Agent-Based Model Simulating Pedestrian Behavioral Response to Environmental Structural Changes

Our proposed research focuses on understanding the travel behavior of individuals in complex urban environments. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how land use patterns and infrastructure influence how individuals across a broad range of travel abilities navigate through urban landscapes. The concept of livable cities needs to encompass all individuals, including travelers with disabilities. Usability affects livability. People with disabilities who must or choose to navigate through urban environments are constantly challenged by issues that may seem to others to be inconspicuous or mundane. Our overall project goal is to develop a transportation planning tool that allows users to…

Our proposed research focuses on understanding the travel behavior of individuals in complex urban environments. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how land use patterns and infrastructure influence how individuals across a broad range of travel abilities navigate through urban landscapes. The concept of livable cities needs to encompass all individuals, including travelers with disabilities. Usability affects livability. People with disabilities who must or choose to navigate through urban environments are constantly challenged by issues that may seem to others to be inconspicuous or mundane. 
Our overall project goal is to develop a transportation planning tool that allows users to simulate pedestrian travel behavior.  The tool will be built on a computation model that is developed through rigorous measures and observations of pedestrian travel behavior.  Our definition of pedestrian includes a broad perspective as one of our aspirations through this project is to expand the definition of what constitutes livability for all citizens.  Through the help of project collaborators, we will recruit and include people with disabilities in our measurement and modeling research. 
This research will be conducted through a four-stage research plan.  Stages one and two include testing with and observation of research participants.  In stage one, we will ask participants to complete a sit-down test that measures demographics and cognitive travel decision-making.  In stage two, we will ask the same group of participants to conduct travel activities in an urban landscape.  Stage three will include using the measures and observations gathered through stages one and two to generate a computational model of pedestrian travel behavior.  The final stage, four, focuses on developing an easy-to-use interface that will allow transportation planners to directly interact with the pedestrian model developed in stage three. 
The project is translational as it translates controlled scientific research results (stages one and two) into a tangible, distributable tool that is meaningful and usable by professionals and academics working in the area of transportation planning.  The project is transformative and of value to NITC because it represents the first-ever intersection of cognitive decision-making, pedestrian travel behavior, travelers with disabilities, and agent-based modeling.  The research and development team includes a behavioral and a geographic information scientist and pools demonstrated expertise in agent-based modeling, geospatial cognition, geographic information science, and pedestrian navigation.