Urban Simulation Models: Contributions as Analysis-Methodology in a Project of Urban Renewal*

Abstract

The recent urban transformations produced in cities indicate the need to propose new theoretical and methodological approaches in physical planning. Based on the idea of complexity, it is required to integrate, in the analysis, multiplicity of interrelated factors involved in urban development, moreover, to develop planning tools that can incorporate variables not initially considered (for example when the norms were sanctioned) and instruments that would provide assessment alternatives to planning decisions in real time. The simulation models are suggested as tools to detect the elements, relationships and the dynamics in a simplified form that allow experiencing on the results. That is to say, a theoretical position on to a computer model is translated to investigate (in an experimental way) possible solutions derived from manipulating the variables, before the phenomenon is materialized. In the case of urban planning, this condition is of particular relevance, given the importance to anticipate unwanted effects in the intervention context that may arise when urban projects are built. The paper evaluates the application of a simulation methodology, based on the dynamics of systems and the application of software that can anticipate the effects of certain decisions in an urban renewal project in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. It applies the General Systems Theory that is a contribution to the notion of complex thought and is trans-disciplinary. Based on the idea of complex and multidimensional city, the effects of a real estate development are analyzed and conclusions on the limits and possibilities of using this tool during the processes of urban management are provided.