Surviving the Worst

Team: 98

School: Melrose

Area of Science: Anthropology as it relates to urban problems

Interim: Problem Definition:
Our project is dealing with what would happen if a small rural town, based largely off of our own, were to be isolated from the rest of humanity. This may happen because of natural disasters, terrorist attacks, war efforts, and so on. If this were to happen, this town would not have the usual supplies it gathers from the outside world. It would lose much of its supply of food, electricity, communications, and other things. How long could the town last? Could local farms and electricity generating windmills support the population? How would the nearby towns react? We intend to create a model in NetLogo to find out.

Problem Solution:
We are going to use NetLogo to model all variables and agents. What we need to do is create some kind of plan to help ration out supplies, make note of valuable resources nearby that may be of use to the town, and gather these resources to be sure no one starves or goes thirsty. Also, we need to show how other towns, which may not be doing as well, would react. If they were to raid, we need to plan out defenses against such an attack. Could alliances be made? What of the nearby air force base? Ultimately, our goal is to create a plan to survive, taking many variables into consideration as we do.

Progress to Date:
Currently, we are working out exactly how the model will play out. The immediate question is where the model should focus; within the town, or the area around it? We have made a map of the local area showing resources and have decided what variables to include. We are determining the mathematical relationships between the agents and environment to allow our model to work realistically.

Expected Results:
We expect to be able to show how long a town can sustain itself after a disaster and to determine what resources must be pursued immediately to provide for survival. We want to create a strategy that will keep the town safe and well fed, at least until it comes out of isolation. As we have not yet completed the model, we don’t know yet what this will include.

Citations-
Http://www.survivaltopics.com
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.professorshouse.com
The Mother Earth Vol. 62 March/April 1980
The Swiss Family Robinsons Johann Wyss Watermill Press 1980

Team Members: Brandon Mitchell, Victoria Northrup, Adrianna Saiz, Alison Trammell

Sponsoring Teacher: Mr. Daugherty, Mrs. Raulie

Team Members:

  Adrianna Saiz
  Brandon Mitchell
  Allicyn Trammell
  Victoria Northrup

Sponsoring Teacher: Alan Daugherty

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