The spatial structure of networks

TL;DR

This paper investigates the unique spatial structures of geographic networks like transportation and Internet systems, explaining their shapes through a cost-benefit optimization model.

Contribution

It introduces a simple Monte Carlo-based model that captures the qualitative features of geographic networks influenced by topography and use patterns.

Findings

Geographic networks exhibit distinct shapes influenced by topography.

A cost-benefit optimization model reproduces key network features.

Networks differ significantly from non-geographic networks.

Abstract

We study networks that connect points in geographic space, such as transportation networks and the Internet. We find that there are strong signatures in these networks of topography and use patterns, giving the networks shapes that are quite distinct from one another and from non-geographic networks. We offer an explanation of these differences in terms of the costs and benefits of transportation and communication, and give a simple model based on the Monte Carlo optimization of these costs and benefits that reproduces well the qualitative features of the networks studied.