Integral MetaMapping

This Page is Under Construction by Fellow Marilyn Hamilton, Founder Integral City Meshworks.

This page is part of an ongoing, open-ended online collaborative database, which collects relevant approaches that can be used by city-makers to tackle unsustainability and injustice in cities. It is based mainly on knowledge generated in EU-funded projects and touches on fast changing fields. As such, this page makes no claims of authoritative completeness and welcomes your suggestions.

General introduction to approach

Today’s city and the cities of the Future are living systems with bio-psycho-social-cultural capacities, that emerge from the interaction of universal evolutionary processes. A four quadrant, eight level meta-map creates a common language to describe and understand the dynamic patterns and feedback loops amongst these forces.

The meta-map can be used by regional planners, land-base and social planners and other professional city management communities of practice. It can also inform Citizens, Business Innovators and the 3rd Sector as they engage around solutions for Sustainability and Justice.

The meta-map discussed here is an integrated map of evolutionary values that encompasses subjective/objective and intersubjective/interobjective values is a useful and powerful tool for researching, planning, tracking and managing change in an organization, community, city or society. A meta-map based on Ken Wilber’s (1995, 1996) all quadrants, all levels, all lines, all types (AQAL) model of reality (see Table I) provides a starting frame for these requirements. Wilber (2003, Part 1, p.13) identified the values related to each quadrant as the values relating to I, We, It and Its, which he notes are reflected by the pronouns that universally arise in all languages to describe the lens of every voice in a social/cultural collective.

Shapes, sizes and applications

(TBDesigned for the Wiki) Table I: The Integral Model of Values [image]

The four quadrant map also includes an all levels dimension of development, that spirals outward in each quadrant from the centre of the map. Those are the dimensions that effectively map change in each quadrant. Tracking indicators on the developmental dimension allows us to see change “from what to what?” (Beck, 2003). The outward flowing spirals represent the eight stages (levels or waves) of developmental change that emerged in Graves’ and Beck’s research and that Wilber, Wade and others have traced through research of the literature. Therefore, in effect, the Integral Model encompasses the Spiral Dynamics Change Model. Table II summarizes Spiral Dynamics color codes (col. 1, Beck, D., Cowan, C., (1996)), and key values and self/group focus (col 3) with the integration of the Integral Model’s developmental dimension (Column 2, Wilber (2000a)). In Col. 4, it describes characteristics of the Complex Adaptive Intelligences at each level (Stevenson and Hamilton (2001)) and how these are expressed as Community Values and Assets (col. 5). An example of positive and negative expressions of each value from life in the modern city is noted in Col. 6.

(TBDesigned for the Wiki) Table II: Emergent V-Memes and Community Values [image]

Both the Integral Model and Spiral Model appear to be useful frameworks through which to view changing values using both the lenses of complexity and relevant scales. They provide a framework for examining the micro, meso and macro levels of life conditions, values and assets that emerge large scale change. Beck states (2000): “The focus … should be on the process dynamic itself, not on any specific system, level, stage or whorl that has been activated in forming the complex, adaptive intelligences. Each of the emerging value system waves not only addresses the unique problems in the milieu that gave it birth, but also adds texture and quality to the more complex v-meme codes in the future .”

Suggested reading

• Beck, D. (2003), private discussion February
• Beck, D.(2002), “The Color of Constellations: A Spiral Dynamics Perspective on Human Drama”, Spiral Dynamics Conference, Boulder, CO, October
• Beck, D. (2000) State of the World Forum, “Shaping Globalization: Convening the Community of Stakeholders”, p. 6
• Beck, D., Cowan, C. (1999), Spiral Dynamics, Blackwell Publishers, Malden, MA.
• Combs, A. (2002),The Radiance of Being: Understanding the Grand Integral Vision; Living the Integral Life, Paragon House, St. Paul, Minnesota
• Cooke et al (2002), European Spiral Leadership Summit: Analysis of country comparisons: Hard copy and online survey data graphed by AL, www.onlinepeoplescan.com
• Cooke, C. (2001), “The Hemsmesh Project”, unpublished report
• Global Values Network (2002), Global Values Monitor, Unpublished Document, Spiral Dynamics Training, Vancouver
• Graves, C. (1971), “A systems conception of personality: Levels of existence theory”. Introductory remarks presented at the meeting of the Washington School of Psychiatry, Washington, DC.
• Graves, C., (1974), “Human Nature Prepares for a Momentous Leap”, The Futurist, April
• Graves, C. (1981), “Summary statement. The emergent, cyclical, double helix model of the adult human biopsychosocial systems”. Retrieved July 3, 2002‚ from http://www.clarewgraves.com/articles_content/1981_handout/1981_summary.pdf
• Hamilton, M. (1999), “Berkana Community of Conversations: A Study of Leadership Skill Development and Leadership Organization Practices in a Self-Organizing Online Microworld”, doctoral thesis, www.integralcity.com,
• Hamilton, M., Stevenson, B. (2000), Journeys to Wellness, Global Learning Connections, Abbotsford, BC
• Hamilton, M. (2003b), “Integral Community: Lenses, Values and Indicators for Maple Leaf Meme Maps”, unpublished manuscript
• Hamilton, M. (2004), “Why Metamap the City of the Future?”, unpublished manuscript
• Hargens, S. (2004), “Integral Ecology: The What, Who, and How of Environmental Phenomena, Version 4 3/14/04, unpublished manuscript, Integral Ecology, Integral Institute, Denver, Colorado
• Wilber, K. (2004) ,“Forward,” in Integral Medicine: A Noetic Reader, ed M. Schlitz & T. Hyman. Shambhala, Boston
• Wilber, K. (2003a), “Excerpt B”, www.shambhalapublishing.com
• Wilber, K. (2003b), “Excerpt G”, www.shambhalapublishing.com
• Wilber, K. (2001), ,Marriage of Sense & Soul, Random House, New York
• Wilber, K. (2000a) , A Theory of Everything, Shambhala, Boston
• Wilber, K. (2000b), Integral Psychology, Shambhala, Boston
• Wilber, K. (2002), Boomeritis, Shambhala, Boston
• Wilber, K. (1995), Sex Ecology and Spirituality, Shambhala, Boston
• Wilber, K. (1996), A Brief History of Everything, Shambhala, Boston
• Wight, I. (2002), “Place, Place Making and Planning”, ACSP, Baltimore