Urban sustainability technology evaluation in a distributed object-based modeling environment

A sustainability technology evaluation platform has been prototyped for simulating integrated technology systems within a specific urban regional context. ‘‘Sustainability technologies’’ refer to available and potentially available technologies that may help to decrease human pressures on the environment or natural resources while providing a desired standard of living. The platform is based on an Internet-based infrastructure for integrating distributed models, called DOME (distributed object-based modeling environment) that has been developed to provide a simulation environment in which large systems, such as an urban region, can be modeled. The infrastructure can support flexible and transparent integration of independently developed computational tools from a wide range of fields such as geographic information systems, input–output analysis, life cycle analysis, and technology process modeling. The tools are linked in a decentralized ad-hoc manner so that an integrated simulation can be developed as understanding of the system grows. Tools are available to observe and understand the emerging structure of the system simulation, and to evaluate and optimize the system based upon its behavior. The urban sustainability technology evaluation platform is built from three basic types of computational elements linked through DOME. These are elements that provide information defining the urban region, elements that simulate behavior of technologies to be evaluated, and elements that integrate and analyze the region-specific effects of the technologies. As an example of the first type, a GIS (geographic information system)-based land use object has been developed to provide information needed to drive simulation models for a wide variety of urban technologies. Examples of the second type include technology simulation models of photovoltaic solar cell modules (PV modules). An object that provides a generalized life-cycle assessment by calculating both the direct and indirect effects of a given technology on total production levels and total pollution emissions in a region using Leontief Input–Output analysis represents the third type of computational element. All of the objects support Computers, Environment and Urban Systems