Studying the Topology of Transportation Systems through Complex Networks: Handle with Care

The introduction of complex network concepts in the study of transportation systems has supposed a paradigm shift and has allowed understanding different transport phenomena as the emergent result of the interactions between the elements composing them. In spite of several notable achievements, lurking pitfalls are undermining the understanding of the topological characteristics of transportation systems. In this study, the authors analyze four of the most common ones, specifically related to the assessment of the scale-freeness of networks, the interpretation and comparison of topological metrics, the definition of a node ranking, and the analysis of the resilience against random failures and targeted attacks. For each topic the authors present the problem from both a theoretical and operational perspective, for then reviewing how it has been tackled in the literature and finally proposing a set of solutions. The authors further use six real-world transportation networks as case studies and discuss the implications of these four pitfalls in their analysis. the authors present some future lines of work that are stemming from these pitfalls and that will allow a deeper understanding of transportation systems from a complex network perspective.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3156137
• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3156137
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/5121625
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Copyright © 2018 Massimiliano Zanin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
• Authors:
  • Zanin, Massimiliano
  • Sun, Xiaoqian
  • Wandelt, Sebastian
• Publication Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Serial:
  • Journal of Advanced Transportation
  • Volume: 2018
  • Issue Number: Article ID 3156137
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0197-6729
  • EISSN: 2042-3195
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2042-3195
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Disaster resilience; Intermodal transportation; Mathematical models; Networks; Terrorism; Topology; Transportation modes; Transportation system management
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Security and Emergencies; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01682139
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 27 2018 4:11PM