So close, yet so far: A new method for identification of high-impact missing links in pedestrian networks

Post-war suburban development is often characterized by a disconnected pod-and-collector street pattern. This creates significant barriers to active travel, forcing even short trips to take roundabout routes on busy arterial roads. However, it also creates a network of low-stress neighborhood streets. We hypothesize that there are many opportunities to add short, low-cost pedestrian and bicycle links to these street networks to increase connectivity.

A key challenge is identifying these links. While planners have a good idea of where major infrastructure investments are beneficial, they are unlikely to be familiar with every neighborhood street and potential connections between them. We introduce an algorithm to automatically and efficiently identify potential new links based only on existing network topology, with no need to prespecify potential projects. We score these links based on their contribution to accessibility. We apply this algorithm to the pedestrian network of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, and find opportunities to improve connectivity through new links and safe crossings of major roads.