Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects

Rapid urbanization and land-use changes are placing immense pressure on resources, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability. To address these, accurate urban simulation models are essential for sustainable development and governance. Among them, Cellular Automata (CA) models have become key...

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Main Authors: Baoling Gui, Anshuman Bhardwaj, Lydia Sam
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. 2025-12-01
Series:Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666544125000383
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author Baoling Gui
Anshuman Bhardwaj
Lydia Sam
author_facet Baoling Gui
Anshuman Bhardwaj
Lydia Sam
author_sort Baoling Gui
collection DOAJ
description Rapid urbanization and land-use changes are placing immense pressure on resources, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability. To address these, accurate urban simulation models are essential for sustainable development and governance. Among them, Cellular Automata (CA) models have become key tools for predicting urban expansion, optimizing land-use planning, and supporting data-driven decision-making. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the development of urban cellular automata (UCA) models, presenting a new framework to enhance individual UCA sub-modules within the context of emerging technologies, sustainable environments, and public governance. By addressing gaps in prior UCA modelling reviews—particularly in the integration and optimization of UCA sub-module technologies—this framework is designed to simplify UCA model understanding and development. We systematically review pioneering case studies, deconstruct current UCA operational processes, and explore modern technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, to optimize these sub-modules further. We discuss current limitations within UCA models and propose future pathways, emphasizing the necessity of comprehensive analyses for effective UCA simulations. Proposed solutions include strengthening our understanding of urban growth mechanisms, examining spatial positioning and temporal evolution dynamics, and enhancing urban geographic simulations with deep learning techniques to support sustainable transitions in public governance. These improvements offer data-driven decision support for environmental management, advancing policies that foster sustainable urban development.
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spelling doaj-art-4a6c521d01bd4efca7a52b5e67860eba2025-08-20T03:32:58ZengKeAi Communications Co. Ltd.Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences2666-54412025-12-016210014210.1016/j.aiig.2025.100142Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospectsBaoling Gui0Anshuman Bhardwaj1Lydia Sam2Corresponding author.; School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UKSchool of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UKSchool of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, UKRapid urbanization and land-use changes are placing immense pressure on resources, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability. To address these, accurate urban simulation models are essential for sustainable development and governance. Among them, Cellular Automata (CA) models have become key tools for predicting urban expansion, optimizing land-use planning, and supporting data-driven decision-making. This review provides a comprehensive examination of the development of urban cellular automata (UCA) models, presenting a new framework to enhance individual UCA sub-modules within the context of emerging technologies, sustainable environments, and public governance. By addressing gaps in prior UCA modelling reviews—particularly in the integration and optimization of UCA sub-module technologies—this framework is designed to simplify UCA model understanding and development. We systematically review pioneering case studies, deconstruct current UCA operational processes, and explore modern technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, to optimize these sub-modules further. We discuss current limitations within UCA models and propose future pathways, emphasizing the necessity of comprehensive analyses for effective UCA simulations. Proposed solutions include strengthening our understanding of urban growth mechanisms, examining spatial positioning and temporal evolution dynamics, and enhancing urban geographic simulations with deep learning techniques to support sustainable transitions in public governance. These improvements offer data-driven decision support for environmental management, advancing policies that foster sustainable urban development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666544125000383Cellular automataSpatiotemporal analyseUrban changeLand use changeSimulation
spellingShingle Baoling Gui
Anshuman Bhardwaj
Lydia Sam
Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
Artificial Intelligence in Geosciences
Cellular automata
Spatiotemporal analyse
Urban change
Land use change
Simulation
title Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
title_full Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
title_fullStr Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
title_full_unstemmed Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
title_short Cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change: Development and prospects
title_sort cellular automata models for simulation and prediction of urban land use change development and prospects
topic Cellular automata
Spatiotemporal analyse
Urban change
Land use change
Simulation
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666544125000383
work_keys_str_mv AT baolinggui cellularautomatamodelsforsimulationandpredictionofurbanlandusechangedevelopmentandprospects
AT anshumanbhardwaj cellularautomatamodelsforsimulationandpredictionofurbanlandusechangedevelopmentandprospects
AT lydiasam cellularautomatamodelsforsimulationandpredictionofurbanlandusechangedevelopmentandprospects