Scale Invariance in Road Networks

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dc.creatorKalapala, Vamsi
dc.creatorSanwalani, Vishal
dc.creatorClauset, Aaron
dc.creatorMoore, Cristopher
dc.date2005-10-21
dc.date2006-03-08
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T09:31:47Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T09:31:47Z
dc.descriptionWe study the topological and geographic structure of the national road networks of the United States, England and Denmark. By transforming these networks into their dual representation, where roads are vertices and an edge connects two vertices if the corresponding roads ever intersect, we show that they exhibit both topological and geographic scale invariance. That is, we show that for sufficiently large geographic areas, the dual degree distribution follows a power law with exponent 2.2 < alpha < 2.4, and that journeys, regardless of their length, have a largely identical structure. To explain these properties, we introduce and analyze a simple fractal model of road placement that reproduces the observed structure, and suggests a testable connection between the scaling exponent alpha and the fractal dimensions governing the placement of roads and intersections.
dc.description6 pages, 10 figures; revision incorporates more rigorous statistical analyses; matches journal version
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0510198
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0510198
dc.identifierPhys. Rev. E 73, 026130 (2006)
dc.identifierdoi:10.1103/PhysRevE.73.026130
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/158585
dc.subjectPhysics and Society
dc.subjectData Analysis, Statistics and Probability
dc.titleScale Invariance in Road Networks
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