Demonstrating the intricacies of power in shaping action within complex systems: the incorporation of health in urban development

Abstract

Power is a concept that has been notoriously hard to research due to its nebulous form, subjective presentation (Marshall & Rollinson, 2002), and ever presence within different spaces (Foucault, 1977). Despite this, researchers have tried for years to define and study power (e.g. Dahl, 1957; Weber, 1964). This thesis sets out to continue this work, focussing specifically on how power can be created, maintained, and destroyed in and between organisations and organisational actors. I explore power as a multifaceted concept within which different definitions of power can interact and can be used to the benefit of actors. The complex space of decision making makes an appropriate place within which to study this concept due to its multitude of actors, motivated by competing priorities and end goals, many of which utilise power to their advantage.

Power dynamics have been explored in this thesis within the context of health decision making within urban developments. While there have been clear links shown between the state of urban environments and human health (e.g. Black et al., 2021; Cooper et al., 2011), little action on health is currently taken. Decision makers in this space claim to want to make changes for health within their daily practices (Le Gouais et al., 2023), therefore we set out to understand how those actors can create the power for themselves to take agency and act on health in their work.

This alternative format thesis uses qualitative methods, using observations to understand interactions between the different forms of power, and how power works in ambiguous and dispersed networks, before mapping power in decision making as a system to further explore the complex relationships between power dynamics, and how these can be utilised by actors in the system to create to power to act.

Date of Award	22 Apr 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Krista Bondy (Supervisor), Mairi Maclean (Supervisor), Judith De Groot (Supervisor) & Aurelie Charles (Supervisor)