Architecture is a very dangerous job. If a writer makes a bad
book, eh, people don’t read it. But if you make bad
architecture, you impose ugliness on a place for a hundred
years.
Renzo Piano
My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys
that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they
balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum
of the parts.
Steve Jobs
Before getting a house built, a person likes to see a model to understand what it may
look like. However, even before getting a physical scale model built with cardboard
and paper, it is all the more necessary to obtain another model (probably less simple
to understand for many people) in the form of a house plan. This plan is expressed in
the form of drawings which are helpful in showing the shape and size of the different
components of the house. These drawings are quite useful for discussion with the
Client, and with other technical people involved in drafting the house proposal. It
should therefore not be a surprise to understand that an infrastructure project, after
being mentally conceived, then briefly detailed on paper, can be more deeply studied
through a model. In particular, the model should be quite simple to explain and
discuss with the layman client (politician or decision maker), while more elaborate
forms can be discussed and studied by technical people, including those representing
the client. This chapter explains the different possibilities and mathematical techniques which exist and then proposes a simulation example which depicts what type
of results may be obtained for discussion and for decision making.
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 Infrastructure Problems
What will be the effect of a new road on the existing traffic congestion? Will it really
help commuters reach their work place sooner? What if a new dam is built on the
river? Will it harness sufficient water to cater for future development? Are the
alternative dam sites more promising? Of course, it is not feasible to build the actual
infrastructure and then observe the impacts.
However, models can be made to study the problem. As Sect. 14.3 shows, the
models can take many forms. Toy cars are small physical models of the big real cars,
which can help for certain decisions. Nowadays, we have simulations which can help
giving the thrill of driving such cars, even before their construction. For models to be
effective and provide useful results, they need to follow some rules, as will be
explained below.
354
13 Modelling in Infrastructure Planning
book, eh, people don’t read it. But if you make bad
architecture, you impose ugliness on a place for a hundred
years.
Renzo Piano
My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys
that kept each other’s negative tendencies in check; they
balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum
of the parts.
Steve Jobs
Before getting a house built, a person likes to see a model to understand what it may
look like. However, even before getting a physical scale model built with cardboard
and paper, it is all the more necessary to obtain another model (probably less simple
to understand for many people) in the form of a house plan. This plan is expressed in
the form of drawings which are helpful in showing the shape and size of the different
components of the house. These drawings are quite useful for discussion with the
Client, and with other technical people involved in drafting the house proposal. It
should therefore not be a surprise to understand that an infrastructure project, after
being mentally conceived, then briefly detailed on paper, can be more deeply studied
through a model. In particular, the model should be quite simple to explain and
discuss with the layman client (politician or decision maker), while more elaborate
forms can be discussed and studied by technical people, including those representing
the client. This chapter explains the different possibilities and mathematical techniques which exist and then proposes a simulation example which depicts what type
of results may be obtained for discussion and for decision making.
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 Infrastructure Problems
What will be the effect of a new road on the existing traffic congestion? Will it really
help commuters reach their work place sooner? What if a new dam is built on the
river? Will it harness sufficient water to cater for future development? Are the
alternative dam sites more promising? Of course, it is not feasible to build the actual
infrastructure and then observe the impacts.
However, models can be made to study the problem. As Sect. 14.3 shows, the
models can take many forms. Toy cars are small physical models of the big real cars,
which can help for certain decisions. Nowadays, we have simulations which can help
giving the thrill of driving such cars, even before their construction. For models to be
effective and provide useful results, they need to follow some rules, as will be
explained below.
354
13 Modelling in Infrastructure Planning