City Simulation Software: Perspective of Mobility Modelling

Abstract

The field of smart cities and the latest problems in this area of expertise accent the need for interaction among different areas, such as transportation, energy management, education, buildings and others. New technologies and new methods allow for a fast development of each of the areas and of the city itself. At the same time, there is a need for further involvement of citizens and different stakeholders in the decision-making process within cities. In order to demonstrate the impact of a new policy (e.g., building a new shopping center) on certain city aspect (e.g., transportation), simulation models have been recognized as probably the best approach. Unfortunately, there is still no tool that would allow the stakeholders to evaluate the impact of such a policy on a city as a whole and from multiple perspectives. Dedicated simulation frameworks should be used in cooperation, one for transportation, one for energy grid management, another for its impact on the environment until all important aspects are covered. This paper describes a complex tool aiming on overcoming such complicated demands and giving the policy makers one tool to assess impact on different interconnected fields. It combines existing dedicated simulation frameworks into a complete software suite that can combine even contradictory results into one or more performance indicators. This can be used as a decision support system and help in involving citizens into the city government and planning. This article focuses on the utilization of mobility modelling in such a software.