Household Synthesis Utility: Modifying and Adding Urbansim Variables

Hi All,
 
I am currently working on Household Synthesis Utility (HSU), synthesizing
households for Melbourne Australia.
 
I have a couple questions regarding urbansim variable definitions and
whether it is possible to modify them i.e. (add new ones, edit existing
ones).
 
First, I would like to know where to find the source code for the HSU. As
currently, the HSU is a blackbox to me.
 
Second, there are only 5 Urbansim variables possible (Children, Race,
Workers, Income, Age). Where do I find the categories for the urbansim
variables in HSU and be able to modify them? (Is it in the code or in a
particular table)
 
I’m guessing that these categories should be similar to the
household_characteristics_for_ht table and the categories are the BIN
definitions.
 
I am interested in modifying these variables in order to better suit
Australian data. For example:
 
1. Instead of Number of Children, the Australian
microdata and CENSUS lists it by family type (i.e. Single parent with
children <15, Couple with dependent Student). Although it is possible to map
this using the HOUSEHOLD_VARIABLE_MAPPING_INDIRECT table, giving the minimum
number of children. I would like to use the FamilyType variable as it will
give more accurate results.

2. Adding a new variable: More Specifically, adding a
Method to Work variable (by car, bike, public transport). Currently this
cannot be done as it cannot be Indirectly mapped to any existing urbanism
variable.
 
Any comments and suggestions is greatly appreciated.
 
Best Regards,
 
Joe
Received on Wed Aug 02 2006 - 22:05:21 PDT