Elise Beck

Exploring Intra-Urban Accessibility and Impacts of Pollution Policies with an Agent-Based Simulation Platform: GaMiroD

In this work we address the issue of sustainable cities by focusing on one of their very ncentral components: daily mobility. Indeed, if cities can be interpreted as spatial organizations nallowing social interactions, the number of daily movements needed to reach this goal is ncontinuously increasing. Therefore, improving urban accessibility merely results in increasing ntraffic and its negative externalities (congestion, accidents, pollution, noise, etc.), while eventually nreducing the quality of life of people in the city. This is why several urban-transport policies are nimplemented in order to reduce individual mobility impacts while maintaining equitable access to nthe city. This challenge is however non-trivial and therefore we propose to investigate this issue nfrom the complex systems point of view. The real spatial-temporal urban accessibility of citizens ncannot be approximated just by focusing on space and implies taking into account the space-time nactivity patterns of individuals, in a more dynamic way. Thus, given the importance of local ninteractions in such a perspective, an agent based approach seems to be a relevant solution. This nkind of individual based and “interactionist” approach allows us to explore the possible impact nof individual behaviors on the overall dynamics of the city but also the possible impact of global nmeasures on individual behaviors. In this paper, we give an overview of the Miro Project and nthen focus on the GaMiroD model design from real data analysis to model exploration tuned nby transportation-oriented scenarios. Among them, we start with the the impact of a LEZ (Low nEmission Zone) in the city center.

Modelling the Tactical Behaviour of the Australian Population in a Bushfire

This paper is concerned with the development of an agent-based model of population behaviour during a bushfire, to form the basis of a simulator that will be used as a decision-support tool for emergency managers. To ensure the validity of the simulation results, it is essential that the model, and the underlying agent architecture, are as realistic as possible. After providing some context about recent bushfires in Victoria, Australia, we justify the need for a BDI (belief, desire, intention) agent architecture. Although some tools exist to support the integration of such agents in simulations, they are infrequently used. We therefore show how an existing methodology for modelling military tactics can be adapted to this context. The contribution of this paper is two-fold: providing an agent-based model of population behaviour during bushfires; and presenting a methodology that can be used by other model designers in the field of crisis management.

Participatory simulation to foster social learning on coastal flooding prevention

Abstract Due to the increase in coastal flooding risk associated with sea-level rise and increasing population along the coasts, there is a strong need to develop efficient and long-term management strategies. In partnership with the local administration of Oleron Island in France, a participatory simulation model was developed to foster social learning about coastal risk prevention measures with local authorities and managers. This simulation integrates a coastal flooding model and a spatially explicit agent-based model that simulates the development of the area and the management of prevention measures. The participatory set-up includes an immersive environment for participants to remember the coastal flooding simulation displayed and a role game mechanism that simulates the coordination issues between the different decision bodies involved in coastal risk management. A first application proved that participants learn about the water expansion dynamics during flood events and the effects of building, raising and restoring dikes.