A cellular automata intraurban model with prices and income-differentiated actors

Abstract

This paper presents an intraurban cellular automata model that is an extension to White and Engelen’s pioneering model. The paper’s main contribution is to distinguish between agglomerative eff ects, determined by the attraction of the neighbourhood, and disagglomerative eff ects, driven by land prices, or land aff ordability. In order to do that, social heterogeneity is introduced in the model at the intraurban level. As a result, we can simulate both the evolution of land use and land prices. An application of the model and a sensitivity analysis indicate that neighborhood infl uence is the main driving force of cities’ spatial confi gurations. Prices, however, exert an important countereff ect. Actually, the higher the infl uence of land prices, the faster land succession is observed. Finally, an important conclusion of the model is that intraurban models should not fail to diff erentiate actors by income level.