Specification and Estimation of the UrbanSim2 Model in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

摘要

Integrated land use and transportation models offer a great deal of value in the analysis of the transportation infrastructure alternatives, transportation policy, land use policy, and expenditures on mass transit. These models help cities achieve successful, sustainable urban futures that increase the quality of life of residents while assisting local governments in making wise use of government money on infrastructure and transit investment that yield the greatest return on investment. This paper will present the development approach used by the Wasatch Front Regional Council to develop an integrated land use and transportation forecasting model for the greater Salt Lake City, Utah (USA) area. UrbanSim2 was used as the land use model platform. Cube was used as the travel demand model platform. This paper will detail the model development process, the specification of submodels, the estimation of submodels, and initial model runs. Model outputs will be presented that demonstrate the validity of the model and the model development approach. As part of the model development process, multiple government agencies came together to form a coalition to assist in the development of this model. These agencies include: two metropolitan planning organizations, the state department of transportation, and the regional transit authority. In addition, a broad cross section of real estate professionals were utilized to ensure the model accurately represented how the "real world" of real estate finance, development, and sales functions in this market. This project represents one of the first implementations of the UrbanSim2 model structure and the model development and evaluation facilitating software, UrbanCanvas.