Comparative Analysis of Pedestrian Movement and Behaviours in Shanghai and Montréal

The objective of this research project is to try and understand differences between pedestrian behaviors in Montréal, Canada and Shanghai, China. These two countries have very different cultures and because of this are an interesting matchup for comparison studies. The comparison between pedestrian behaviors will be done by studying existing data from each city. As the datasets have different origins, it will be a challenge to analyze them and turn them into comparable forms. The different datasets will also provide insight on how culture affects crowd movements and urban design, but also how urban design affects how pedestrians interact with their surroundings. Possible comparisons include travel time in crowded situations, attendance patterns (week vs weekend), reactions to weather changes (rain, snow, smog), etc. The results of this study can be useful for the development of new pedestrian design strategies as well as the improvement of current infrastructures.

Faculty Supervisor:

Bilal Farooq

Student:

Alexandra Beaulieu

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering - civil

Sector:

University:

Polytechnique Montréal

Program:

Globalink Research Award