Behavioral crowds: Theory, applications and research perspectives

This special issue explores recent advances in the modeling, analysis, and simulation of collective dynamics across complex living systems in physics, engineering, and the life sciences. The collected papers present innovative approaches to understanding emergent behaviors in these systems, ranging from novel mathematical frameworks to computational methods. Our editorial synthesizes the key themes and findings presented in the papers, highlighting their interconnections and broader implications for the field. We begin by outlining the scope and goals of this special issue, followed by a critical analysis of the scientific contributions of each article, and conclude with an examination of promising future research directions in complex systems modeling.