Schelling Segregation

Model: Schelling's spatial segregation model (1971). Agents on a grid are "unhappy" if the fraction of same-group neighbors falls below their tolerance threshold or above their anti-bias threshold.
Neighborhood: Moore neighborhood (8 surrounding cells). Edge/corner agents use only available neighbors. Non-wrapping boundary.
Movement strategies: Random (move to any empty cell), Nearest Satisfying (BFS to closest happy empty cell), Swap (exchange positions of two unhappy agents).
Processing: Each step identifies all unhappy agents, shuffles them randomly, then processes sequentially — an agent's move may change neighbors' happiness before they are processed.
Rendering: Roguelike glyph grid via Nuglib GridRenderer and LayerManager. Segregation chart drawn on a separate p5.js graphics buffer.

Schelling's segregation model — even mild individual preferences for similar neighbors produce dramatic collective segregation. Fantasy races populate a grid and relocate when unhappy with their neighborhood. Inspired by Thomas Schelling's Micromotives and Macrobehavior (1978).

How to use: Watch races self-segregate on the grid. Adjust tolerance thresholds to see how mild preferences create dramatic clustering. Try different movement strategies and group configurations. Dimmed agents are unhappy and about to move.

Steps/frame: 1

Grid: Density: 75% Movement:

Step: 0 · Unhappy: 0% · Segregation: 0% ·

Inspired by Parable of the Polygons by Nicky Case & Vi Hart, based on Thomas Schelling's segregation model.