Hierarchical Spatial Organization of Geographical Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hierarchical extension of the polygonality index to analyze and model geographical networks, linking topological and geometrical properties to understand network development dynamics.

Contribution

It presents a novel hierarchical polygonality index method for characterizing geographical networks and analyzing their development dynamics.

Findings

Method effectively characterizes synthetic geographical networks.

Links topological and geometrical properties to network development.

Provides insights into network evolution processes.

Abstract

In this work we propose the use of a hirarchical extension of the polygonality index as a means to characterize and model geographical networks: each node is associated with the spatial position of the nodes, while the edges of the network are defined by progressive connectivity adjacencies. Through the analysis of such networks, while relating its topological and geometrical properties, it is possible to obtain important indications about the development dynamics of the networks under analysis. The potential of the methodology is illustrated with respect to synthetic geographical networks.