A physical effort-based model for pedestrian movement in topographic urban environments

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a topography-sensitive cognitive model for analysis and prediction of pedestrian movement in urban settings. Topography affects visibility and therefore the spatial awareness of pedestrians. It also accentuates the role of physical effort during travel and route selection. The existing models fall short in their reference to these issues. A thorough description of the proposed model is followed by a validation - the model was tested against two existing models in three case studies in Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel. The proposed model outperformed the others in the steeper parts of the case studies. Future model development is discussed.

Acknowledgments

Data courtesy of SPaDeLib at the Center of Urban and Regional Studies in the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion IIT and the GIS department of the Municipality of Jerusalem.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. A pseudo-code description of both stages of the PEM algorithm can be viewed at  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334290589_A_physical_effort-based_model_for_pedestrian_movement_in_topographic_urban_environment_-_Appendix_1_PEM_pseudo_code

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Israel Science Foundation [1485/15]; The Azrieli Foundation and The Irwin and Joan Jacobs Fellowship scholarship.