Is Faster Really Just Slower?

The project will focus on a civilian-based simulation that models pedestrian evacuation flow and dynamics in crowded and tight spaces during emergency scenarios. It will mainly focus on a phenomenon called the "Faster-is-Slower" effect in crowd physics. The primary objective or takeaway from this project  is to investigate how the strategic placement of architectural columns or pillars near narrow exit doors can help regulate high crowd volumes, reduce structural clogs, and overall decrease evacuation times.

During an emergency situation, panicked civilians will try to exit a room all at once towards a narrow exit. The problem is that this creates a competitive, vulnerable, and high-clogging zone directly in front of the door, forming an arch-like structural blockage that severely restricts outflow towards the outside.

The theory is that strategically placing a physical pillar or column between the start of the room or corridor and the exit door, it will split the incoming high-pressure civilian stream into two smaller, lower-volume streams. This arch-like shape can absorb the compressive physical pressure away from the doorway, preventing the formation of large clogging arches and structurally speeding up the total evacuation time.