Models for city planning
Growing concerns about the sustainable development of urban areas has resulted in use of mathematical modelling for planning purposes. Although widely used for managing transportation and development, the models still have room for improvement. Developing such models was the goal of the EU-funded SUSTAINCITY (Micro-simulation for the prospective of sustainable cities in Europe) project. The intention was to support analysis of major sustainability questions affecting urban growth. Specifically, work addressed computational issues affecting the integration of mobility simulations with current land-use models. Challenges included integrating a demographic evolution module into land-use and transport models, adding an environmental module and improving consistency. The 12-member consortium also planned 3 case studies utilising the project results. The project ran between January 2010 and June 2013. Team members developed a modelling platform based on existing software, UrbanSim, and adapted to the context of European cities. The review identified social and economic characteristics of European cities for use as model parameters. Work also yielded new modelling approaches. Initial priorities consisted of data collection and general calibration. The next two-year period involved refining the estimates, model calibration and scenario simulations. Subsequent work consisted of using the model outputs as the basis for three case studies. Each involved three steps: data collection and analysis, model calibration and scenario simulations. The case studies were used to simulate various policy scenarios. Models for Brussels and Zurich turned out less operational and user friendly than the Paris version. Nevertheless, all models used the scenarios to inform the urban planning process. The SUSTAINCITY project adapted an existing modelling platform to European use, and produced planning models for three European cities. Outcomes and case studies provide an effective tool for policy evaluation.
Keywords
City planning, urban planning, sustainable cities, urban growth, land-use models
