[sustran] Transport decision making, simulation and new uses of models

eric.britton at ecoplan.org eric.britton at ecoplan.org
Wed Mar 15 17:38:23 JST 2000


Dear Friends,

This is a category of decision making tools to which some of my colleagues
and I have been giving quite a bit of thought and actual practical work and
application over the last half dozen years.  Behind all the shiny tools is a
simple fact and that is that we human beings (and voters) are by and large
pretty inertial creatures, and we basically fear for differences that may
threaten the quality of our daily lives Like any big, unknown, uncertain
change in our transportation system or daily movement habits and
possibilities. So, the more we can look to any such changes with a certain
level of certainty and confidence, the less likely we are to resist them

Here is where these new techniques come in, and in this context I would like
to draw your attention now to
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/index_e.htm?/news/top/t91108_e.htm Let me say
no more about it at this point than that.  The curious will have a look and
draw their own conclusions.  The complacent will move on.

P.S. Is it perfect?  Not likely.  In fact I find their base visualization of
the future of cities, or at least their base model, pretty scary (brrrh!)
and far indeed from what I regard as desirable (far too nay pristine experts
and omniscient administrators, not nearly enough active citizens). But all
that aside the IDEA of the tool is one of enormous potential and validity,
and one that I know that many of us will continue to pursue.

Do we have a discussion here?



Eric Britton

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