Measuring urban road network vulnerability to extreme events: An application for urban floods

This paper aims to propose a convenient metric to evaluate the vulnerability of road networks to extreme events in small to medium-sized cities. We present the efficiency of alternative metric, which centers on how obstructions caused by a disaster tends to increase path lengths in the system. A case study was conducted as proof of concept to evaluate the impact of floods on individual modes of transportation in Sa?o Carlos, a medium-sized city in Brazil. The results show that walking and cycling tend to be more robust modes in the city while motorized individual transport tends to be more vulnerable and show that longer trips tend to be more vulnerable to floods, evidencing that car-oriented policy can worsen the network?s vulnerabilities. In contrast, compact city planning that encourages walking or cycling for relatively short distances may be more resilient to flooding.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a convenient metric for assessing the vulnerability of road networks in small to medium-sized cities, focusing on how obstructions from disasters can increase path lengths. A case study in Sa?o Carlos, Brazil, demonstrates that walking and cycling are more robust modes of transportation compared to motorized individual transport, highlighting the importance of compact city planning to make cities more resilient to floods.