Automata-based models of urban systems

Simulation models of urban-activity location are currently undergoing a transition from large scale, aggregate spatial representation in a static equilibrium to much finer scale disaggregate forms where dynamic processes are the prime focus of the simulation. This chapter reviews the developments where automata and agents feature centrally and suggests a framework for geographical automata systems that combines the key features of cellular automata approaches to urban development with multiagent modelling. The framework is developed and applied to residential simulation in the Singapore model, pointing the way to new ways of integrating demand supply sides through agent-based modelling.