Friday’s Food for Thought: Mapping Pedestrians

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) recently released a report which revealed U.S. pedestrian fatalities increased 10 percent in 2015 compared to 2014. According to the press release, GHSA calls on data analysis and mapping to identify high-risk zones and help reduce pedestrian deaths.

Some cities have already implemented mapping tools to identify hit-and-run hot spots. For example, the California Highway Patrol has an interactive map using Esri’s ArcGIS platform to examine where hit-and-run intersections are most prevalent in Los Angeles. Additionally, sensors on autonomous vehicles have the ability to detect and avoid obstacles, which may help lower pedestrian fatalities once these vehicles are deployed on the road.

Mobility researcher Antonin Danalet from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland is mapping pedestrian behavior using Wi-Fi to help urban planners better design cities, reports CityLab. Danalet reconstructed the routes of about 2,000 pedestrians using his university’s nearly 800 Wi-Fi access points, while combining campus data such as layout, dining, and class schedules. Danalet illustrated his findings in a video, which tracks the movement of pedestrians on campus.

Photo Credit: Antonin Danalet