systems
The document emphasizes that effective systems change requires focusing on structural capabilities rather than isolated fixes. Real transformation depends on how parts communicate, decide, and adapt. The role of changemakers shifts from “architect” to “gardener” – cultivating capabilities, removing obstacles, and allowing the system to self-transform rather than imposing external solutions.
As the author concludes: “By redirecting attention from externally imposed solutions to the inner scaffolding of systemic capabilities, we gain a richer, more ethical, and ultimately more effective theory of change—one that invites systems to self‑transform rather than conform to somebody else’s design.”
