Modeling agglomeration forces in urban dynamics : a multi-agent system approach

Urban dynamics is driven by the location decisions of firms and households. The preferences of households and firms for a certain location generally depend on the presence of other households or firms at the same location, In this paper, we propose and illustrate a muiti'agent model that takes such agglomeration effects into account. In the model, the households or firms that are potentially interested in a candidate site for Ire,)development are individually represented as agents that can indicate their interest by making a bid, In compiling a proposal based on bids of individual agents, the model takes positive and negative synergies between agents into account. Planners and developers are also represented in the model as agents playing specific roles in the process, Simulations in the area of retailing demonstrate the model and show that agglomeration effects have an impact on generated proposals, It ~ argued that the model can be used as a location-decision component in dynamic multi, agent, Iand,U5e systems for simulation or planning support.