Architectural Research Quarterly
- Architectural Research Quarterly / Volume 4 / Issue 03 / September 2000, pp 257-264
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1359135500000282 (About DOI), Published online: 19 August 2008
urbanism
Following the crowd: spatial layout and crowd behaviour
Mark David Majora1, Alan Penna2, Georgia Spiliopoulou, Natasa Spende, Maria Doxa and Polly Fong
a1 Building and Urban Design Research Studio 603 West 13th Street Suite 1A, #930 Austin Texas 78701–1796, USA
a2 The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies University College London Philips House 1–19 Torrington Place London WC1E 6BT, UK
In preparation for the Millennium Eve celebrations, a study was undertaken to predict crowd movement. The objectives were: to identify characteristics of crowd movement and congregation, and how this might be related to spatial layout; to evaluate, in consultation with risk management experts, how this might affect public safety; and to help develop and prepare effective crowd management measures. The study demonstrates how the observational techniques of space syntax have evolved to enable the investigation of the effect, if any, of spatial layout on crowd behaviour.
