Scale-free Segregation in Transport Networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates the scale-free, segregated structure of transport networks, revealing a universal scaling invariance in their connectivity distributions, exemplified by Venice's canal network.

Contribution

It introduces a novel empirical method to analyze segregation in transport networks and demonstrates its applicability across different network types.

Findings

Transport networks exhibit scale-free segregation patterns.

The distribution of route lengths shows scaling invariance.

Venice's canal network exemplifies the observed phenomenon.

Abstract

Every route of a transport network approaching equilibrium can be represented by a vector of Euclidean space which length quantifies its segregation from the rest of the graph. We have empirically observed that the distribution of lengths over the edge connectivity in many transport networks exhibits scaling invariance phenomenon. We give an example of the canal network of Veneice to demonstrate our result. The method is applicable to any transport network.