Assessment of Topological Pattern of Urban Road Transport System of Calicut City

Abstract

A good road transport system can bring several benefits to a developing country since transportation is an engine for economic and social progress. The huge developmental cost of the transport system demands effective utilisation, which can be attained only when there is proper connectivity. Hence a great emphasis needs to be given to the layout and connectivity of the transport system. Urban road transport system has less theoretical research. Only some developed countries have performed urban transport system evaluation and hence it has great potential for development and application prospects.This study assessed the relationship between connectivity and development of the transport system of Calicut city using GIS. Road Network Development in kilometre per square kilometre varies from 1.20 to 16.53 with mean 5.99. Road development can be used as an indicator of urban development within a region, which in turn depends on the transport system connectivity. Based on this study it can be concluded that road transport system development is directly varying with transport system connectivity. This means that there is significant relationship between the level of road transport system connectivity and network development within the study area. On comparing the connectivity of the city as a whole with that of each of the zones, it is seen that the road transport system is not distributed in an even manner throughout the city. In fact the zones near the Central Business District have high connectivity and development, while the outer suburban zones have very less transport system development.