CSE481E: UrbanSim Capstone

5

UrbanSim capstone.

Senior standing in CSE or permission of the instructor.

Students undertake substantial software projects in the context of the UrbanSim land use, transportation, and environmental modeling system.

Alan Borning, Paul Waddell, and Ruth Förster, UrbanSim: Using Simulation to Inform Public Deliberation and Decision-Making. To appear, Digital Government: Advanced Research and Case Studies, Hsinchun Chen et al. (eds.), Springer-Verlag, in press. Edward Beimborn and Rob Kennedy, Inside the Blackbox: Making Transportation Models Work for Livable Communities, Environmental Defense Fund, 1996. Opus/UrbanSim User Manual.

To learn about the software design process through hands-on development of a software product. This includes the full life cycle of specification, implementation, testing, documentation, and presentation. To experience working in a team, in many cases an interdisciplinary one with CSE students, and students from Civil Engineering, Urban Design and Planning, and other departments. Even those students who work in a CSE-only team will have substantial interactions with the planning students in lectures and discussions. To gain experience with building software in a complex application domain.

Agile software development processes; simulation; use of models in the planning process; array-based computation. Additional topics will vary by project, and may include human-computer interaction, user testing, Value Sensitive Design, and data mining.

Introductory lectures on urban simulation, Python, and scientific computing in Python. Two assignments, reading background papers, and a major course project. There will be midpoint and final project presentations, and a written report.

(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data

(c) an ability to design a computing system, component, or process to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability

(d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams

(e) an ability to identify, formulate, and solve computer engineering problems

(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility

(g) an ability to communicate effectively

(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of computer engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context

(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to, engage in life-long learning

(j) knowledge of contemporary issues

(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering

(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern computer engineering tools necessary for engineering practice

borning