Design and Development of a Statewide Land Use Transport Model for Alberta

The fast growing of economy in Alberta, Canada makes a well-ahead statewide planning a pressing task. A statewide land use transport model is being developed at the University of Calgary for responding such a need. The model is based on the framework of PECAS, which represents Production, Exchange and Commodity Allocation System. The virtue of such a system is that it brings the transportation planning in the context of the whole economy by considering the fundamental root of transport demand, which is the exchange of goods, services, and labor among various activities, such as industries, services, households, and government. The PECAS framework is a spatial economic simulation system with a focus on transportation planning and land development planning, which has recently been developed and applied in a number of states and metropolitan regions in the United States. It draws from previous modeling experience, especially MEPLAN and TRANUS, and provides significant improvements in theoretical basis and behavior representation. This paper describes the design and development of such a model for the Canadian province of Alberta in terms of its data sources, novelty, and strategies for further calibration.