Hierarchical Representation of Urban Road Network Based on Topological Intensity

Complex network theory is an important topological analytic for networks. Current work applies complex network theory to address the entire topology of an urban road network but lacks capability to measure the influence of each road segment in maintaining the entire road network topology connectivity. In this article, a hierarchical representation model of road network topology intensity is proposed. The importance of the role each road segment plays in maintaining the topology connectivity of the entire network, topology intensity, is determined. Street networks are represented as a hierarchical model based on topology intensity. Experiments were conducted with the street networks of Changsha city. The rationality and the effectiveness of the hierarchical representation model were validated from an analysis of the experimental results.