Creating a generic model of the pedestrian fundamental diagram

Pedestrian characteristics, such as their free-flow walking speed, vary considerably between individuals and for different situations. This is also reflected in the pedestrian fundamental diagram, where considerable differences are visible. As the fundamental diagram serves as a tool for the design of pedestrian facilities, accurate values are needed for an efficient and functional design. Nevertheless, up to now no method exist, which can be used to determine a suitable fundamental diagram for a specific facility without the need for measurements in similar situations. This paper presents a generic approach to describe the pedestrian fundamental diagram. By combining literature data about aspects of pedestrian movement and interactions while walking, a fundamental diagram model is created, which is as close as possible to the real human walking behavior. By adapting the pedestrian properties, it is possible to study the effect of the situation- specific setting on the fundamental diagram. The resulting fundamental diagram model can then be used to obtain fundamental diagrams adapted to a specific situation and thus enhance the design of pedestrian facilities