Shaping Regional Industry-Infrastructure Networks An Agent Based Modelling Framework

Around the world, Regional Development Authorities (RDA\´s) have the responsibility for sustainable regional industry-infrastructure network development. The structure, content and behaviour of these large scale socio-technical systems or lambda-systems, however, emerge from the operational, tactical and strategic decisions by a variety of other stakeholders over which the RDA has no control. A generic agent based modelling framework has been developed wherein (a) any lambda-system can be represented as a multi-agent system and (b) their evolution can be simulated subject to a variety of external regimes. Using this generic framework, the development of a real "greenfield" industry/infrastructure network in the Dutch Eemsdelta is modelled and simulated to support the RDA and other stakeholders involved. First results are presented.