Or, put another way, what if planners could make unintended consequences a relic of the past?
Jen Kinney reports on the work of Simi Hoque in generation a mathematical tool for predicting the outcomes of planning and civil engineering decisions. According to Kinney, Hoque, an assistant professor in the building and construction technology program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wants to give planners a new tool "that could help predict outcomes by anticipating how changes in one urban system would affect the others."
The tool is currently called the Integrated Urban Metabolism Analytical Tool, or IUMAT. Kinney reports that the National Science Foundation in February awarded a five-year, $500,000 CAREER award to enable Hoque and team to further develop the IUMAT. The article includes more details of the potential applications
FULL STORY: Math Tool Could Help Cities Avoid Planning Pitfalls
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