Comparing Mechanisms of Food Choice in an Agent-Based Model of Milk Consumption and Substitution in the UK

New forms of mobility reshape the transportation landscape, changing movement for both their users and others in the environment. The transition period during which novel forms of travel are being explored can be a challenging time while the use of spaces must be renegotiated. E-scooters, which have recently been more widely introduced to the UK, are experiencing such a moment as riders, planners, and other users of the streetscape are determining what role this technology will play in communities. The data gaps surrounding e-scooters can make this an especially difficult question for planners because of the cost of gathering relevant observational data, much of which is held under private company ownership. In light of this, this work presents an agent-based model developed to examine the integration of e-scooters into existing streetscapes. Agent-based models explore phenomena through focusing on individual behaviour and rules which in turn gives rise to emergent large scale patterns. These patterns can be dissected and interrogated with a variety of tools, allowing us to tease out individual as well as group experiences of different scenarios. An agent-based approach allows us to capture the individual behaviours of e-scooter users and those of cyclists, drivers of variously sized vehicles, pedestrians, and others present in the environment. By focusing on the interactions of these various street users, we can explore how different approaches to e-scooter integration may fare relative to varying street configurations. Their decision frameworks are informed by observational studies of e-scooter users in order to augment the available data. We discuss the current state of understanding e-scooter behaviour and the potential modelling applications, present an initial behavioural framework of e-scooter decision making and inter-modal interactions, and highlight some preliminary results examining the differences between e-scooters operating on roads versus shared segregated cycle lanes. The work concludes with a case study comparing two modelled scenarios, one including a segregated cycle lane and one without. Drawing upon metrics such as the route segmentation/ cut-off rate and average travel comfort, we can more precisely explore how new forms of mobility will influence different kinds of street users in order to better understand the trade-offs associated with different paths forward.

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Strengthening insurance partnerships in the face of climate change – Insights from an agent-based model of flood insurance in the UK

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.239 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 636 ◽

pp. 192-204 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Florence Crick ◽

Katie Jenkins ◽

Swenja Surminski

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Flood Insurance ◽

Agent Based Model ◽

Agent Based ◽

The Face ◽

The Uk

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Social and child care provision in kinship networks: An agent-based model

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0242779 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. e0242779

Author(s):

Umberto Gostoli ◽

Eric Silverman

Keyword(s):

Child Care ◽

Policy Making ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Physical Distance ◽

Care Provision ◽

Agent Based Model ◽

Agent Based ◽

Private Care ◽

Kinship Networks ◽

The Uk

Providing for the needs of the vulnerable is a critical component of social and health policy-making. In particular, caring for children and for vulnerable older people is vital to the wellbeing of millions of families throughout the world. In most developed countries, this care is provided through both formal and informal means, and is therefore governed by complex policies that interact in non-obvious ways with other areas of policy-making. In this paper we present an agent-based model of social and child care provision in the UK, in which agents can provide informal care or pay for private care for their relatives. Agents make care decisions based on numerous factors including their health status, employment, financial situation, and social and physical distance to those in need. Simulation results show that the model can produce plausible patterns of care need and availability, and therefore can provide an important aid to this complex area of policy-making. We conclude that the model’s use of kinship networks for distributing care and the explicit modelling of interactions between social care and child care will enable policy-makers to develop more informed policy interventions in these critical areas. “The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” — Hubert Humphrey Jr.

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