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Agent Based Modelling in Second Life: Schelling's Segregation Model

Andrew Crooks, Andrew Hudson-Smith and Joel Dearden

Introduction

The second model we looked at was Thomas Schelling's model of urban segregation. Schelling originally demonstrated the concept with coins on a chess board. We have transferred the ideas into Second Life and instead use coloured spheres inside a grid of houses.

The spheres take it in turns to move. They glow to indicate who is thinking and if unhappy they float above the board and then choose a new house. A happy agent is large and an unhappy agent is small.

Graph

In an attempt to validate the model we provide a graph in Second Life that shows the number of happy agents of each type after each iteration of the model.

Example Run Movie

The movie below shows one complete run of the model and demonstrates how segregation emerges:

Technical Details

A PDF document containing details about how the model was implemented is available to download:

Source Code

The Linden Scripts for this model are covered by the GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE and are available to download below:

If you prefer to get up and running more quickly we have a vending machine on nature island here that will give you a complete working copy of the model when you click on it.