Toward a common object model for integrated transportation and land use models

Evaluating the effects of a change to one aspect of the modern urban environment requires knowledge about other parts and how they are interconnected. Thus, integrated simulations of many parts of the entire urban ecosystem are needed to create and evaluate the effects of policies. Many existing models target a single urban system - land use models, transportation models, water system models, etc. - however coupling them to create interconnected systems often requires great effort and resources. In this work we propose a common object model for integrated transportation and land use models (ITLUMs) using the High Level Architecture Standard (IEEE 1516) (IEEE 2010). This object model is the first step in a longer term effort to develop new simulation models that can be readily integrated through common data abstractions. Finally, the proposed object model is designed to be extendable to capture the elements from other models of the urban environment.