Citation/Abstract

Economic models of urban spatial patterns have largely ignored complexity as an attribute of urban systems. Complexity theorists on the other hand have not made serious attempts to verify empirically the relevance of complex systems models for urban spatial patterns. This research simulates the evolution of urban forms as a self-organizing complex system and seeks its empirical validation. It estimates the model parameters by using firm data by municipalities in Cleveland-Akron Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area in Ohio. The interaction among four parameters, forces of attraction and dispersion, and their respective rates of dissipation with distance, are modeled as a two-dimensional complex system. The research compares the states of the modeled system with empirical data to present viable methods for verification, calibration and validation of such models.