Distribution of shoppers in multi-layered shopping complex: Estimation of shopper density considering escalators, elevators, stairs

Today, complex commercial facilities are being developed that have many elevators, escalators, and stairs and comprises multilayered floors; the number of such facilities is increasing in large cities due to the compactification and densification of cities. These commercial facilities are similar to those in a three-dimensional space such as a town. We investigated the relationship between the space configuration of a facility that is complex, similar to a three-dimensional town, and the distribution of shoppers in this space. The target facility is Bay-Quarter, which is adjacent to Yokohama Station in Kanagawa pref. Japan. In Bay-Quarter, circulation paths are outdoor space. Moreover, many vertical paths such as elevators, escalators, and stairs constitute a complicated space that connects those circulation paths up and down. We considered how complicated and multilayered space configuration influences shopper dispersal by investigating the distribution of shoppers in Bay-Quarter and formulating equations for those distributions. First, we investigated 1.) the distribution of walkers in all circulation paths and 2.) the number of visitors in all stores to understand the distribution of shoppers in the target facility. The researcher walked through the facility and recorded the distribution of walkers by taking snapshots, and counted the number of visitors in each shop. We divided the target facility into 335 convex spaces and totalled the number of shoppers in each convex space, as well as calculated the population densities in each circulation path and in each shop. Next, we analysed the spatial configuration of the target facility using Convex Analysis, Axial Analysis, and Visibility Graph Analysis from space syntax theory to understand the spatial character, and calculated the indices of the spatial configuration by space syntax. In the analysis, we distinguished non-vertical movement from vertical movement and adjusted each step number based on the accessibility and visibility of the escalator, elevator, and stairs. We treated convex spaces as units of analysis and analysed the relationship between ten types of space syntax indices, including Isovist and walker density and visitor density in each shop. Through multiple regression analysis that assumed walker density as a dependent variable, we revealed that the integration value of space and the "closeness to the nearest escalator" influence the distribution of walkers in circulation paths. Using a multiple regression analysis with visitor density in shops spaces as a dependent variable, we revealed that the visitor density in some stores is significantly estimated. The "area of the field of vision range from the shop window" and the "length of the shop window" affect the number of visitors in retail stores, whereas no indices of spatial configuration influence the number of visitors in the restaurants and service shops.