The value of scenario discovery in land-use modeling: An automated vehicle test case

Abstract

Long-range planning is an uncertain endeavor. This is especially true for urban regions, small ships in a global urban storm that are too small to influence macro policies and without the land-use powers of local governments. Exploratory scenarios, the established practice for planning under deep uncertainty, have inspired stakeholders to consider multiple futures but have fallen short of identifying robust and contingent policies. We need new tools to plan under conditions of deep uncertainty. Scenario discovery is a technique for using simulation models to explore the performance of policy options across uncertain scenarios. This paper presents an application of scenario discovery in land-use modeling and asks what this computationally intensive approach offers relative to a more circumscribed exploration of uncertainty space. The introduction of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and their associated impacts on land use provide a test case demonstrating this method, as well as a topic of substantive concern. This research concludes that scenario discovery is particularly valuable for identifying the conditions under which contingent policies are likely to succeed. In terms of AV policy, this research establishes that forward-thinking, transit-oriented-development strategies can mitigate spatial dispersion while also reducing overall housing costs. In addition, I find that AVs may blunt the impacts of some current policy tools if they extend the distance individuals are willing to travel to work.