A cybernetic approach to multi-agent system simulation in Tijuana-San Diego using the Viable Systems Model

The trans-border region of Tijuana-San Diego with its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society experiences a broad spectrum of social problems. The use of multi-agent systems to simulate such societies has increasingly been used as social research tool in these contexts, but is constrained by a lack of well defined contextual models. This paper proposes the use of the Viable Systems Model to underpin theory in multi-agent systems research and explores the benefits of using cybernetic thinking to understanding the problems being experienced in the Tijuana-San Diego conurbation.