The streets of Hongdae (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Apr. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on April 10 that it will pursue the development of crowd density maps and safety indices to establish systematic countermeasures against crowd safety incidents.
The city is currently accepting bids for a research project, with the goal of commencing the study next month once a contractor is selected. The project is expected to be completed by March of next year.
According to the city, this initiative aims to establish quantifiable crowd management standards through big data analysis and formulate a mid-to-long-term crowd safety management plan based on these standards.
The crowd density maps will provide a comprehensive overview of crowd concentrations and risk levels across Seoul by analyzing big data from various sources such as transportation and telecommunications services, and geographic information systems.
Utilizing data accumulated since October 2022, the study will analyze and compare the annual average residential and floating populations in Seoul with fluctuations in crowd densities during major events like local festivals.
Based on these findings, the study will identify areas anticipated to experience high crowd concentrations over the next year.
Hazardous sections will be marked on the crowd density maps, considering factors such as pedestrian traffic volume, pedestrian flow patterns, and surrounding spatial characteristics.
In addition, the project will develop a quantified crowd density safety index by analyzing various factors that contribute to crowd safety incidents.
The process will involve defining various risk levels for crowd-vulnerable areas, developing standardized techniques to predict crowd safety incident risks, and deriving a crowd safety index based on this data.
Seoul city officials expect this initiative to shift away from the subjective and experience-based capacities of safety managers toward standardized quantitative criteria for crowd safety management plans and response protocols.
Furthermore, the city plans to establish a “Seoul Metropolitan Crowd Safety Management Master Plan” by analyzing relevant policies, regulations, and best practices.
“By creating crowd density maps for Seoul and developing quantified safety indices, we will establish a foundation for preventive crowd safety management,” said Kim Seong-bo, Director of Seoul’s Disaster and Safety Management Office.
“Starting with this project, we will endeavor to create a safe Seoul for all citizens by formulating scientific and systematic safety measures and standards against crowd safety incidents.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
