GIS-based Network Analysis Research Articles

Measuring GIS-based pedestrian accessibility to bus stops: a sustainable approach to ease urban traffic problems at Hyderabad, Pakistan

Public transport stops played a pivotal role in accessing essential locations. It is always appealing for commuters if the transport stops are accessible within walking distance. However, people are facing difficulties in accessing transport stops in Hyderabad; the 8th largest settlement in Pakistan and ranked 2nd in the Sindh Province. The modern approach of network analysis in ArcGIS-10.8 was executed to evaluate the accessibility of current public routes. For the very first time, it was revealed that 53.5% (5 min) of the stops were very accessible. The rest of the 29.3% (10 min), 11.03% (15 min), and 6.17% (20 min or longer) were rated as moderately accessible, poorly accessible, and inaccessible, respectively. Commuters took 5 to 10 min to reach a public transit stop in the inner-city areas and central business district that were distanced between 500 and 800 m. Getting to a stop 1600 m away, however, required more than a 20-min walk. The questionnaire survey with a sample size of 400 was conducted to judge people’s attitudes toward the use of public transport services. The poll clarified travel accessibility issues that plagued Hyderabad's public transport system. The novel tactic of GIS-based network analysis with people's perception was implemented to eradicate pedestrians' accessibility issues while accessing bus stops at Hyderabad, which is rarely employed in developing countries. The results may assist transport planners in reconfiguring the route network system in Hyderabad and the rest of the congested urban centers of the globe. The study findings may also contribute to SDG-11, i.e., sustainable development of cities and communities.

A geospatial perspective of flood risk hotspots, transport networks and emergency response services in Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACT This paper adds to existing knowledge about flood management in Accra and contributes insights into emergency responses to major flood events in a geospatial context. The study identifies and analyses the specific routes from the facilities of emergency responders to designated flood-prone areas within four sites in the peripheral areas of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. Flood hotspots were ascertained from several sources including local knowledge and bluespot maps derived from a 10 m resolution elevation model. GIS-based network analysis was used to determine the fastest routes from emergency responder facilities to flood hotspots, based on OpenStreetMap data. Interviews revealed that the computed routes are unsuitable for emergency services due to narrow passages and prevailing conditions during the floods. It is necessary to incorporate the individual responder’s knowledge gained through familiarization with the local terrain to identify the optimal routes. The study further analysed the accessibility of emergency response services using indicative service area maps that present an account of time-distance from various emergency responders’ bases. Finally, the study recommends the need for better planning of the expanding areas of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, in terms of accessibility for emergency responders.

Study on the Spatial Arrangement of Urban Parkland under the Perspective of Equity—Taking Harbin Main City as an Example

The connotation and measurement standard of “fairness” in parkland planning is closely related to the level of urban development and residents’ needs, with solid realism and dynamics, and it is still a complex problem to control accurately in planning. Therefore, to conduct a more comprehensive study, taking the main urban area of Harbin as an example, this paper combined urban development background and practical problems at different stages and, based on POI and AOI data, divided the connotation of “equity” in park green space planning into two levels: “spatial equity” and “social equity”. Based on these two levels of fairness, the research framework of urban park green space layout is constructed. Kernel density estimation and GIS-based network analysis were used to study the spatial layout and accessibility of urban parkland. The ability to match supply and demand for parkland in the study area as a whole was analyzed using a gridded two-step moving search method, as well as the degree of equity in the enjoyment of urban parkland by vulnerable groups including the elderly and children using the Lorenz curve with the Gini coefficient, the share index, and the entropy of the locality. The results show that: (1) the parkland is concentrated in the seven main urban areas of the two–two junctions, and the cohesion distribution trend is outside the distribution. (2) Motorized vehicles have the best 15-min accessibility for travel, but it still does not cover all the parkland. (3) Supply and demand within the region are unsatisfactory, with the area with the strongest supply and demand capacity for parkland accounting for only 3.19% of the total area. (4) The Gini coefficient of parkland enjoyed by the residents of Harbin city center is 0.407, with a massive gap in the overall distribution. In addition, the share index of vulnerable groups of the elderly and children all have share indices below 1, and the results of the analysis of locational entropy indicate that the level of street park green space resources enjoyed by these two groups belongs to the low socio-spatial equity pattern, which is not balanced. This study investigates the spatial layout of urban parkland from two equity levels, which can provide new ideas for the equity study of urban green space planning.

Accessibility assessment of urban public services using GIS-based network analysis: a case study in Eskişehir, Türkiye

Accessibility assessment of urban public services using GIS-based network analysis: a case study in Eskişehir, Türkiye

Emergency Response Demand and Supply: A GIS-Based Network Analysis for Fire Station’s Service Coverage Delineation in Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

Inadequate fire emergency response infrastructure and a lack of defined service coverage remain key barriers to timely fire disaster response. This study is applied research which employed geospatial techniques and aimed at examining fire disaster emergency response demand and supply relationships with the view to delineating service coverage and locating more facilities for optimum coverage in Kano metropolis. Locations of the existing fire stations and fire incidents (2009-2019) were gathered through GPS surveying. Network data set were generated. Nearest Neighbor and Network Analysis (origin-destination, service coverage and location-allocation) were conducted to determine emergency response demand and supply relationships, service coverage area delineation and identifying best site for allocating new facilities within the metropolis respectively. It was found that no clearly defined service coverage exist as emergency response supply takes more than 4-8 times the NFPA travel standard, and with a great deal of overlapping response patterns. New service coverage areas were proposed and best sites for 8 firefighting facilities identified for optimum coverage. It is concluded that emergency fire disaster response demand and supply relationships within Kano metropolis is imbalanced, with extensive recurrent demand especially within the core area served by overstretched and inefficient response supply. This, therefore, implies continuous exposure of lives and properties to the menace of fire disaster in Kano metropolis.
 Keywords: Fire Facilities; Location-allocation; Response Demand; Response Supply; Service Coverage
 
 Copyright (c) 2023 Geosfera Indonesia and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember
 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International License

Rural Slow Routes as Connectors of Local Communities for the Promotion of Place Identity

European, national, and regional policies have promoted slow routes in recent decades. This paper aims to define a multi-scale method to use these routes to promote the identities of rural places. The method develops (i) a GIS-based network analysis to define the boundaries of the service area of the route and then (ii) a participatory strategy to promote its rural identity. Furthermore, this paper studies the quality criteria for slow European routes (iii) to define quality criteria specifically for rural slow routes and to connect the case study to the broader European network. The results show that the European certification standard of EuroVelo is a valid document to evaluate the quality of slow routes in rural contexts. The case study is a slow route along the Trasimeno lake (Italy), 61 km long, called the Trasimeno ring. The service area of the route has a surface of 325 km2 and is defined as the surface that can be reached with detours from the route not exceeding 5 km along rural roads with low traffic (max 2000 v/d) and gentle slopes (maximum gradient of 15% and a cumulative elevation change for every kilometer of the road lower than 50 m). The participatory process was developed for one municipality (15.35% of the service area) with 326 km of rural streets and 35 activities linked to agriculture. In total, 80% of the rural stakeholders participated in building an online collaborative map to promote the area. The results show that rural stakeholders evaluate collaborative maps as an effective strategy for encouraging tourists and inhabitants to discover, use and respect rural place identities.

Using GIS-based Network Analysis to Evaluate the Accessible Forest Areas Considering Forest Fires: The Case of Sarajevo

The forest fire is one of the greatest environmental disasters in forest ecosystems. In order to effectively fight against forest fires, the ground team needs to access fire areas immediately and start firefighting within critical response time. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the forest areas where the ground team can reach in critical response time. In this study, the GIS-based network analysis method was used to evaluate the capabilities of the ground team to arrive at forest areas promptly, considering the forested areas in Canton Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the solution process, the effectiveness of establishing new fire stations (20) was evaluated by comparing the results obtained in the case where only the former stations (12) were taken into account. The optimal route and associated response times of firefighting teams to potential fire areas were generated considering the previously occurred forest fires (58 fires) in the region. The results indicated that about 18% of the forested areas were accessible considering the former fire station while accessible forest areas increased up to 45% considering the new stations. When analyzing the previously occurred forest fires, it was found that 33 fires were reached in the critical response time considering former fire stations. On the other hand, the accessible forest fires increased up to 56 fires for the case of new fire stations in the region.

Green space accessibility in Europe: a comparative study of five major cities

ABSTRACT In the current era of climate breakdown, access to green space is not optional – it is vital. This study investigates the current disparities in urban green space access in five medium-sized European cities: Birmingham, Brussels, Milan, Prague and Stockholm. Through a GIS-based network analysis, we explore whether disparities in urban green space access (1) relate to income inequalities within cities and/or (2) are based on a city’s regional location within Europe. We find that Prague presents the highest green space accessibility, followed by Stockholm, Brussels, Birmingham, and finally Milan. Higher-income residents have more access to green space in Brussels, Milan, Prague, and Stockholm. In Birmingham, however, lower-income neighbourhoods presented higher green accessibility. Urban green spaces were distributed differently across the various European regions, each of which has a unique history and planning culture. Urban planners are challenged to redress these disparities – while considering the unique environmental, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of each place.

A spatial accessibility assessment of urban tourist attractions emergency response in Shanghai

Tourism is particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. This paper presents a scenario-based study that assesses the spatial accessibility of urban tourist attractions' emergency response to urban pluvial flooding in Shanghai's city center, China, through the combination of flood hazard analysis and GIS-based network analysis. Emergency coverages and response times in various traffic conditions are quantified to assess tourist attractions' spatial accessibility using the water level conditions in the years of 2010, 2030, and 2050, normal flood-free, 100-year, and 1000-year flood scenarios. The findings indicate that the scope and depth of flooding, road traffic conditions, and the number and location of emergency medical service (EMS) jointly determine the scope and response time of urban flood hazard medical emergency services. Under flood scenarios, part of the road network is paralyzed, traffic is interrupted, and emergency vehicles cannot pass, resulting in a significantly smaller range of EMS space accessibility than usual. Under the 1000-year flood scenario, up to 22% of tourist attractions cannot obtain emergency services within 15 min. The method proposed in this paper can provide a decision-making basis for the emergency management of tourism under urban flood hazards.

GIS-based Network Analysis for the Understanding of Aggregate Resources Supply-demand and Distribution in 2018

GIS-based Network Analysis for the Understanding of Aggregate Resources Supply-demand and Distribution in 2018

Assessing critical infrastructure resilience in terms of its service-providing capacity in coastal Bangladesh: A synthesis of geospatial techniques and social responses

Lack of adequate infrastructure, especially in the coastal regions of developing countries, limits the capacity of households to prevent, cope with, and recover from the adverse effects of natural hazards. The services provided by critical infrastructure (CI) contribute to the overall resilience of marginalized coastal households to natural hazards. CI, in turn, may itself be resilient (or not). Resilient CI is capable of providing services to meet the community's demand for that service. This research developed and tested an innovative framework for assessing CI resilience in terms of services it was capable to provide to coastal residents in three separate phases (before, during, and after) of Cyclone Sidr, using empirical evidence from a coastal sub-district of Bangladesh. The disaster-phase-wise level of demand for these services was identified using GIS-based network analysis combined with community rankings of service importance across the disaster phases. Households were surveyed to determine whether they were able to procure CI services in each phase. A comparison of service demand levels with success in procuring CI services was used to assess CI resilience. The results revealed spatio-temporal variation in the service provision of existing CI units to households in the study area. A mixed trend was indicated: less exposed communities contained a somewhat higher percentage of service-receiving households than more exposed communities during the pre- and post-disaster phases, whereas the percentage was higher in the more exposed communities during the syn-disaster phase. This approach has the potential to determine whether the existing CI in a community is resilient enough to support the population in the different phases of a cyclone. The results could guide planners to bolster CI resilience for communities, thereby also improving community resilience to natural hazards.

Assessment of Accessibility of Public bus Transportation in Durban by GIS-based Network Analysis

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Finding an Optimal Path With Hospital Information System Using GIS-based Network Analysis

In the midst of the viral outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the foremost important thing for every person is to have information about the health care facilities in their nearby locations. Along with it is also important to know the accurate route information to reach the health care unit. Especially in a country like India, with a high population rate, the transport network becomes complicated and massive. As the Indian government has started the process of unlocking in most parts of India, which is likely to increase the complication of finding the proper route to visit unfamiliar parts of the metropolis. In the pandemic situation, it becomes even important for the person to locate the specialized hospital and obtain its shortest path to reach in a minimum time period. This paper addresses the problem by evaluating the shortest path facility for finding the nearest emergency location from a defined user’s location. The study uses a GIS-based map and Dijkstra’s algorithm to identify the shortest route.

CBS TABANLI AĞ ANALİZİ YÖNTEMİ KULLANILARAK YANGIN İLK MÜDAHALE EKİPLERİNİN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

The forest areas located along the coastline of the Mediterranean region in Turkey are sensitive to forest fires in the first degree. According to the fire statistics, about 21000 hectares of forest areas are damaged by forest fires annually. In order to fight forest fires effectively, the firefighting teams should reach the fire location and start fire extinguishing activities within the critical response time. GIS-based network analysis method can be used to evaluate the performance of the firefighting teams in a specified area. In this study, the locations of three firefighting teams within and around Yayla Forest Enterprise Chief (FEC) in the city of Balıkesir in Turkey was evaluated using "Network Analyst" module of ArcGIS software. In the first step, the optimum routes which provided the fastest access from the locations of firefighting teams to the possible fire areas were determined by using “New Closest Facility” method under "Network Analyst" module. Then, “New Service Area” method under the same module was used to calculate how far the firefighting teams can reach in the study area within a specific critical response time. It was found that 16 out of 19 potential fire areas could be reached by the teams within the critical response time. In addition, 83% of the forest areas in Yayla FEC was found to be reachable by the firefighting teams within the critical response time. The results suggested that the locations of the firefighting teams were found to be suitable for effective firefighting activities in the study area.

Availability and Accessibility of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash for its Utilization in Indian Cement Plants: A GIS-Based Network Analysis

Sugarcane bagasse ash is an abundantly available waste material from sugar plants in India. Even though the beneficial properties of bagasse ash as a cement replacement material have been reported in several studies, its large-scale utilization in Indian cement plants is not yet achieved. This is partly due to a lack of proper quantification of the available sugarcane bagasse ash and its accessibility from sugar plants to the existing cement plants. A detailed sugarcane bagasse ash availability database in the five major sugar-producing states and their precise geographical distribution have been presented in this study. The proximity of the bagasse ash sources to existing cement plants in these five states is quantified using a GIS-based network analysis approach. Additionally, the accessibility of bagasse ash is compared with currently used fly ash and slag. Results from the study show that the probability of finding a bagasse ash source at near distances from cement plants is higher than the probability of having fly ash or slag sources in three out of the five states considered in the study.

Using GIS-based multicriteria decision support system for planning road networks with visual quality constraints: a case study of protected areas in Ankara, Turkey.

Protected areas are important zones due to their natural and cultural assets and their biodiversity preservation functions. Ecotourism activities in these areas have gained great importance for visitors in recent decades. Road networks established in protected areas have ecotourism-related functions, such as providing visitors with continuous access to/within these areas and offering visual richness to visitors while cruising on the roads. Road network planning that prioritizes visual quality is one of the scientific issues discussed today regarding the sustainable management of protected areas. This study focuses on planning new road networks that prioritize visual quality in protected areas and determining the optimum route that maximizes the visual quality experience of visitors. The study area was selected from the protected areas between the Kızılcahamam and Çamlıdere Districts of Ankara, Turkey, and their surroundings. In the model application, a road network was planned using the multicriteria decision support system (MDSS) method by considering visual quality parameters. In this stage, the road network that prioritized visual quality during spring and autumn seasons was investigated. Hence, weighted linear combination (WLC) was used as a geographic information system (GIS)-based MDSS method. Then, the GIS-based network analysis method was used to determine the optimum route that provided access to the scenic viewpoints (existing and proposed viewpoints) in the study area and maximized the visual quality during both seasons. In the new road network planned by considering the visual quality parameters, the total road length was calculated as 121.21km for the spring and 129.47km for the autumn. The lengths of the optimum routes that allowed visitors to reach the scenic viewpoints and ensured the maximum visual quality were 30.91km and 30.70km on the new road network for the spring and autumn seasons, respectively. This study introduced a new methodology that utilized GIS-based decision support systems to plan a road network that prioritized visual quality and determined the optimum route with the maximum visual quality. It is anticipated that this methodology can be used for sustainable management and effective planning of protected areas to reach and protect resources with high visual quality.

The Geography of Farmworker Health in Colorado: An Examination of Disease Clusters and Healthcare Accessibility

ABSTRACT Background: Known by some as the “invisible” people because of their precarious work and low social status, migratory and seasonal farmworkers (MSFW) are a critical and underappreciated component to the agriculture industry in the United States. Despite advances in knowledge about the health needs of this population, identifying geographies of high-risk remains a challenging task for community health workers and farmworker advocacy organizations. Methods: Using patient encounter data (2011–2015) from regional Community and Migrant Health Centers (C/MHC), this study investigates the geography of farmworker chronic disease (diabetes, obesity, hypertension) and associated risk factors (anxiety, stress, depression, tobacco use) in Northeastern Colorado through the lens of Geographic Information Science (GIS). Results: Spatial scan statistics (SaTScan) identified disease cluster hot spots in 151 zip codes and chronic disease risk factor clusters in 44 zip codes. Additionally, 13487 farmworkers or 82% of the total population is found in zip codes designated as chronic disease hot spots, while 10,115 or 62% of the population reside in zip codes identified as risk factor hot spots. GIS-based Network Analysis determined that 1,269 farmworkers lived greater than 30 minutes from a C/MHC, or 7.7% of the total population in the study area (n = 16,419). Conclusions: The findings of this study confirm the need for geospatial analytics in farmworker population healthcare management. These methods, combined with multiple contextual and methodological perspectives, will inform appropriate outreach, research, and policy strategies, and further, serve to address the unique geographic challenges facing MSFW’s in Northeastern Colorado.

GIS-based Network Analysis of North Korea’s Transportation Infrastructure for the Trade of Mineral Resources in North Korea

GIS-based Network Analysis of North Korea’s Transportation Infrastructure for the Trade of Mineral Resources in North Korea

Rolling coal: The greenhouse gas emissions of coal rail transport for electricity generation

This study analyzes datasets from the Energy Information Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey to build a detailed picture of the CO2-eq emissions generated by coal rail transportation over the past decade. We use a GIS-based network analysis to illustrate how coal transportation routes and shipments have changed since 2008. Coal basins are characterized by type and emission intensities, and the scale of transportation emissions are compared to power plant operational emissions. The results show that rail transportation distances range from 0 km to over 3500 km. Transportation emissions can be as high as 35% of a power plant’s operational emissions – a number significantly higher than previous literature estimates. Additionally, implementation of post-combustion Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) at existing plants may further increase transportation emissions. We conclude by recommending using at least regionalized distance factors rather than US-wide averages to more accurately account for transportation emissions within life cycle assessments and carbon footprints of coal power.

GIS-based Network Analysis for Optimisation of Public Facilities Closure: A Study on Libraries in Leicestershire, United Kingdom

Many public facilities in the United Kingdom are being closed without consideration to their users, leading to social exclusion. Hence, this study investigated the use of geographical information systems (GIS) in identifying public facilities which can be closed while saving cost and minimizing distance, using the libraries in Leicestershire as case study. Data for the study were obtained from secondary sources through the internet. This study used the location-allocation tool model, within the geographical information environment, to identify a set of libraries that should be closed in Leicestershire to save 20% cost and optimised for the needs of unemployed people, children of school age and pensioners (people over 65 years). Based on these considerations, the study identified the following ten libraries for closure: Barwell, Blaby, Cosby, Desford, Enderby, Groby, Hathern, Kirby Muxloe, Mounstsorrel and Sapcote. If this is adopted, it therefore means that the distance that users will need to travel from their homes to libraries in the new order would have been minimised and access not denied. This study has therefore demonstrated the use of GIS in decision making. This method is an innovation in the use of the model and should be used to evaluate library accessibility and identify those that could be closed without much negative impacts at the national level and for other facilities elsewhere.