The topology of urban road networks and its role to urban mobility

Abstract

This article studies how the topology of Urban Road Networks (URNs) is linked with socioeconomic aspects of their urban systems, aiming in revealing patterns that are related to urban mobility. The rationale of the study is based on the consideration that both the structure of urban networks and the conduct of urban mobility are controlled by complex mechanisms, where a primary driving factor affecting, either directly or indirectly, their planning, evolution and development is the existence of spatial constraints. The analysis examines how some fundamental network measures of global URNs studied in literature are related to socioeconomic indices and focuses on the case study of four URNs of the region of Thessaly, in Greece, where their socioeconomic framework is familiar. Overall, the analysis provides interesting insights about the effects of spatial constraints on the network topology, the magnitude of the examined URNs comparatively to global cases, the growth patterns between connectivity and distance and about how the network topology is related to urban mobility, population and market information. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.