Fouloscopie

Le comportement des foules en conditions EXTRÊMES

In the early 1960s, urban planner John Freen pioneered a scientific approach to understanding crowd dynamics, moving beyond mere aesthetics. Through extensive time-lapse photography and meticulous data collection in the New York subway, Freen observed a mathematical relationship between crowd density and movement speed. At low densities, speeds were variable, averaging 1.4 m/s. However, as density increased, movement became slower and more uniform, with speeds dropping significantly. This discovery, termed a fundamental diagram, revealed that crowd speed is inextricably linked to density. Freen's work sparked further research globally, confirming this relationship across various cities like Tokyo and Paris, and even extending to car traffic. The consistent pattern across different contexts suggested a fundamental law governing collective movement. Freen is now considered a pioneer in this modern scientific discipline.