NetLogo User Community Models

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## WHAT IS IT?
This model showcases how percentage-based aid can help resolve suburban poverty in the United States as well as how long it would take to do so, albeit comparatively. This model demonstrates the patterns that percentage-based aid can offer to a population by encompassing aspects of both cost and time. Initial properties can be adjusted to be more specific to a given suburb, as well as the given equation for measuring poverty and the aid given.

## HOW IT WORKS
The model begins with both impoverished (red) and wealthy (green) turtles. The ratio between the impoverished and wealthy is 96:904, reflective of the United States' approximate suburban poverty rate of 9.6% in 2023.

Users are able to experiment by adjusting the percentage-aid slider to ensure poverty's elimination over a certain time span. A base weighted equation for healthcare, basic needs, and education is provided, and can be altered depending on importance.

In the unchanged model, measured in USD over a certain year (years measured in ticks), the amount a household in poverty spends on healthcare is a random number between 3000-3100, education is between 0-5000, and basic needs is between 5000-10000. The amount a household in wealth spends on healthcare is between 5000-10000, education is somewhere between 5000-10000, and basic needs is between 10000-15000. The initial annual income for a low-income turtle is somewhere between 0-25000, while the initial annual income for a wealthy turtle is between 25000-125000.

Throughout the simulation, the percentage-based aid the user provides annually will be spent on the factors above to simulate a real environment where individuals can repeatedly fall victim to instability.

## HOW TO USE IT
Before pressing go, turn on the aid switch and adjust the aid percentages to ensure that the simulation can give you an approximately accurate pattern of the speed of suburban poverty's alleviation in a given time frame. This simulation shows the approximate amount of aid (in USD) and the approximate amount of time (in years) that it takes a given suburban area to alleviate poverty for 1000 households. As the simulation runs and more aid continues to be provided, red turtles (poverties) will turn green, indicating their break-through from the poverty line.

## THINGS TO TRY
Play around with the aid percentages and notice how many characters turn green depending on the number of years (ticks) and the aid provided. Change the aid equation and the index equations for higher accuracy and experiment to find the optimal year to percentage aid ratio for a population.

## THINGS TO NOTICE
The initial ratio of poverty is proportional to what the United States reports for suburbia currently (9.6%) poverty rate, scaled to 1000 people. This model criticizes the US' current measurement of poverty by utilizing a weighted index that takes income into account as well as healthcare, basic needs, and education. Aid is calculated in dollars based on an individual's annual income with the equation ((50000 - income) * (aid-percentage / 100)). Aid percentage is changeable by the viewer. Model takes into account spending of households and the idea of falling back into poverty.

## EXTENDING THE MODEL
Extending the model can entail a change of income and costs for necessities to be more specific and accurate to a general area. This approach uses the average across the US, but this shouldn't be the pure basis of attention if a focus is specific to a certain area. Additionally, inflation is not accounted for in the structure of this model. A change in the way this model measures aid in USD over a set amount of years accounting for inflation would be beneficial.

## CREDITS AND REFERENCES
Gowri Maracany, 2024.
Larger description of model in the free Ebook "Suburbia, Unfortunately" on LeanPub