Computer-based methods for a socially sustainable urban and regional planning - CoMStaR

Abstract

Global restructuring and urbanisation presents a great challenge for urban and regional planning and highlights a pressing need for sustainable planning strategies. The research project CoMStaR aims to provide a methodical instrument that takes into account the social dimension of sustainability by making it possible to assess current models of urban planning from the viewpoint of social sustainability. Simulation techniques such as agent-based models and graph-based analytical procedures help to reveal new ways of approaching relevant planning issues. By combining these with large-scale empirical data it is possible to investigate the effects of built structure on the spatial organisation of inhabitants and vice versa. Through a comparison of simulation models and empirical data, one should be able to derive theoretical concepts which can in turn be used to evaluate specific built structures. Such concepts can be used to provide recommendations for sustainable approaches to urban planning. © 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.