Consistency of Urban Roads to Manage Emergencies: Methodology to Identify the Minimum Network with Total Connectivity at Maximum Availability

Abstract

Natural disasters happen without warning; it is normally impossible to predict when they will occur, but it is necessary that rescue services reach the disaster site and manage the emergency. This paper proposes an innovative methodology to summarize seismic effects on road, building, and land factors in urban areas. The existing road network is modelled through the graph theory: the arcs represent the main infrastructures, while the nodes represent both the primary strategic buildings and the intersections between the main roads. Therefore, the quantitative approach takes into account the existing road network, the focal areas that play a strategic role during emergency, and their relationship with buildings and territory. The results enable the identification of the minimum urban structure (MUS) with total connectivity at maximum availability. These structures were composed of the paths that will be the priority choice for emergency vehicles after an earthquake. The proposed approach has been implemented to identify the MUS in a medium-size Italian urban center (Pomezia) in the event of a critical earthquake. The methodology is easy to apply and could represent an ideal tool in the preliminary phase of analysis of an urban road network to define new city plans through targeted territorial design, to facilitate decision makers in investment choices, to increase the road network consistency, and to implement emergency plans after natural disasters.