Multi-agent modeling for linking a green transportation system with an urban agriculture network in a food-energy-water nexus

Abstract

Food-energy-water (FEW) nexus analysis is critical for sustainable urban development. The synergies among various resources flows in the urban agriculture network and the green transportation (GT) system with sustainability credentials of autonomous electric vehicles become an emerging research topic of interest in a FEW nexus. An agent-based modeling (ABM) framework using the NetLogo software platform was developed in this study to simulate extensive interactions among these FEW agents (consumers, producers, microgrid operators, water managers, and GT vehicles) to better understand the linkages and interactions between produce of urban farming and GT. The proposed ABM framework is illustrated by analyzing seven scenarios based on a case study of a food desert elimination plan in the Great Miami Metropolitan Region, south Florida. The region contains several urban agriculture sites within an urban agriculture network designed to contribute a new food supply to the local community demarcated as food deserts. In the FEW contexts, a group of autonomous electric vehicles is introduced to increase site access to these urban agriculture sites for the local consumers. Findings show that the integration of a GT system in an urban agriculture network can lead to more efficient and sustainable operation in a low-carbon city.