Design of an agent-based model to simulate urban growth at Corredor del Henares (Region of Madrid)

Abstract

Due to urban sprawl impact over the planet and the population, the use of simulation
techniques that generate scenarios regarding the evolution of those systems is imperative.
Agent-based models (ABM) are presented as a promising alternative. ABM is a dynamic
cellular model based on decision rules guided by the behaviour of agents. In the present
work, we propose the design of an ABM to simulate urban growth in `Corredor del Henares´
(Community of Madrid, Spain), considering its urban dynamics and the main involved
agents, as well as their particular behaviour and the available data. The main goal is to have
a solid conceptual design in order to prove, in a short time, that ABM can be an alternative
tool to simulate urban growth at a sub-regional scale.