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Innovative Urban Planning for Sustainable Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach
Urban development in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) presents unique challenges and opportunities in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand. While much focus is placed on renewable energy technologies and efficiency solutions in the global transition to sustainability, significant gains can also be made through intelligent urban design. One promising concept is the "15-minute city," where residents can meet most of their needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their homes. This approach contrasts sharply with conventional urban development strategies, which often result in sprawling cities with high reliance on automobile transportation.
This project aims to explore how innovative urban planning strategies like the 15-minute city can contribute to emissions reduction and energy demand mitigation in an LMIC case study area. By developing an agent-based model (ABM), the student will simulate agents and their movement/transportation behaviour under different urban development strategies, impacting energy demand and emissions. The findings will identify design opportunities to curb base energy demand and emissions while supporting human well-being; well-designed urban environments can enhance well-being by reducing commute times, improving access to essential services, and alleviating mobility poverty.
This project presents a unique opportunity, as it will be jointly supervised by the Urban Energy Systems Laboratory at Empa, the Urban Energy Systems Group at Imperial College London, and Climate Compatible Growth (CCG). This collaboration will provide access to cutting-edge international research, expertise, and resources across these teams.
Keywords: Agent-based modeling; Global South; sustainable urban development
Tasks:
• Gain an understanding of current urban development strategies, their potential impacts on energy demand, emissions and well-being in an LMIC urban case study area.
• Develop an Agent-Based Model to simulate urban development scenarios, focusing on novel urban development strategies (e.g., 15-minute cities) compared to conventional planning approaches.
• Quantify and compare the emissions and energy demand impacts of the different urban design strategies.
• Identify possible societal benefits of different urban development strategies, such as reduced commute times, proximity to essential services, and mitigation of mobility poverty.
Tasks: • Gain an understanding of current urban development strategies, their potential impacts on energy demand, emissions and well-being in an LMIC urban case study area. • Develop an Agent-Based Model to simulate urban development scenarios, focusing on novel urban development strategies (e.g., 15-minute cities) compared to conventional planning approaches. • Quantify and compare the emissions and energy demand impacts of the different urban design strategies. • Identify possible societal benefits of different urban development strategies, such as reduced commute times, proximity to essential services, and mitigation of mobility poverty.
Identify opportunities and formulate recommendations to reduce urban energy demand and emissions in the case study area while supporting societal well-being through novel urban planning concepts.
Identify opportunities and formulate recommendations to reduce urban energy demand and emissions in the case study area while supporting societal well-being through novel urban planning concepts.
Student project advertisement - Urban planning ABMs LMICs with CCG and ICL.pdf
