Slime Mold Cities

David Barker
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David Barker: Tippie College of Business, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242-1994, USA

Environment and Planning B, 2012, vol. 39, issue 2, 262-286

Abstract: Inspired by the behavior of slime mold cells, Paul Krugman developed a simple one-dimensional model in which moving firms self-organize into cities. In this paper I show that extending the model into two dimensions significantly improves its realism. Cities in the two-dimensional model are similar in several respects to real cities: they grow and decline, they cluster near rivers and coasts, and, given certain parameters, their distribution follows Zipf's law. A calibration exercise, however, suggests that observed levels of agglomeration must be due to factors beyond those included in the model.

Keywords: urban; slime mold; self-organization; Zipf; Krugman (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:39:y:2012:i:2:p:262-286

DOI: 10.1068/b37078

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