Graph entropy as tool for understanding complex urban networks. The case of Ensenada city, Mexico

Abstract

Spatial structure of cities is the substratum over which human urban life develops. Understanding the relevance of the streets that form such substratum is fundamental to understand the movements of people in the city. Our purpose in this study is to propose and explore methods to find relevant streets sets that conforms the basis of complex urban networks. We used two methods based on previous work by Volchenkov and Blanchard (2008) and Shetty and Adibi (2005), and a method developed by us. To illustrate the use of these tools, we performed an analysis of the main streets network of the coastal city of Ensenada, Mexico.