Statistical Characteristics and Community Analysis of Urban Road Networks

Abstract

Urban road networks are typical complex systems, which are crucial to our society and economy. In this study, topological characteristics of a number of urban road networks purely based on physical roads rather than routes of vehicles or buses are investigated in order to discover underlying unique structural features, particularly compared to other types of transport networks. Based on these topological indices, correlations between topological indices and small-worldness of urban road networks are also explored. The finding shows that there is no significant small-worldness for urban road networks, which is apparently different from other transport networks. Following this, community detection of urban road networks is conducted. The results reveal that communities and hierarchy of urban road networks tend to follow a general nature rule.