Agent-Based Models
Agent-based modeling is a newer approach to the study of neighborhoods and health. In brief, an agent-based model is one of a class of computational models for simulating the actions and interactions of autonomous agents (both individual or collective entities, such as organizations or groups) with a view to assessing their effects on the system as a whole. Neighborhood characteristics and resources evolve and adapt as the individuals living within them change and vice versa. In this way, neighborhoods reflect a complex adaptive system. In this chapter, we introduce agent-based models as a tool for modeling these interactive and adaptive processes that occur within a system, such as a neighborhood. The chapter provides a basic introduction to this method, drawing on examples from the neighborhoods and health literature.