Modelling transport provision in a polycentric mega city region

TL;DR

This paper introduces LUTECIA, a model that simulates the interaction between transport infrastructure and land use in polycentric mega city regions, addressing complex urban growth dynamics during transitional periods.

Contribution

It presents a novel integrated model that captures multiscale urban growth processes and the emergence of polycentric mega city regions.

Findings

Simulation of development conditions for polycentric metropolises

Highlights the importance of integrated transport-land use modeling

Addresses challenges of modeling during urban transitions

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a model of interaction between transport and land use which aims at endogenously integrates the provision of transportation infrastructure and its effects on land use, with a long term perspective (Lowry, 1964, Wegener, 2004, Levinson, 2011, Bretagnolle, 2014, Mimeur et al., 2015). LUTECIA (Land Use, Transport, Evaluation of Cooperation, Infrastructure provision and Agglomeration effects) model puts emphasis on multiscale processes of urban growth, in the context of the emergence of Mega-City Regions (MCR, Hall & Pain, 2006). It allows us, in this exploratory phase, to characterize via simulation the conditions of development of polycentric metropolises. Nevertheless, we argue that such approaches are all the more necessary that we are in a period of multiple transitions that classical modelling tools have difficulty to capture.