Title: Origins of institutions in cities: a modelling framework

Authors: Shih-Kung Lai; Haoying Han

Addresses: College of Public Administration, Zhejiang University, 256 Kaixuan Road, Hangzhou 310029, China; International Programme on Urban Governance, National Taipei University, 151 University Road, San Shia District, New Taipei City 23741, Taiwan ' Department of Land Management, Zhejiang University, 256 Kaixuan Road, Hangzhou 310029, China

Abstract: Structural constraints, or institutions, play an important role in the evolution of complex urban systems, such as cities. Most approaches to modelling complex urban systems treat institutions as a phenomenon distinct from urban spatial evolutions, thus imposing these constraints on the evolution of urban dynamics as an exogenous disturbance. In this paper, we depict a conceptual framework of modelling complex urban systems, and consider a set of structural constraints that restrict patterns of interaction among decision-makers, solutions, problems, places and decision situations as co-evolving with the other agents in a city, thus treating these constraints as internal to the system. A preliminary computer simulation showed that the order of these constraints indeed emerged over time, providing insights into understanding why institutions come about in the first place and how they evolve.

Keywords: institutions; urban modelling; computer simulation; complexity; self-organisation; cities; urban dynamics; structural constraints; institutional development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDS.2015.072409

International Journal of Data Science, 2015 Vol.1 No.2, pp.139 - 156

Received: 20 Sep 2013
Accepted: 28 Dec 2013
Published online: 13 Oct 2015 *

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