Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Crowd management and urban design: New scientific approaches

  • Original Article
  • Published:
URBAN DESIGN International Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

As our cities become denser and host larger gathering events, the need for scientific and computational approaches to crowd management increases. Today, our cities must cater to activities and places that involve massive crowds such as the Olympics, large transportation terminals and mega entertainment and shopping centers. The planning challenges for mega events and activities led urban planners to embark on new studies that offer entirely new design approaches for crowd management. This article uses the Hajj project as a case study to illustrate these new approaches. By employing a non-technical discourse, this article explains software applications for crowd management in three areas: (i) diagnosing problems, (ii) testing designs and (iii) setting operational plans. Collectively, these software tools assisted in creating a new design that facilitated a safe Hajj environment in recent years. The article also discusses the significance of employing on-the-ground assistance to ensure successful planning and design.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Gadhi, S.A. and Still, K.G. (2003) Jamarat bridge mathematical models, computer simulation and Hajjis safety analysis. Paper presented at Ministry of Hajj, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

  • Al-Haboubi, M.H. (2003) A new layout design for the Jamarat area (stoning the Devil). The Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 28 (2B): 131–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Malki, A. (2008) Traffic congestion eased at Jamarat Bridge. The Saudi Gazette, 5 December, http://freshgroup.blogspot.com/2008/12/traffic-congestion-eased-at-jamarat.html.

  • Al-Qahtaani, A. (2002) A Manual on the Rites of Hajj, 2nd edn. London: Invitation to Islam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, P. (2007) Crowd researchers make pilgrimage safer: The science of pedestrian motion meets the annual Hajj in Mecca. Telcom-Cities, news@nature.com, 19 January, http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070115/full/news070115-13.html.

  • Batty, M. (2003) Agent-based pedestrian models. In: P.A. Longley and M. Batty (eds.) Advanced Spatial Analysis: The CASA Book of GIS. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press, pp. 81–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batty, M. (2006) Agent-based models of spatial events: In highly managementled, multi-participant situations such as the Notting-Hill Carnival. Presentation at Wageningen Workshop, University College London, 22 September.

  • Batty, M., Desyllas, J. and Duxbury, E. (2003) Safety in numbers? Modelling crowds and designing control for the Notting Hill carnival. Urban Studies 40 (8): 1573–1590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batty, M. and Torrens, P.M. (2005) Modeling and prediction in a complex world. Futures 37 (7): 745–766.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, D. and Kitazawa, K. (2010) Using laser scanner data to calibrate certain aspects of microscopic pedestrian motion models. In: W.W.F. Klingsch, C. Rogsch, A. Schadschneider and M. Schreckenberg (eds.) Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics 2008. Berlin, Germany: Springer, pp. 83–94.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Blue, V.J. and Adler, J.L. (2000) Cellular automata microsimulation of bi-directional pedestrian flows. Transportation Research Record 1678: 125–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolay, K. (1998) Nichtlineare Phanomene in einem fluid-dynamischen Verkehrsmodell. Unpublished diploma thesis, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany.

  • Brown, D.G., Riolo, R., Robinson, D.T., North, M. and Rand, W. (2005) Spatial process and data models: Toward integration of agent-based models and GIS. Journal of Geographical Systems 7 (1): 25–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burstedde, C., Klauck, K., Schadschneider, A. and Zittartz, J. (2001) Simulation of pedestrian dynamics using a two-dimensional cellular automation. Physica A 295: 507–575.

  • Crooks, A.T. and Heppenstall, A.J. (2012) Introduction to agent-based modelling. In: A.J. Heppenstall, A.T. Crooks, L.M. See and M. Batty (eds.) Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer, pp 85–105.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Castle, C.J.E. (2007) Agent-based modelling of pedestrian evacuation: A study of London’s king’s cross underground station. PhD thesis, University College London, London.

  • Fruin, J.J. (2002) The causes and prevention of crowd disasters. Paper originally presented at the First International Conference on Engineering for Crowd Safety, March 1993, London, England. Revised exclusively for crowdsafe.com, January, New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishers.

  • Haklay, M., O’Sullivan, D., Thurstain-Goodwin, M. and Schelhorn, T. (2001) ‘So go downtown’: Simulating pedestrian movement in town centres. Environment and Planning B 28 (3): 343–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helbing, D., Farkas, I.J. and Vicsek, T. (2000) Simulating dynamical features of escape panic. Nature 407: 487–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helbing, D., Johansson, A. and Zein Al-Abideen, H. (2007) The dynamics of crowd disasters: An empirical study. Physics Review, E 75: 046109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, R.L. (2003) The flow of human crowds. Annual Review Fluid Mechanics 35 (1): 169–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iltanen, S. (2012) Cellular automata in urban spatial modelling. In: A.J. Heppenstall, A.T. Crooks, L.M. See and M. Batty (eds.) Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer, pp. 69–84.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnasson, A. and Kretz, T. (2012) Applied pedestrian modelling. In: A.J. Heppenstall, A.T. Crooks, L.M. See and M. Batty (eds.) Agent-Based Models of Geographical Systems. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer, pp. 451–462.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kerridge, J., Hine, J. and Wigan, M. (2001) Agent-based modeling of pedestrian movements: The questions that need to be asked and answered. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 28 (3): 327–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klüpfel, H. (2005) The simulation of crowd dynamics at very large events: Calibration, empirical data, and validation. In: N. Waldau, P. Gatterman, H. Knoflacher and M. Schreckenberg (eds.) Pedestrians and Evacuation Dynamics. Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kretz, T., Bönisch, C. and Vortisch, P. (2010) Comparison of various methods for the calculation of the distance potential fi eld. In: W.W.F. Klingsch, C. Rogsch, A. Schadschneider and M. Schreckenberg (eds.) Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics 2008. Berlin, Germany: Springer, pp 335–346.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kretz, T., Grünebohm, A., Kaufman, M., Mazur, F. and Schreckenberg, M. (2006a) Experimental study of pedestrian counterflow in a corridor. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment 2006 (10): P10001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kretz, T., Grünebohm, A. and Schreckenberg, M. (2006b) Experimental study of pedestrian flow through a bottleneck. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment 2006 (10): P10014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer-König, T., Klüpfel, H. and Schreckenberg, M. (2002) Assessment and analysis of evacuation processes on passenger ships by microscopic simulation. In: M. Schreckenberg and S.D. Sharma (eds.) Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics. Berlin, Germany: Springer, pp. 297–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musse, S.R., Babski, C., Capin, T. and Thalmann, D. (1998) Crowd modelling in collaborative virtual environments. In: Proceedings of the 1998 ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. New York: ACM, pp. 115–123.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nicole, A.R. (2007) Agent-based approaches to pedestrian modeling. Unpublished Master thesis in Engineering Sciences, the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering of The University of Melbourne.

  • Nishinari, K., Kirchner, A., Namazi, A. and Schadschneider, A. (2004) Extended floor field CA model for evacuation dynamics. IEICE Transactions on Information and Systems E87-D: 726–732.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Sullivan, D. and Haklay, M. (2000) Agent based models and individualism: Is the world agent-based? Environment and Planning A 32 (8): 1409–1425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettre, J., Ciechomski, P. H., Maim, J., Yersin, B., Laumond, J.-P. and Thalmann, D. (2006) Realtime navigating crowds: Scalable simulation and rendering. Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds 17 (3–4): 445–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popovic, J., Seitz, S.M. and Erdmann, M. (2003) Motion sketching for control of rigid-body simulations. ACM Transactions on Graphics 22 (4): 1034–1054.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz, M., Kretz, T. and Fricke, H. (2010) Solving the direction field for discrete agent motion. In: S. Bandini, S. Manzoni, H. Umeo and G. Vizzari (eds.) Cellular Automata – 9th International Conference on Cellular Automata for Research and Industry (ACRI 2010). Berlin, Germany: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sengupta, R.R. and Bennett, D.A. (2003) Agent-based modeling environment for spatial decision support. International Journal of Geographic Information Science 17 (2): 157–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shao, W. and Terzopoulos, D. (2005) Autonomous pedestrians. In: Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGGRAPH/Eurographics Symposium on Computer Animation. Los Angeles: ACM, pp. 19–28.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Still, K.G. (2000) Crowd dynamics. Unpublished PhD thesis, Warwick University, Coventry.

  • Still, K.G. (2008) Jamarat bridge – Accidents, http://www.crowddynamics.com/Disasters/jamarat_bridge.htm, accessed 15 February 2013.

  • Taylor, M. (2002) The Moment of Complexity: Emerging Network Culture. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Treuille, A., Cooper, S. and Popovic, Z. (2006) Continuum crowds. ACM Transaction on Graph 25 (3): 1160–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin, M and Ozair, G (2004) An analytical overview of stampede at Jamarat site – Root causes and possible solutions. Paper presented at the fifth Meeting for Hajj Research, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque Institute for Hajj Researches, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

  • United Nations. (2009) World population prospects, the 2008 revision, ESA/P/WP.193 (24 February), www.un.org/esa/population/ publications/WPP20089/2008Highlights_finalrevised.pdf, accessed 15 June 2011.

  • Waldau, N., Gatterman, P., Knoflacher, H. and Schreckenberg, M. (2005) Pedestrians and Evacuation Dynamics. Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, J. (2007) Urban movement: Models of pedestrian activity. Unpublished PhD thesis, CASA, London: University College London.

  • Widyarto, S. and AbdLatiff, M.S. (2007) The use of virtual tours for cognitive preparation of visitors: A case study for VHE. Facilities 25 (7/8): 271–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, W.J., Chen, R., Dong, L.Y. and Dai, S.Q. (2005) Centrifugal force model for pedestrian dynamics. Physical Review E 72, 026112.

Download references

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the Development Commission of Mecca, Madinah, and Masha’ir, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for hospitality, supplying data and research assistance on the Hajj project. Furthermore, I would like to thank colleagues at the University of Illinois at Chicago including Professor Marty Jaffe, William Dieber and Ann Barnds for useful comments and discussions on the project, and Lindsay Broughel for her great help in editing the article.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urban Planning and Policy Department, University of Illinois, 412 s. Peoria St., CUPPA Hall, Second floor, Chicago, IL 60607, USA

    Kheir Al-Kodmany

Authors
  1. Kheir Al-Kodmany
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Al-Kodmany, K. Crowd management and urban design: New scientific approaches. Urban Des Int 18, 282–295 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2013.7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2013.7

Keywords

Search

Navigation