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Explanation:
Intent:
An exploratory model to test whether or not Schellings Model from the book Micromotives and Macrobehavior could be modified according to what we wish to study in our Summit County Simulation.
Agents and Environment:
The nickels are rich, the dimes are middle class and pennies are working class/poor. There are 64 blocks with 8 nickels, 18 dimes and 22 pennies and 16 vacancies. The numbers are somewhat arbitrary, somewhat trying to approximate an income distribution. As you can see in the initial model, the rich are clustered in the center, with a barrier of vacancies around them, followed by a mostly homogeneous middle class ring and lastly a poor ring on the outer most edge.
Rules of Movement:
Nickels: Have a fifty percent threshold. That is, they are happy so long as fifty percent or more of their neighbors are other nickels. They have no move limitations, but I did not let them move out of the city.
Dimes: Happy when by 3 or more Nickels. No move limitations.
Pennies: Happy when by 3 or more Nickels. Limited in movement, they can only move to the nearest suitable vacancy.
Method:
The model began as you see in the first picture.A number from 1-64 was selected at random and then the corresponding block moved according to its occupancy or lack thereof. This was my random sampling. The numbers were replaced after being selected, such that every round each block had a 1/64 chance of being selected. When a coin block was selected, I evaluated the coins location according to the rules listed above and moved or stayed accordingly. The final results are under the link "1 Hour Later."
Before and After:
Observations:
The model's final results confirmed our suspicions. Given the rule set, dimes were more effective in acheiving happiness and in increasing their health and wellbeing (which we measured by proximity to the rich "rickels").
Pennies were largely blocked out of this process, and left on the fringes.
The contigent of nickels in the bottom right hand corner that are surrounded by pennies are an artifact of poorly constructed rules for nickel movement that will be addressed in later models.