Road network evolution in the urban and rural United States since 1900

Road networks represent a key component of human settlements, such as cities, towns, and villages, that mediate pollution and congestion, as well as economic development. However, little is known about the long-term development trajectories of road networks in rural and urban settings. We leverage n...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers, environment and urban systems environment and urban systems, 2022-07, Vol.95, p.101803, Article 101803
Main Authors: Burghardt, Keith, Uhl, Johannes H., Lerman, Kristina, Leyk, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cities
Counties
Economic development
Evolution
Human settlements
Network analysis
Networks
Pollution
Road network evolution
Roads & highways
Rural planning
Rural roads
Rural urban continuum
Spatial data
Urban development
Urban environments
Urban growth
Urban systems
Urbanization
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Summary:Road networks represent a key component of human settlements, such as cities, towns, and villages, that mediate pollution and congestion, as well as economic development. However, little is known about the long-term development trajectories of road networks in rural and urban settings. We leverage novel spatial data sources to reconstruct and analyze road networks in more than 850 US cities and over 2500 US counties since 1900. Our analysis reveals significant variations in the structure of roads both within cities and across the conterminous US. Despite differences in the evolution of these networks, there are commonalities and strong geographic patterns. These results persist across the rural-urban continuum and are therefore not just a product of accelerated urban growth. These findings refine and extend existing knowledge and illuminate the need for policies for urban and rural planning including the critical assessment of new development trends. [Display omitted] •Knowledge on the long-term evolution of road networks along the rural-urban gradient is scarce.•We integrate contemporary road network data and historical settlement layers.•We model historical road networks in urban and rural settlements within the conterminous United States.•We apply data-driven analysis to reveal long-term road network development patterns.•We find strong regional patterns and persistent trends in rural and urban areas.
ISSN:0198-9715
1873-7587
DOI:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2022.101803