Simulation model for environmentally efficient districts in greater urban areas

This paper presents a system dynamics simulation model of districts in greater municipal areas. The model combines in a simplified way the impacts of building material flows during their life cycle, public and private transport, and the energy use and distribution in several simultaneously simulated districts. It is designed to study the long-term effects of different policies on the combined environmental impacts from transport, energies and materials. The population aging and its effect on the dynamic movement of inhabitants across the system boundaries and between the districts is also included in the model either as a permanent relocation or a temporary travels to reach the services or work. The model will support the city authorities in the planning of new urban areas and investments into rehabilitation of existing ones. Such policies must be designed to take into account the interaction between the built environment, infrastructure, services for the inhabitants and their transport and energy needs. The dynamic interaction between several district models simulated in parallel is essential to understand the effect of the particular decision on the surrounding areas. Material flow analysis opens the possibility for improved building waste treatment policies such as separation, recycling and material re-use. The construction, maintenance and demolition of the buildings implemented in the model affects the attractiveness of the buildings to the inhabitants and their willingness to move into the area or stay there. The same negative effect as obsolete buildings may be caused by traffic congestion, insufficient public transport or the reduction of green areas by the infrastructure. Therefore the difficult task of city administration to keep the balance between the needs of inhabitants and the interventions to improve the environmental efficiency has to be aided by sophisticated simulation methods such as the presented model.