I have post grad students building a school district planning model which
integrates Powersim with MapInfo via a spreadsheet interface. Integration at
the API level using C++ or Visual Basic would be more elegant and less
subject to the eccentricities of Microsofts DDE linkages. I believe Stella
/ IThink can similarly be integrated with MapInfo, and presumably ArcView.
The supply side of the model identifies existing school capacity by location
with policy levers for creating new schools in a developing region. The
demand side model includes a population model for generating overall
demograph change by age group; household change by census district (in
developed areas there is a ceiling on households, but numbers of primary
school age children will vary according to the age profile of the adults; in
developing areas, household numbers will grow up to the geographic / planning
control limits).
Keith Linard
From: Keith Linard <
k-linard@adfa.edu.au>