Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach
Thesis (M.C.P. in Transportation)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82869 |
| _version_ | 1826198736937680896 |
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| author | Viña-Arias, Laura Beatriz |
| author2 | Mikel E. Murga and Frederick P. Salvucci. |
| author_facet | Mikel E. Murga and Frederick P. Salvucci. Viña-Arias, Laura Beatriz |
| author_sort | Viña-Arias, Laura Beatriz |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis (M.C.P. in Transportation)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:09:00Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/82869 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:09:00Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/828692019-04-11T12:30:03Z Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach Viña-Arias, Laura Beatriz Mikel E. Murga and Frederick P. Salvucci. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (M.C.P. in Transportation)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 168-171). The interdependency of transportation investment and land use has yet to be fully understood to quantify the benefits of transit infrastructure. Researchers agree on the complex relationship of urban systems, particularly transport and land use, as they fail to take a holistic approach when addressing this issue. Traditional travel behavior models have a number of limitations, since they describe an equilibrium point, connecting the model inputs and outputs. In reality, however, we have to admit that there is a constant flux given the interconnected changes in transportation, landuse, and the associated policies. Public policies often fail to achieve their intended result because of the complexities of both the environment and the policy making process. It is argued that, in order to understand the sources of, and the solutions to, these issues, linear and mechanistic thinking must give way to non-linear, systems thinking. System Dynamics, a methodology that emerged in the 1960s with the work of Jay Forrester and his colleagues at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been utilized in this thesis to address these complex issues. This System Dynamics approach simultaneously models land use and transportation systems in the Kendall Square area. The model is based on the causality functions and feedback loop structures between a large number of physical, socio-economic, and policy variables. This perspective confirms that a combination of job opportunities, employment density, accessibility, changes in mobility patterns, agglomeration of industries, and proximity to MIT has made Kendall Square a unique location in the Boston area. Hence the interest on identifying the specific dynamics and interactions that exist in the area, to examine the limits of growth. The System Dynamics model built consists of 4 sub-models: population, employment, housing, and travel demand. While this is a first attempt at using System Dynamics to model the interaction between transport and land use in Kendall Square, the model development and application are limited due to data availability and the research scope. However, the results indicate that the proposed method is a promising approach to deal with complex land use development and transportation. The model shows how a system's approach can yield accessible, insightful lessons for policy making, stemming from the endogenous and aggregate perspective of system dynamics modeling and simulation presented here. by Laura Beatriz Viña-Arias. M.C.P.in Transportation 2013-12-06T20:51:15Z 2013-12-06T20:51:15Z 2013 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82869 864006576 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 183 pages application/pdf n-us-ma Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Urban Studies and Planning. Viña-Arias, Laura Beatriz Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title | Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title_full | Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title_fullStr | Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title_short | Understanding patterns of growth at Kendall Square using a system dynamics approach |
| title_sort | understanding patterns of growth at kendall square using a system dynamics approach |
| topic | Urban Studies and Planning. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82869 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vinaariaslaurabeatriz understandingpatternsofgrowthatkendallsquareusingasystemdynamicsapproach |