Modern urban development urgently requires a new management concept and operational mechanism to encourage the exploration of frameworks for cognizing and studying urban characteristics. In the present study, modern cities are first understood from the perspective of their basic theoretical evolution. Each modern city is seen as a complex system of organic life forms. Urban information science propels modern urban research in the direction of rationality. This paper also presents the new characteristics of modern cities (and how they have changed) in relation to external structure and internal functions. It examines the generation of urban problems and governance adaptability. On this basis, this paper proposes a cognitive model for studying modern cities, integrating basic theoretical, methodological support, and governance systems. It discusses the basic rationale and core idea for constructing each of these three systems. The research aims to guide and implement modern urban construction and sustainable development in a more effective way.
Keywords: Characteristic recognition; Governance system; Integrated framework; Modern city; Theoretical system.
© The Author(s) 2022.