Pathfinding and Evacuation Analysis for UC main campus south-east

Sergey Kahn. UC Main Campus, South-East.

Pathfinding and Evacuation Analysis

Location of the study are within the regional map

Visibility Graph

Sergey Kahn. UC Main Campus, South-East.

Agent Analysis

Sergey Kahn. UC Main Campus, South-East.

In doing a pathfinding and evacuation analysis of the south-east portion of the University of Cincinnati’s main campus, I was intrigued by the power of the visual diagram created for this kind of representation. Using geometry as a representation for movement creates a powerful effect when trying to emphasize the importance of movement over an area, even though movement is not a geometric activity but a linear one.

There was, however, one fault in the procedure for analyzing the path that, if noticed earlier, could have been corrected, but only by on-sight surveying. The area in question is predominately taken over by athletic fields, courts and stadiums of various kinds. One of the unique things about UC’s campus is the openness of these complexes and ease of access. For this reason, the shape file did not have certain barriers that may actually be important for a pathfinding and evacuation analysis.

For instance, the area that shows the most access and visibility is where the tennis courts are located. Although that space is accessible, there are six courts, which contain six nets. Even though these nets would not affect visibility, they would be a factor in evacuation, and so should be included in the analysis. There is also a baseball and soccer field, which have some kind of exterior fencing that should also have been included as well.

Overall, the map produced is still quite accurate, as it shows the majority of the flow is centered around the large open spaces created, in part, by Sheakley Lawn. However, in the future, I would go more in depth with the starting shape file to ensure greater accuracy, particularly when the function of this data is meant for something as important as studying pathfinding and evacuation in an emergency scenario.