SIMULATION OVER SPACE

Abstract

This chapter discusses simulation over space. Geographers use simulation modeling for the same reasons as other investigators. The approach helps to explore the implications of hypotheses using real or idealized data, to forecast effects of anticipated or possible system changes on performance, and to approach the power and precision of the laboratory situation. The largest amount of work utilizing simulation ideas has focused on the diffusion of innovations although a trend towards examining other phenomena, such as urban growth and ghetto formation, migration, and locational efficiency of facilities is gaining strength. The concern for the spatial or distributional aspects of processes tends to differentiate geographic work on simulation from work in social science disciplines. The basic component in many geographic simulation models is the place with its associated attributes rather than the individual or social group. The chapter examines the examples of geographic simulation models. It discusses a model that is under development and is designed to explore the spatial consequences of various assumptions about the development process in a new environment.