Intelligent urban management: Learning to manage and managing to learn together for a change

Increasing awareness of the complexity of the modern urban setting has led to the questioning of management approaches founded on institutional, admin istrative and geographical compartmentalisation. The paper develops a conce ptualisation of management for responding to complex urban issues that conf ound bounded problem-solving. The article shows how an interagency manageme nt response was fostered in relation to issues of urban air quality in the south-central region of the UK. The notion of intelligent urban management that arises from this experience focuses on improving communication within and between agencies about the highly connected and emergent nature of prob lems for which management responsibility has been assumed. In conclusion, t he paper considers how this kind of transboundary action and learning can b e further inspired and sustained.