Navigating the Night: An Agent-Based Model of Nighttime Pedestrian Behaviour

Abstract. Research in environmental psychology and safety science suggests that time of day largely impacts pedestrian spatial decisions in cities, influencing where and how people move. The cognition of the surrounding environment is altered by darkness, perception of safety, and the appeal of different routes. In this work, we present an Agent-Based Model (ABM) of pedestrian movement in cities that incorporates time-sensitive elements into the agents’ route choice behavioural mechanisms by considering urban form, nighttime potential vulnerability, and the impact of street lighting. Our preliminary findings indicate that nighttime pedestrian movements differ from daily patterns. Volumes of pedestrian agents moving after sunset tend to converge along the well-known minor roads in the historical city centre. Conversely, high concentrations along rivers and in proximity to parks and green areas, typical of daily movement flows, do not surface during the night. The ABM, although at an initial development stage and built on the basis of a few behavioural mechanisms, constitutes a promising tool to advance knowledge on route choice behaviour and, after adequate calibration and validation, may emerge as a potential tool to support policy making.