Agent-based modelling of urban change: from regional to small scale events

Rui Carvalho

VR Centre for the Built Environment, 1-19 Torrington Place, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom

New forms of representation at a fine spatial scale, where units of space are conceived as cells and populations as individual agents, are currently changing the way we are able to simulate the evolution of cities. I will review these new approaches and show how they are consistent with traditional urban models, the new emphasis no longer being on spatial interaction but on development dynamics and local movement. First, at the very large scale, I will review the use of agents to grow a system of cities, evolving a landscape where migration generates urban agglomerations; second, I will discuss generalizations of agents to cells, simulating the evolution of a metropolitan area; and third I will illustrate movement in buildings and streets at the very small scale where agents are walkers or pedestrians.