News

31.10.2001

Architecture Week - Pedestrian Simulation
Spatial network design applied to infrastructure planning models may sound like a complex concept. But this form of computer analysis of human behavior in architectural spaces is such a simple idea that you may wonder why no one was using it sooner.

The general concept is that in an urban environment, "lines of sight" guide patterns of movement. The idea assumes that most people, most of the time, will take the simplest route to their destination. That route tends to involve the fewest changes of direction. The more changes of direction, the more complex the system, and therefore the more ineffective or inefficient the network design becomes.

The concept of sight line analysis has been so successful that an independent company, Space Syntax, was set up to operate as a consultancy on behalf of UCL to promote the research service.
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