Characterizing pedestrian scenes with discomfort index

Abstract

Walkable pedestrian environments have various benefits in health, sustainability, and economy. We measure the discomfort aspect of walking at different scenes in Quezon City by examining pedestrian dynamics from traffic videos. Pedestrian tracks are extracted and scored using a discomfort index based on acceleration and speed measurements. All investigated scenes have a high presence of people that can navigate at a walking pace and without much obstructions (low discomfort index). Activities with high discomfort index values are few and only found in situations that force interactions such as crowded pedestrian areas and busy intersections.