Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · View the paper (DOI)
A team of mathematicians studied crowd flow and developed a way to predict when pedestrian paths become disorganized. They found that an angular spread of around 13 degrees is the threshold for transition, beyond which the flow becomes less efficient and potentially more dangerous.
Coverage from 2 institutions
- Mathematicians uncover the logic behind how people walk in crowds Massachusetts Institute of Technology · Mar 24, 2025 · first to report
- The secret behind pedestrian crossings – and why some spiral into chaos University of Bath · Mar 24, 2025