Modeling gentrification dynamics: A hybrid approach

This paper introduces a hybrid automata model for testing ideas and hypotheses relating to urban gentrification dynamics. We focus on the agency of relocating households in dynamic property markets as the theoretical basis for construction of the model. The methodology employed makes use of hybridized cellular- and agent-automata that allow for representation of co-interaction among fixed and mobile entities in urban settings across multiple scales. Simulations run with the model are based on various hypotheses from gentrification theory and these hypotheses are tested in simulation by running the model through theory-informed scenarios. The usefulness of this scheme is demonstrated through application of the model to a historically under-invested area of Salt Lake City in Utah that is undergoing recent transformation. Our results show that the hybrid approach is useful in representing human behavior in complex adaptive urban systems. Moreover, our model proves to be a useful test-bed for studying gentrification.