This complex system models the dynamics and impacts of transportation efficacy and efficiency of sustainable urban transportation in Durham Region. Within the Regional Municipality of Durham, there are eight local Municipalities consisting of Ajax, Brock, Clarington, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge, and Whitby, which account for a total population of approximately 750,000 individuals as of 2023. As Durham Region continues to expand and increase in population, road structures will be faced with an increasing traffic load that will generate a significant amount of carbon emissions. Due to the prevailing climate concerns, the need for sustainable urban transportation is evident.

Urban transportation systems are a cornerstone of city life. They connect communities and businesses, while providing access to services, supporting economic and social activities. Maintaining a vast network of transportation systems as cities grow, becomes increasingly challenging. These challenges, consisting of traffic congestion, environmental impact, and diverse transportation needs, become of paramount concern, such that political campaigns run solely on these platforms.

Within this stock and flow model are the main variables that comprise transportation emissions within Durham Region. The urban transportation model highlights different modes of transportation in the form of stocks, which consist of public transit users (bus), fossil fuel car drivers, and EV car drivers, as well as the inflows and outflows that are influenced by various variables. 

All data used within this model was obtained from the various sources on the internet. The data used within the model is based off of estimate values. Data pertaining to population values and cities/towns that comprise Durham Region, ON obtained from the following source(s): 

**NOTE: Kindly note we have used 14 sources in total that we have referenced - 2 are listed below as these 2 sources were used for the above description - the other references are located in the variables where the sources were used. 

Regional Municipality of Durham. (n.d.). Demographics and statistics. Durham Region Economic Development and Tourism. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from https://www.durham.ca/en/economic-development/invest-and-grow/demographics-and-statistics.aspx

Regional Municipality of Durham. (n.d.). Local municipalities. Durham Region. Retrieved from https://www.durham.ca/en/regional-government/local-municipalities.aspx

Group 8 Members: Leda Alizada (100821720), Pritika Lally (100867821), Mahad Rashid (100779108), Rileigh Rodych (100515185), Sami Siddique (100460897)

This course project seeks to understand the dynamics of a municipalities attempts to replace lead service lines using a combination of economic policies.

This model simulates a COVID outbreak occurring at Burnie, Tasmania. It links the extent to the pandemic with governments intervention policies aiming to limit the spread of the virus. The other part of the model illustrates how will the COVID statistics and the government enforcement jointly influence the economic environment in the community. A number of variables are taken into account, indicating positive or negative relationship in the infection and the economy model respectively.

 

Assumptions

·         Government takes responsive actions when the number of acquired cases exceeds 10.

·         Government’s prompt actions, involving closure of the state border, lockdown within the city, plans on mandatory vaccination and testing, effectively control the infection status.

·         Economic activities are reduced due to stagnation in statewide tourism, closure of brick-and-mortar businesses, and increased unemployment rate, as results of government restrictions.

 

Insights

Government’s rapid intervention can effectively reduce the infected cases. The national vaccination rollout campaign raises vaccination rate in Australians, and particularly influence the death rate in the infection model. Please drag the slider of vaccination to a higher rate and run the model to compare the outcomes.

Although local economy is negatively affected by government restriction policies, consumer demand in online shopping and government support payments neutralize the negative impact on economy and maintain the level of economic activities when infections get controlled. 

This high-level simulation model presented by Jay Forrester in his book World Dynamics, simulates socio-economic-environmental world system. The world Model was created in a time where pollution and other negative effects of industrialization and economic growth started to become recognized in 1970. For this exam purpose, we have rebuilt the model to do some experiments and analyze the results. 

​Summary of Hermans Scale dynamics of grassroots innovations through parallel pathways of  transformative change Ecological Economics 2016 article (paywalled) This is applied to health in a subsequent insight

An initial study of the economics of single use coffee pods.

This page provides a structural analysis of POTUS Candidate Chris Christi's economic policy based on the information at: https://d70h9a36p82zs.cloudfront.net/Ccpres2016/base/assets/1-0-1/production/Chris-Christie-TheEconomy.pdf   The method used is Integrative Propositional Analysis (IPA) available: ​ http://scipolicy.org/uploads/3/4/6/9/3469675/wallis_white_paper_-_the_ipa_answer_2014.12.11.pdf

Archetype:  Success to the successful

This insight includes a Limits to Success archetype. (Bubbles colored with a darker blue)

Ocean/atmosphere/biosphere model tuned for interactive economics-based simulations from Y2k on.

Grid-Group Culture applied to Public Management based on Christopher Hood's 1998 book. plus excerpts from Schwartz and Thompson's 1990 Book Divided we stand. See also Managing Mess IM-11581 and FourCultures Blog and Wikipedia Cultural Theory of Risk

Very basic stock-flow diagram of compound interest with table and graph output in interest and savings development per year. Initial deposit, interest rate, yearly deposit and withdrawal can all be modified.

Ocean/atmosphere/biosphere model tuned for interactive economics-based simulations from Y2k on.

 Goodwin cycle IM-2010 with debt and taxes added, modified from Steve Keen. THis can be extended by adding the Ponzi effect of borrowing for speculative investment.

This Insight Maker model illustrates the complex relationships involved in the destruction of rainforests. The reinforcing loop emphasizes the destructive cycle where economic development leads to increased deforestation, while the balancing loop highlights the negative consequences on biodiversity, climate, and economic activities, attempting to counteract the destructive forces. The model serves as a simplified representation to better understand the interconnected factors contributing to rainforest destruction and the importance of considering feedback loops in addressing environmental issues.

This page provides a structural analysis of POTUS Candidate Rick Perry's economic policy based on the information at: https://rickperry.org/issues/​ The method used is Integrative Propositional Analysis (IPA) available: ​ http://scipolicy.org/uploads/3/4/6/9/3469675/wallis_white_paper_-_the_ipa_answer_2014.12.11.pdf