LODUS: A Multi-Level Framework for Simulating Environment and Population -- A Contagion Experiment on a Pandemic World

TL;DR

LODUS is a multi-level simulation framework that models urban environments and population dynamics to assist city managers in pandemic crisis decision-making and urban planning.

Contribution

The paper introduces LODUS, a novel multi-level simulation framework combining macro and micro models for urban environment and population dynamics.

Findings

Enables accurate prediction of population movement during pandemics.

Assists urban planning by identifying critical attention points.

Supports crisis management with dynamic urban environment simulations.

Abstract

Nowadays we are experiencing a way of life that never existed before. The pandemic has sharply changed our habits, customs, and behavior. In addition, a lot of work was suddenly requested for city managers challenging them to develop strategies to try stopping the pandemic progression. Urban environments must be dynamic and managers need fast decisions when working on crisis situations. In this paper we present LODUS, a framework able to simulate urban environments on a multi-level approach, combining macro and micro simulation information in order to provide accurate information about population dynamics. Furthermore, the framework LODUS is a powerful tool when performing an urban viability study, since the simulation results are able to highlight and predict attention points prior to an urban environment to be built.