Transport Network and Infrastructure Planning

Accurate information on the location, type and condition of transport links is essential for network analysis and infrastructure planning. Access to this type of data allows planners to map differences in connectivity across an Area of Interest, especially in towns and cities, and understand where investments in extensions or improvements will create the greatest impact. Transport network data is also essential for transport modeling to identify existing bottlenecks and simulate the effect of network changes on overall transport efficiency and the cumulative decisions of network users. Finally, these datasets are also a vital component of disaster risk management as planners can simulate how road closures, for instance due to flooding, impact the network as a whole as well as efficiency of emergency response.

Geospatial datasets depicting a Transport Network are provided in vector format, consisting of segments or links connected via nodes. A wide range of attributes can be attached to each segment indicating, for instance, its name, type (road, rail, waterway), place in the road hierarchy (e.g. arterial, collector, local), width, type of surface, speed limit, access restrictions or direction of travel. Metadata such as this can be used by traffic modelling software and GIS applications, e.g. for creating more realistic isochrones (areas accessible from a certain starting point in a certain period of time using a chosen mode of transport).

Especially in inaccessible areas with insufficient or no data on the existing transport network, Earth Observation data can support government, academia and civil society in filling in these data gaps for a wide variety of use cases, especially in combination with other EO-derived datasets such as Population Density, Built-up Extent or Land Use Land Cover.