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If you’re in a crowd and people are close enough to bump into you, it can get too crowded.
That’s according to G. Keith Still, a visiting professor of crowd science at the University of Suffolk and head of GKStill Internationala consulting firm that trains event organizers on how to spot hazards.
Such events, like crowds apparently spiked at the crowded Halloween festival in the Korean capital Seoul and tragedy at the Astroworld Festival in Houston in November 2021, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
However, who has studied the dynamics of crowd behavior and safety for more than 30 years, said organizers can help prevent crowd jostling incidents by monitoring crowd density in the area. real-time and regulate the flow of people into a location.
Crowd density can be measured in terms of people per square meter, roughly a square ruler. Younger, smaller people take up less space than older and older people, but as a rule, things get uncomfortable when you reach five people per square meter, Still says — and anything Anything more crowded can become dangerous.
“When the bodies touch, that high energy and density can give rise to these flows and the collapse of the crowd,” says Still.
One sign that crowds are getting too dense is what is known as the “wheat field effect,” where people sway uncontrollably. He gives an example that can be seen online video of the 2005 Oasis concert in Manchester, England, just before a large wave swept through the crowd toward the stage.
The key to averting disaster, however, is that organizers must watch for density, and if it starts to get high, slow or stop the flow of people into the area. He said it would be much harder to reduce crowding once the situation became too dense.
However, if a venue is overcrowded, performers should stop and ask everyone to step back a bit. Over the years, a number of performers, including A$AP Rocky and Linkin Park, did exactly that.
If you’re in a crowd, Still says you can help stay safe by looking out for areas that are most likely to get crowded and finding ways to escape crowds if you don’t have enough personal space. .
You can learn more by viewing an interactive image here.
