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Statistical physics

Following the crowd

Nature volume 407, pages 465–466 (2000)Cite this article

When we are at a major sporting event or travelling on public transport, our safety and comfort depend crucially on our fellow crowd members and on the design and operation of the facility we are in. So it is unnerving to realize that the modelling currently used to design and operate these venues has more in common with the design of water-pipe networks than anything with a human dimension. On page 487 of this issue1, Helbing, Farkas and Vicsek present a dramatically different and potentially far more realistic modelling approach.

The movement of large numbers of people is important in many situations, such as the evacuation of a building in an emergency. In large crowds there is a risk of injury, and even loss of life, owing to the enormous forces that can be exerted on a single individual by the surrounding throng. The pressures that build up can bend steel barriers or push down brick walls. The consequences of crushing, trampling and panic in crowds are well known2,3, and a proper understanding of how groups of people move is vital if we are to minimize risks in these situations.

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Figure 1: How crowd behaviour affects escape from a smoke-filled room.

References

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  1. Department of Civil and Offshore Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton Campus, Edinburgh , EH14 4AS, UK

    David J. Low

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  1. David J. Low
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Correspondence to David J. Low.

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Low, D. Following the crowd. Nature 407, 465–466 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35035192

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