Place crowd safety, crowd science? Case studies and application (original) (raw)
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Crowd science – A planning approach to safety at mass gatherings and events
Mass gatherings are planned or spontaneous events where the number of people attending is sufficient to strain the planning and response resources of the host. They are characterised by the concentration of people, generally on a predictable basis, in venues or precincts that are open or enclosed. Examples include sporting (e.g. Summer and Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup) and religious (e.g. Hajj, World Youth Day) events, cultural festivals and music festivals. Mass gatherings can also occur at train stations (e.g. London Underground, Paris Metro), shopping complexes (e.g. IKEA opening in London, annual store sales), business precincts and tourist attractions. A number of studies and official inquiries have identified inadequate planning as a major contributory factor to deficiencies in crowd safety at mass gatherings. Proper planning involves an assessment of attendant safety risks using traditional risk assessment methods. These generally tend to deal with the hazards and risks usually found at most workplaces without taking into account the dynamics of the crowd or those factors that influence its behaviour. Insufficient attention to the way that people behave in a crowd, and the relationship between behaviour and system design, are major factors in crowd disasters. Due to the sheer number of attendees, the nature of activity and potential patron behaviour, risk is always shifting and changing throughout the course of a mas gathering event. How crowd-related safety risks can change over time is difficult to both visualise and articulate in the conventional risk assessment process. This paper presents contemporary and innovative approaches to risk analysis and monitoring for crowd safety which provide a more relevant, meaningful and valuable contribution to the assessment of (dynamic) crowd-related risks.
Contemporary approaches to planning for the safe management of crowds at mass gatherings
Mass gatherings are planned or spontaneous events where the number of people attending is sufficient to strain the planning and response resources of the host. They are characterised by the concentration of people on a predictable basis, in venues or precincts that are open, or enclosed. Examples include sporting (e.g. Summer and Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup) and religious (e.g. Hajj, World Youth Day) events, cultural festivals and outdoor music festivals. Mass gatherings can also occur at train stations (e.g. London Underground, Paris Metro), shopping complexes (e.g. IKEA opening in London, annual store sales), business precincts and tourist attractions. Proper planning for mass gatherings involves an assessment of the attendant risk and the traditional risk assessment method is invariably used to identify and treat risks. Risk assessments for mass gatherings generally tend to deal with the traditional hazards and risks usually found at most workplaces without taking into account the dynamics of the crowd or those factors that influence its behaviour. Due to the sheer number of attendees, the nature of activity and potential patron behaviour, risk is always shifting and changing throughout the course of a mas gathering event. How risks can change over time is difficult to both visualise and articulate in the conventional risk assessment process, and the assignment of a single value can be both inappropriate and misleading. In addition, conventional risk assessment documents, particularly those that relate to crowd safety, are fundamentally flawed. Contemporary approaches to risk management, which consider the relevant phases of a mass gathering event such as ingress, circulation and egress and adopt techniques such as a Routes-Areas-Movement-Profile (RAMP) analysis and diagrammatic risk mapping, provide a more relevant, meaningful and valuable contribution to the assessment of (dynamic) crowd-related risks
Safety Science, 2017
Recent accidents [News, 2006, 2010, 2013, 2015] show that crowded events can quickly turn into tragedies. The goal of crowd management is to avoid such accidents through careful planning and implementation. Crowd management practices are collaborative efforts between the different actors of the crowd management team and the crowd that depend on effective handling, sharing, and communication of information. Safety and comfort of a crowd depend on the success of such efforts. We have studied current practices and the role of technology through interviews to crowd managers. Our findings show that event planning and monitoring can be complex and sophisticated, but are operated with little support from technology. Crowd managers intend to increase their use of technology, but they have been so far dissatisfied by existing solutions. We provide recommendations for a bigger role of technology in crowd management.
Outdoor music festivals are increasingly common events on the summer entertainment landscape for youth in many countries around the world. Evidence indicates that attendance is associated with an increased risk of injury and death. A considerable proportion of crowd-related risks are attributed to irrational and high-risk behaviour by patrons in the general admission, or standing room only, areas in front of stages, or 'mosh pits'. Similar behaviour at ingress and egress is equally, if not more, problematic. Commentators note that many event organisers rely too heavily on previous experience when planning their events and suggest that this approach is often ill structured, piecemeal and ad hoc. While there is considerable endorsement in the literature for a risk management approach, its application to crowd safety is rare. Risk assessments for music festivals and mass gatherings generally tend to deal with the traditional hazards and risks found at most workplaces, without taking into account the dynamics of the crowd or those factors that influence its behaviour. Influences on crowd behaviour are little understood and generally ignored, leaving a significant source of risk at this type of event unaccounted for. A number of commentators recommend that a comprehensive approach to crowd safety assessment, design and management needs to integrate both psychological and engineering frames of reference. This paper outlines the process used to develop a model of collective behaviour that can be used as the basis for developing an appropriate and contextualised methodology and instrument for assessing crowd related risks at outdoor music festivals.
Attendance at outdoor music festivals is associated with an increased risk of injury and death. A considerable proportion of crowd-related risks are attributed to irrational and high-risk behaviour by patrons, especially in the general admission, or standing room only, areas in front of stages, or 'mosh pits'. Risk assessments for music festivals and mass gatherings generally tend to deal with the traditional hazards and risks found at most workplaces, without taking into account the dynamics of the crowd or those factors that influence its behaviour. Influences on crowd behaviour are little understood and generally ignored, leaving a significant source of risk at this type of event unaccounted for. A comprehensive approach to crowd safety assessment, design and management needs to integrate both psychological and engineering frames of reference. This paper outlines a model that can be used as the basis for developing a contextualised methodology and instrument for assessing crowd related risks at outdoor music festivals.
2019
Risk, security and health Presents a system for crowd management which integrates security with the other concerns for the health and safety for crowds, looking at the theories and practices of the management processes involved. The behaviours of crowds in situations of terrorism or disaster are unpredictable and, whilst traditional planning is initially used, a fixed plan only works when the crowd is compliant. This text highlights the complexity, the decisions under uncertainty and the long tail risks in order to successfully plan and maintain optimum safety. Structured into four sections (Risk, Management, Security and Health) with templates, explanation points and case studies throughout, each of the sections is written by global experts.
Security in Crowded Public Spaces: A Protocol for Effective Risk Assessment and Intervention
The challenge of security in public places is a challenge in our world where elements have become radicalized. Access control to public events is only part of the answer that may require the sacrifice of civil liberties. History has shown that it is almost impossible to fight an idea that is based on fear. It it has lasted a generation it can promulgate for hundreds of years. The only answer is to give people hope by first providing a secure base and then through Holographic Community Centres incorporate a School, Health Hub and Enterprise Zone to reestablish dignity and perseverance.
BA(Hons) Final Dissertation, 2016
Abstract “How the psychology of crowd behaviour impacts on operational resilience.” This is a report prepared from a literature search together with research using expert theorists and practitioners. The report investigates the changing demographics and behaviours of crowds when subjected to stressful emergency situations and how this affects the operational resilience for Event Safety organisations. This study has set out to examine the history of psychological research on crowd processes, to unpack the plethora of theory and research to understand the patterns of crowd actions and individual behaviours. There is still a tendency to focus on early scientific theorists such as Gustave Le Bon’s research (Le Bon 1895), which separates crowds from their social context. His theory assumed that crowd participation counters our normal view of psychological behaviours, revealing a primitive and uncontrolled behaviour (Reicher, 1996 Reicher and Potter, 1985). Stephen Reicher (Reicher 1982,1987) argues that ‘one of the more remarkable features of traditional crowd psychology is that it has tended to constitute a theory without a referent. Rather than starting from a set of phenomena that are in need of explanation, a set of explanations were elaborated in order to underpin certain ideological presuppositions about the crowd - or at least the suppositions of gentleman observers who viewed the masses with alarm from the outside’. Crowds should not be seen as aggressive and uncontrollable in emergency situations but with patterns and behaviours that reflect social and cultural influences. There are a number of social scientists that now support this view (Krantz, 1988, Turner and Killian 1964, Williams, 1986, Reicher, Drury, Stott, 1996, 1997, 1999), arrived at after relevant scientific research to investigate patterns of crowd behaviour to show that there are observable trends that reflect existing cultures and social identity.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Perceived Risk Factors for Crowd Safety in Large Buildings
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering, 2018
In large buildings or spaces used for large events, crowd safety is one of the most important concerns for facilities management. In the past decades, there have been crowd disasters in venues such as sport stadiums, concert halls, and at religious events the world over. The user of such facilities during mass gatherings can be exposed to health and safety risk, which can be mitigated by using effective risk management as a component of facilities management. A lot of emphasis is given to objective safety, but research has shown that the user's perceived (subjective) safety is also an important factor that cannot be overlooked. This research has identified the crowds' perceived risk factors for a selected large space facility. The paper applied confirmatory factor analysis to test the theoretical pattern of the variables loading on a developed construct to show how well these factors match reality. Twelve perceived risk factors to crowd safety have been tested and verified.
Crowd management and urban design: New scientific approaches
Journal of Urban Design International, 2013
As our cities become denser and host larger gathering events, the need for scientific and computational approaches to crowd management increases. Today, our cities must cater to activities and places that involve massive crowds such as the Olympics, large transportation terminals and mega entertainment and shopping centers. The planning challenges for mega events and activities led urban planners to embark on new studies that offer entirely new design approaches for crowd management. This article uses the Hajj project as a case study to illustrate these new approaches. By employing a nontechnical discourse, this article explains software applications for crowd management in three areas: (i) diagnosing problems, (ii) testing designs and (iii) setting operational plans. Collectively, these software tools assisted in creating a new design that facilitated a safe Hajj environment in recent years. The article also discusses the significance of employing on-the-ground assistance to ensure successful planning and design.