Editor's note

The world’s growing urban centres all face a common challenge of efficiently moving large numbers of individuals not only across the city, but vertically too as cities expand upwards and downwards.

Our series, Moving the Masses, looks at managing these flows of crowds of individuals, be they drivers or pedestrians, shoppers or commuters, birds or ants.

John Watson

Section Editor: Cities + Policy

Stacking and moving people

Cities are growing vertically as well as horizontally, so infrastructure needs to ensure people can move up and down as well as across the city. Alpha/Flickr

Growing cities face challenges of keeping the masses moving up, down and across

Andrea Connor, Western Sydney University; Donald McNeill, Western Sydney University

Cities are expanding upwards and downwards, as well as outwards. With urban density also increasing, moving people efficiently around the city, often using ageing infrastructure, is quite a challenge.

Natural systems

Ant colonies direct traffic flows of millions of individuals along the best routes – army ants even manage inbound and outbound lanes – but how? Geoff Gallice/Wikimedia

Nature's traffic engineers have come up with many simple but effective solutions

Tanya Latty, University of Sydney

Insects aren't known for having big brains, and slime moulds and fungi don't have any. So how do they solve challenges that test the ingenuity of human transport engineers?

Moving the masses

Fed up with always being in the slow queue? That's why queues are being 'designed out'

Gary Mortimer, Queensland University of Technology; Louise Grimmer, University of Tasmania

Businesses are weighing up the costs of queuing and using innovative ways to minimise these costs by doing away with queues.

Traffic is complex, but modelling using deceptively simple rules can help unravel what's going on

Yohan Kim, University of Technology Sydney; Jay Falletta, University of Technology Sydney; Scott Kelly, University of Technology Sydney

By identifying and applying the key rules governing the behaviour of each individual, agent-based modelling offers insights into complex phenomena like traffic jams and flocking.

How traffic signals favour cars and discourage walking

David Levinson, University of Sydney

Everyone doesn't simply wait their turn at traffic lights. Signals are set up to enable a 'green wave' for cars and adjust to heavy traffic, making walkers wait longer no matter how many there are.

We can design better intersections that are safer for all users

Paul Salmon, University of the Sunshine Coast; Gemma Read, University of the Sunshine Coast

Collisions at intersections between motor vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians cause many deaths and injuries. Design that considers how each group approaches intersections improves everyone's safety.

Lessons from the supermarket

As much as stores would love to be able to get shoppers to go along every aisle, only 2% do. Sam Mooy/AAP

Shoppers' movements might come down to fears of caves and the 'butt brush'

Svetlana Bogomolova, University of South Australia; Bill Page, University of South Australia

Marketers once liked to think they could virtually steer people through shops and malls. But it appears shoppers' movements, possibly driven by primal instincts, aren't so easily directed.

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Freeing up the huge areas set aside for parking can transform our cities

Dorina Pojani, The University of Queensland; Iderlina Mateo-Babiano, University of Melbourne; Jonathan Corcoran, The University of Queensland; Neil Sipe, The University of Queensland

Cities around the world are starting to rethink the vast areas of land set aside for parking. The convergence of several trends likely will mean this space becomes available for other uses.

Disruption ahead: personal mobility is breaking down old transport divides

S. Travis Waller, UNSW

Roads versus public transport: for decades, these have been the battle lines in debates over transport in our cities. But a revolution in mobility is under way that will transform our thinking.

We must plan the driverless city to avoid being hostage to the technology revolution

John Stone, University of Melbourne; Carey Curtis, Curtin University; Crystal Legacy, RMIT University; Jan Scheurer, Curtin University

There's every chance that, if mismanaged, driverless vehicle technologies will entrench the ills of car dependency.

Too wet? Too cold? Too hot? This is how weather affects the trips we make

Jonathan Corcoran, The University of Queensland; Dorina Pojani, The University of Queensland; Francisco Rowe, University of Liverpool; Jiangping Zhou, University of Hong Kong; Jiwon Kim, The University of Queensland; Ming Wei, The University of Queensland; Sui Tao, Chinese University of Hong Kong; Thomas Sigler, The University of Queensland; Yan Liu, The University of Queensland

The relationship between weather and our travel choices is complicated. We can't change the weather, but, with many other factors in play, good policy and design can reduce its impacts.

 

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