Abstract‘There has never been a more crucial time to challenge, reassess and propose alternatives to conventional urban masterplanning and its associated conventions, types and standards.’ Tom Verebes describes how the Design Research Laboratory (DRL) at the Architectural Association in London has employed a parametric approach to urbanism that investigates how associative design systems can control local dynamic information flows through interactive systems, spaces and interfaces. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.