Simulating cities with census data

Games and simulations offer players the unique opportunity to create and recreate scenarios and the impacts of their decisions without any ‘real world’ repercussions. However, the assumptions embedded in those simuations (i.e. the ability to play Godzilla in SimCity) are just that, assumptions, and are full of personal and political biases. In an effort to move towards a less biased model, geographers at the University of Leeds are developing a simulator that uses data from the 2001 census to model the attributes and behaviors of over 25 million households. According to an article in the NewScientistTech, the data is used to analyze multiple scenarios to predict urban planning effects. According to developer Mark Birkin, “It works through hundreds of variables and projects the effect of policy change 10 to 20 years into the future.”