Modeling Urban Movement in a Multi-Agent System By: Adrian Lopez-Mobilia, Patricia Perez, Joaquin Rodriguez, Laura Matos, Charlie Mitchell Mentor: Dr. Christine Drennon

Outline Introduction Background Research Problem Definition Proposed Solution Experiment Domain Timeline Conclusion

Introduction Social scientists have identified trends within a city to explain how people move and settle within residential areas. We want to try to simulate these theories to see if they can be replicated within a virtual city and to see if these same trends will emerge. Many factors impact where people choose to live such as: race, income, location, distance to work

Background Research Bid-Rent Theory (Macro) Schelling Model (Micro) Filtering/Succession (Micro)

Bid-Rent Theory

Bid-rent Meant to explain how a city is structured Poor will congregate towards the middle and the higher the income, the farther out the agents will be Trend is created by tradeoffs made by agents regarding distance and price of land

Schelling Model The environment : square grid. The grid is randomly filled with pennies and dimes Each agent = center of a 3-by-3 neighborhood, Agent evaluates its current position based on a “happiness rule” by observing its surrounding neighbors. If an agent is not happy, then switch places with another unhappy agent, or move to an empty house that will fit its happiness demands. The game will not end until all agents in the environment are happy. A sample model Developed by the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems at Northwestern University:

The Bounded-Neighborhood Model Also developed by Shelling Uses fixed neighborhoods Agents are either in or out of the neighborhood Each neighborhood has a ratio among types of agents Happiness based on “tolerance level” Each Agent has a different tolerance level

Filtering/Succession Filtering is sometimes called succession because filtering has a bad connotation to it. What is Filtering? – “Filtering is the term used to describe the process through which existing housing gradually declines in value, thereby making it available to groups of lower socioeconomic rank.” (Albrandt and Brophy 1975) This happens when houses start to deteriorate resulting from neglect or other factors.

Filtering/Succession Con’d Factors to cause filtering: – Changes in real income – Increase/ decrease in number of households – Obsolescence – Neighborhood Deterioration

Problem Definition Emergent properties from urban movement Effects of land costs and central source Bid-Rent Simple yet versatile

Proposed Solution

Applying Theories Schelling Theory Filtering/Succession Submarkets

Experiment Domain The domain we are going to be using is a modified version of SugarScape Going to be used to examine social clustering and moving patterns of people Modifications: – Sugar at center of world, instead of opposite ends – Sugar trails – Agents finding a house – Travel costs – Multiple points of accessibility

Timeline Week 3 – Finish functions, start CASE, sugar Week 4 – Add Day/Night Week 5 – Add houses, then making of houses Week 6 – Schelling Week 7 – Bounded Schelling Week 8,9 – Commercial, Manufaturing, Residents Model Week 10 – Conclude project

Conclusion Explore emergent properties Develop versatile framework for testing movement in urban setting

Questions?

THE END!!!!!!