CUPUM 2015 - 14th International Conference on Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management
Doi
Abstract
This paper presents a new, general purpose method for modelling local
amenities in a city-level spatial equilibrium model with emerging data
sources. A log-form utility function is introduced to differentiate local
amenities from other hard-to-observe influences of locational choice for
residential and job location. In particular, we use the online open data of
schools and hospitals in Beijing to improve model parameterization and
calibration at high spatial resolution. The new local amenities element can improve the model’s fidelity on residence location choice by over 30%,
which is a step forward in decomposing the zonal attractiveness in spatial
equilibrium models. Moreover the local amenities component provides a
new interface for the spatial equilibrium models, where quantification of
the combined effects of urban land-use and local amenities policies can be simulated on a more consistent basis. The calibrated model of Beijing
shows that the coordination of local amenities provision has significant
impacts on the performance of urban spatial strategies. Uncoordinated local amenities provision may undermine or even overturn the long-term
plans for building a polycentric city region