On current crowd management practices and the need for increased situation awareness, prediction, and intervention

Journal article (2017)

Authors

C. Martella Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
J. Li Human Information Communication Design - IDE
C. Conrado Thales
A.P.O.S. Vermeeren Human Information Communication Design - IDE
Research Group
Human Information Communication Design (IDE) (TU Delft)
Crowd management Decision-support systems Crowd monitoring Mobile sensing Techno-social systems
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Published Date

01-01-2017

Language

English

Reuse Rights

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Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Department

Human-Centered Design

Research Group

Human Information Communication Design

Abstract

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.