The science behind how people interact, react, and move in crowds 

Module details

  • Offered to 2nd Year students in Spring Term - Mondays 16:00-18:00
  • Offered to 3rd Year students in Autumn Term - Thursdays 16:00-18:00
  • Planned delivery: Online with in-person activities
  • 1-term module worth 5 ECTS
  • Available to eligible students as part of I-Explore

Why do crowds move in the way that they do? Can we predict this behaviour? Will this change during emergencies such as fires or terrorist attacks? Crowd science - also known as 'pedestrian dynamics' - is able to answer these questions by combining concepts from maths, physics, engineering and design, computing, sociology and psychology. 

In this module you will be introduced to the basic principles of pedestrian dynamics, such as crowd movement theory, computer modelling, human behaviour, and experimental design. You will also work on a group project, using pedestrian dynamics principles to develop solutions to a real-word design problem. The course will be provided through online video and face-to-face workshops. 

Please note: The information on this module description is indicative. The module may undergo minor modifications before the start of next academic year. 

Accordian

Learning outcomes

At the end of this module, you will be better able to:

  1. Define the topics of pedestrian and evacuation dynamics, and explain how these concepts are important to consider when designing infrastructure.
  2. Identify the main emergent properties of crowd behaviour.
  3. Describe the main theories of human behaviour in emergencies.
  4. Explain the different algorithms used for pedestrian dynamics simulation models, including their advantages and disadvantages.
  5. Evaluate the design of pedestrian dynamics and evacuation experiments.
  6. Generate pedestrian dynamics based design solutions for real-world problems.
  7. Communicate design solutions effectively to scientifically literate, multidisciplinary audiences.
Indicative core content

The first half of the course will teach you the science of crowds: how they behave, how they can be modelled and measured, and the impacts that design changes can have on them. This will involve you learning elements of maths, physics, engineering and design, computing, sociology and psychology. This will enable you to analyse crowds and building designs through pedestrian dynamics concepts.The first half of the course will be delivered through online videos and workshops. Online videos will be available to watch a week in advance of the lecture. The workshops will begin with discussions between students and lecturers to clarify the concepts introduced in the online videos. Group activities are at the core of the workshops.

The second half of the module comprises of a group design project - you will work as a group to develop crowd-science based design solutions relating to a real-life design problem. You will be free to select the topic based upon your choice as a group. For example, you could design new evacuation procedures for the intensive care unit of a hospital, or propose how to optimise evacuation procedures in a particular building at Imperial College London. You will be expected to attend online sessions each week where you will present progress updates on your design solutions and receive feedback on them. In the final session of the course, you will present your design solutions to the rest of the class in person. The VR session and the final session are both in person, the remainder of the module is online.

Learning and teaching approach

For the first 5 weeks this course will follow a 'flipped classroom' approach, where you will watch a series of videos online before attending the weekly workshop sessions. In each of these weekly sessions you will complete a workshop aimed at developing your knowledge and understanding of the course content, before taking a quiz on the material you have just learned. During these workshops you will be asked to perform a variety of tasks, from experiments to theoretical and numerical calculations.  In weeks 6 students will participate in an immersive virtual reality environment exercise which is based upon an evacuation from an Underground station.

Further to this you will take part in a group project, meeting in classes and independently to propose design solutions. This will be a self-directed project, based on the material learned in the initial 5 weeks.

Assessment

Coursework

  • Quizzes based on lecture material (20%)
  • Group project (20%)
  • Reflective account (5%)
  • Test after VR session (10%)

Practical

  • Attendance and contribution (15%)
  • Presentation of Group project (30%)
Key information
  • Requirements: It is compulsory to take an I-Explore module during your degree (you’ll take an I-Explore module in either your 2nd or 3rd year, depending on your department). You are expected to attend all classes and undertake approximately 105 hours of independent study in total during the module. Independent study includes for example reading and preparation for classes, researching and writing coursework assignments, project work and preparing for other assessments 
  • I-Explore modules are worth 5 ECTS credit towards your degree; to receive these you will have to pass the module. The numerical mark that you obtain will not be included in the calculation of your final degree result, but it will appear on your transcript  
  • This module is designed as an undergraduate Level 6 course 
  • This module is offered by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 

Got any questions?

Contact the lecturer
Arnab Majumdar
a.majumdar@imperial.ac.uk