On the efficiency of transportation systems in large cities

¹ Institute of Physics at São Carlos, University of São Paulo - São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
² National Institute of Science and Technology for Complex Systems - Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
³ Faculty of Computing, Federal University of Uberlândia - Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
⁴ Urban Design Studies Unit, Department of Architecture, University of Strathclyde - Glasgow, UK, EU

^a luciano@if.sc.usp.br

Received: 21 December 2009
Accepted: 23 June 2010

Abstract

We report an analysis of the accessibility between different locations in big cities, which is illustrated with respect to London and Paris. The effects of the respective underground systems in facilitating more uniform access to diverse places are also quantified and investigated. It is shown that London and Paris have markedly different patterns of accessibility, as a consequence of the number of bridges and large parks of London, and that in both cases the respective underground systems imply in general, thought in distinct manners, an increase of accessibility.