Evolution of Urban Design

Urban design is moving towards space sharing in order to increase the community texture and safety of street surroundings. However, there is a need for a simulation tool capable of representing future shared space schemes to help judging the designs under which shared space design is a suitable alternative to traditional street designs.

We have contacted the Brighton and Hove City Council in order to collect video data from the shared space scheme implemented in new road in Brighton. Also, we contacted the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to get hold off CCTV data from Exhibition Road in London.

Mixed-mode Urban Traffic – Shared Space Schemes

Shared Space Modelling using the Social Force Model

After tracking pedestrians and car drivers’ manoeuvres within these shared space schemes, the extracted behavioural patterns lead to a conceptual framework with three interrelated layers. The force-based layer is the core of the dynamic shared space model which is based on the social force model of Professor Dirk Helbing.

Agent-based Modelling – Shared Space Simulation

Development of a new microscopic model for the simulation of shared space schemes to:

• achieve solutions for optimal design features;
• gain knowledge about efficiency or safety challenges;
• make emission and exposure assessments for new street designs.