Generating Reality with Geosimulation Models: An Agent-Based Social-Spatial Network Modelling Perspective

Abstract

Models in general and geosimulation in particular are epistemologically characterized by two principles: first, they produce reality through their existence and communica- tion rather than simply representing it. Second, they reduce complexity in the process of mapping complexity. Since almost any current phenomenon is understood as com- plex without specifying how complex it is and in which sense, geosimulation models are important tools in solving this problem of specifying and representing complexity. This capability rests, among other things, upon its multilevel approach (bottom-up and top- down) and its ability to translate terms into numbers and thus into distinct singularities. A demonstration of such an understanding of models will be given by presenting a socio- spatial simulation approach in the domain of network analysis and social capital opera- tionalization. Two Austrian regions serve as case studies using empirical and simulated data. The demonstration includes the endeavor to intertwine a place-based geography with a network-based geography.