Modeling Pedestrian Dynamics in Montreal's Underground City

Abstract

This study is an examination of the daily dynamics and system stability of pedestrian movement within an extensive, indoor walkway system. Temporal and spatial stability in the distribution of pedestrians was established using an efficient census-taking technique. It was found that the spatial distribution of pedestrians was weakly related to the integration of the Underground system. Centrally located links were marginally more attractive to pedestrians. Relatively minor differences in pedestrian distribution were discovered between weekday and weekend day. The absence of directional flows over time was also observed. The highly stable dynamic structure of the Underground is in direct relationship with a describable urban environment. This paper concludes with recommendations for research into other explanatory environmental factors.