Human-building-emergency interactions and their impact on emergency response performance: A review of the state of the art. (July 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhu, Runhe; Lin, Jing; Becerik-Gerber, Burcin; Li, Nan
• Is Part Of: Safety science. Volume 127(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-07
• Subjects: Human behavior -- Interaction -- Building emergency -- Literature review; Industrial accidents -- Periodicals; Accident Prevention -- Periodicals; Safety -- Periodicals; Travail -- Accidents -- Périodiques; 363.11
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ssci.2020.104691
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0925-7535

Abstract

Highlights: Human behavior during building emergencies is reviewed. Interdependence of humans, buildings, and emergencies is investigated. Interactions among humans, buildings, and emergencies should be further investigated. More validations of research findings in across conditions, cultures, emergencies are necessary. Strength of different research methods (experiments, drills, surveys, etc.) should be leveraged. Abstract: Human behavior is fundamental to human safety and the outcomes of building emergencies. It is correlated with social environments, building environments and emergency situations. This study presents a review about human - human interactions (i.e., interactions among people or groups of people and their influence on behavior during emergencies), human-building interactions (i.e., how buildings influence human behavior and how human behavior impacts the building performance during emergencies), human-emergency interactions (i.e., how emergency situations impact human behavior and people's coping strategies with emergencies), and second-order interactions among humans, buildings, and emergencies. The review reveals that while various human-human interactions among building occupants have been investigated, some of them (e.g., grouping behavior, information sharing) are less understood, and the interactions between building occupants and staff members need further explorations. With regard to human-building interactions, prior studies have been limited to certain types of buildings and building attributes, while the aggregate impact of a combination of building attributes should be more studied. Moreover, building fires were the most frequently examined emergency type, while other types of emergencies, such as earthquakes and acts of extreme violence, received less attention. Additionally, second-order interactions among humans, buildings and emergencies have not been widely studied. This paper also puts forward recommendations for future research, including validating prior findings when transforming them into real-world applications, leveraging the strength of different data collection and interpretation methods, as well as collaborating more closely with researchers and practitioners in related areas.