Cite as: M. J. Anderson, D. A. F. Kiddle, & T. M. Logan (2022). The Underestimated Role of the Transportation Network: Improving Disaster & Community Resilience. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.
While numerous studies have been completed to understand the reliability and resilience of transport networks, current assessments often neglect two things: the wider objective of the network (which is to allow people to travel between destinations of interest) and the variety of needs (and therefore destinations) of the people that the network serves. Yet, the transport network is all-but redundant if there are no operable destinations. Without considering the operational status of destinations, fixation on the network’s functionality can lead to a distorted understanding of the impacts that a disruption has on access and community function. Therefore, to better understand the resilience of a transportation network and its impacts on a community we must reconsider and broaden the approach to measure that resilience.