The measurement of urban segregation and its simulating by Agent-Based Modeling Case study: Shiraz Metropolis

To realize the potential role of cities in fostering development, it is essential to remove the barriers that inhibit the formation of inclusive cities, that is, cities capable of promoting growth with equity. Urban segregation represents one of these barriers because it has reinforced social exclusion in the cities of the world. The urban segregation is becoming increasingly a common phenomenon in many cities in developing countries. Today the segregation is posed in a more general form as the problem in the city. We can easily formulate ideas about segregation purely in terms of social and economic factors without invoking space. But segregation is a spatial term. So, Segregation is inherently geographical. Different types of urban segregation exist, including income and racial or ethnical segregation, and depending on the contextual mechanisms within a city. To understand and plan a better community, urban planners needs to know how to measure the segregation and interpret the results. There have been many developments of segregation measures. Some evolved and some remained unchanged. In the first, this thesis is studied the most widely used measures of residential segregation(35 indicators) in five dimensions of segregation in Shiraz city and between different socio-economic groups of it by using of the Segregation Analyzer Software. Then, this study presents an urban simulation of economic and social segregation of different classes of residents in Shiraz city by using of agent-based modeling that its designing is based on schelling model about segregation. for this purpose, the study is used the useful Repast software(one of the social simulation softwares). In general, the results show: - the occurrence of segregation is approved in the medium amount to the high amount by each indices in the city of Shiraz. Actually, the results show the tendency of members of all groups to live among the members of their own group and so the existence of high segregation between groups. In addition, the majority of indicators show the highest residential segregation in the socio-economic low group, and after that in high and medium groups. - There are the Most of the segregation between the high and medium groups in the southwest of Shiraz, and between the medium and low groups in the northwest of Shiraz, and between the high and low groups in the southwest and southeast of Shiraz city. - the use of Hot spots Analysis in the study area shows that the greatest concentrations of the socio-economic high group are in almost near the center of Shiraz city and the northwest of city, and for the socio-economic medium group exists in the west of city. Also there is the greatest concentration of the socio-economic low group in the southwest of Shiraz city. In total, the results of the simulation show that all of the three socio-economic groups have maintained the significant portion of their statistical blocks in the end of the simulation. This reflects the prevailing high segregation in the city of Shiraz. Also, The medium socio-economic group will tend to live in the eastern part of Shiraz. The high socio-economic group will continue to move toward the inner urban areas and the northwest of the city. The low socio-economic group will tend to live in the western parts of the city and in return, it will lose a significant number of its blocks in the eastern part of the city. Keywords: Agent-Based Modeling, Repast Software, Segregation Analyzer Software, Shiraz City, Urban Segregation, Urban Segregation Indices(Measures).