Pedestrian Movement Analysis And Simulation In Public Spaces

The paper is the initial phase of a larger project aiming for a complete simulation model for pedestrian movement in public spaces such as shopping centers. The goal of the project is to create a tool for shopping center management and for the designers of future shopping centers to assist them with their work. In the introduction an extensive literature review on the subject will be carried out focusing on a more detailed research criteria on the field of agent based modeling. In the first phase a minimum of three parallel pedestrian movement tracking systems, located in an educational facility containing offices, will be installed. These will be utilized to gather data for the simulation model and also to promote the use of this mode of tracking system in public spaces. In the future phases of research the focus will concentrate on the scalability of the model from small scale commercial buildings to large shopping centers. The desired project destination will be the development of a model that can be utilized in vast complex building networks such as airports. This model will allow research analyzing and measuring hot spots inside the public space to create accurate models on pedestrian movement that can then be compared to economies of space.