Integrating LLMs and Geospatial Foundation Models to Enhance Spatial Reasoning in ABMs

We are delighted to announce a special track on “Integrating Large-Language Models and Geospatial Foundation Models to Enhance Spatial Reasoning in ABMs” as part of the Social Simulation Conference 2025, 25th to 29th August 2025 at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Full conference details can be found below.

Abstract for the Special Track

Recent developments in the use of large language models (LLMs) offer exciting opportunities to control agent behaviour in potentially more realistic and nuanced ways than has previously been possible. However, an LLM-backed agent can only interface with their surroundings through text prompts, which is severely limiting. The integration of large language models (LLMs) and geospatial foundation models (GFMs) presents an exciting opportunity to use AI techniques to advance agent-based modelling for spatial applications, potentially allowing for agents with more comprehensive behavioural realism, as well as an improved perception of their environment.

This special track invites papers that explore how AI techniques, such as LLMs and GFMs, can enrich spatial agent-based models, raising new questions about their feasibility in modelling human behaviour, in comparison to conventional approaches. There are huge challenges around computational efficiency, sustainability, bias, model validation, and integration frameworks, and we welcome papers that consider these issues as well.

Track Organizers:

• Nick Malleson, University of Leeds, UK
• Alison Heppenstall, University of Glasgow, UK
• Ed Manley, University of Leeds, UK
• Andrew Crooks, University of Buffalo, US

Social Simulation Conference 2025 – Call for Papers

The 20th annual Social Simulation Conference (SSC 2025) will take place from 25th to 29th August 2025 at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. The conference is one of the key activities of the European Social Simulation Association (ESSA), aimed at promoting social simulation in Europe and elsewhere. This year’s special theme is “Social simulation in a socio-technical context: embracing societies’ complexities.” A theme fitting to an engineering university that, through the faculty Technology, Policy and Management, bridges engineering to the many disciplines that are present in the ESSA community. Being open-minded to other perspectives is in our DNA. In other words: we welcome you wholeheartedly to Delft!

Delft is a picturesque city in the Western part of the Netherlands with lots of canals in the ancient city center, and it is in a wider area worthwhile to discover and explore (Rotterdam, The Hague, the sea…). Delft is well connected, amongst others by train; and we encourage people to travel sustainably. An affordable option is foreseen that enables participants to follow a portion of the program online, but not to present online; this means it will not be a fully hybrid conference.

Papers

SSC 2025 seeks high-quality submissions addressing original research in the domain of social simulation. All work must be original, i.e. must not have appeared in conference proceedings, books or journals, and must not be under review for other archival conferences, books or journals. All accepted papers will be considered for publication in the proceedings (Springer), unless the author(s) choose(s) otherwise.

SSC 2025 seeks submissions for the following:

• Extended Abstracts (3-4 pages; short oral presentations, can be work in progress),
• Short Papers (max 10 pages, short/long oral presentation, they should be complete papers with (modelling) results and conclusions),
• Long Papers (max. 12 pages; long oral presentations, should be complete papers with (modelling) results and conclusions),
• Poster Abstracts (300-500 words, to be presented as a poster in the conference).

The submission deadline is 11th of April 2025 (see the conference website for further important dates).