Chapter Three - Methods for Vulnerability Analysis

Abstract

Chapter 3 introduces the aims and objectives for vulnerability analysis of transportation networks, casting these in terms of the nature of travel demand as a derived demand with the transportation system facilitating economic, commercial and social activities in society and the communities of that society. It outlines four main approaches to vulnerability analysis: (1) risk-based assessment which considers the vulnerability of individual components of the network, (2) topologically based analysis which examines the structure of networks and identifies critical locations based on their importance to the functioning of the network when under stress, (3) serviceability-based vulnerability, which considers the physical nature of the transport network as well as its connectivity and seeks to identify locations where the efficient operation of the transportation system will be impaired by network failures, and (4) accessibility-based vulnerability, which considers the network locations where failure stands to have the widest economic and social consequences. The first two of these methods are described in some detail. For the latter pair, the discussion in this chapter focuses on the background knowledge required for serviceability and accessibility analysis, as these two methods are described in their own rights in Chapters 4 and 5Chapter 4Chapter 5.