Reactive Agent-based Tangible simulation for decision making in urban studies

Project Information

ReAgent

Grant agreement ID: 101028036

DOI

10.3030/101028036

Project closed

EC signature date 12 April 2021

Start date 1 June 2021

End date 31 May 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 184 707,84

EU contribution

€ 184 707,84

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITE LYON 1 CLAUDE BERNARD
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ReAgent (Reactive Agent-based Tangible simulation for decision making in urban studies)

Reporting period: 2021-06-01 to 2023-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

My application falls within the relatively new framework of the use of complex computer models to support decision-making processes oriented towards the sustainable development of territories, in particular to help design land-use policies in the face of the upheavals introduced by climate change or by urban development. Intended to be part of approaches that are intended to be interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, by mobilizing actors who are not necessarily scientists, these models become supports for participatory approaches and prospective reflection where human intervention in time and space is taken into account like all other dynamics (ecological, biological, physical, etc.). The problem is to allow users to explore a set of possible ramifications from well-defined scenarios, some of these ramifications being obtained "classically" by model simulation, others being the result of user intervention during these simulations. It is therefore necessary to consider user-model relationships that are not passive but, on the contrary, can be based on different forms of visualization and interaction, depending on the models and the users.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has been developed in two phases: the first phase to build the ABM model using dedicated software for simulation and visualisation and the tangible platform for the hardware part and integrating it into existing planning processes. In the Phase 2, (Validation and Integration) the systems developed in phase 1 has been be used and tested in real applied case scenarios. This integration took places during two main workshop in Lyon in 2022 and 2023.

In the first phase of the project, relevant data has been identified, collected and secured. In parallel, tools for data enhancement to deal with incomplete, missing or inconsistent data has been performed. Ones those data has been processed they have been integrated in an Agent-Based Modelling platform to give the possibility to simulate the actions and interactions of potential future urban scenarios. This tool that is able to simulate urban dynamics has been created as a decision support tool for local authorities and as an information tool for the general public. It can then be used to evaluate the effect of different intervention such as the pedestrianisation of different zones, the impact of distributed electric grid systems or the impact of the distribution of commerce in a dedicated area. This approach lead to the creation of an artificial micro world which enables the modeler and the non experts to create and modify new mobility scenarios to make the best decisions depending on diverse criteria. This phase gave also the possibility to explore the coupling of different types of model, mainly traffic and air pollution model. All the models has been implemented and continuously maintained and updated during the project mainly in the Gama Platform for the ABM part and in the VCity Platform for the Web based client visualisation. The last step of the Phase 1 is the creation of the tangible user interface (TUI). This TUI helps the different non expert stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the complex processes related to the different models. Users are invited to interact with the physical model and see changes directly on a physical 3D map.

The project gave the possibility to create interactions with different types of stakeholders in a series of community engagement workshops, allowing the researchers, decision makers and the general public to interact, learn and co create better solutions.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

On the mid and long term perspectives, the citizens of the MdL will greatly benefit from ReAgent. It is an original and impactful support for urban changes. As such, Re Agent has contributed to the UN Sustainable Developments Goal (3 Good Health and Well Being, 9 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, 11 Sustainable Cities and Community ,12 Responsible Consumption and production, 13 Climate Action). The prototype developed during the project enables the creation of other similar projects using the same open source technology and concepts for potential other applications either with the same case studies in different cities or with other problematic like water management climate change or disaster management This puts Lyon as a European city as a leading partner in this field increasing Europe’s attractiveness. It has also stimulated an emergent international cooperation network in the field of urban modelling and decision which should lead to future innovative projects in the frame of Horizon Europe, especially in the frame of the Mission “Climate neutral and Smart Cities”. With the strong link with national and international universities and partners, and the already strong interdisciplinary expertise of LabEx IMU, Lyon reinforces its positions as a key player in this domain and improve its capacity to transfer interdisciplinary knowledge.

Through the different workshops organised in phase 2, the project has raised the awareness and understanding of policymakers, researchers and citizens on how modelling can contribute to decision making in various forms by combining a wide range of disciplinary approaches. Well maintained model ensure to support a democratic decision making process and are powerful tools to establish debates around highly contested urban issues, not only by proposing knowledge and evidence based approach but also by reinforcing democratic accountability.

Press releases showing outcomes of ReAgent has been achieved. Access to a public webpage of the project has been made available
both in scientific and in lay language to communicate about the research carried in ReAgent and disseminate knowledge to a wider community. The content includes a general presentation of the project and basic scientific information, the planned outreach activities and events, as well as a report s of the past events, a brief profile of the ER, a news section and links towards the Marie Sklodowska Curie actions. In addition, the ER advertised about the outcomes of the ReAgent project on his social network accounts ( Twitter) and Youtube channel as he already does for his project with the MIT Media Lab counting more than 10 000 views in total. All the workshops held at “School of Anthropocène” was open to the general public and advertised on the social media. Advertisement and recordings of the workshops has been made available on the ReAgent public website. The audiences reached through the different workshops are the citizen of the MdL, university students researchers and decision makers. The TUI presented during the workshops was also be a wonderful and distinctive tool to communicate to all these audiences about ReAgent outcomes and MSCA Actions. Finally, the project offers the possibility for the tangible interface developed in Lyon to be replicated at the MIT Media Lab in Boston, USA, which brings thousands of visitors every year especially during the bi annual Member’s week event.

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