Theory of Scale-Free Networks as a New Tool in Researching the Structure and Optimization of Spatial Planning

Abstract

The problems covered by this article refer to the possibility of connecting Barabási’s theory of scale-free networks with the concept of growth poles and the theory of spatial self-organization, the optimization of the landscape potential. It concerns also the possibility of transforming existing random networks of spatial connections into scale-free networks. The authors analyzed the possibilities for the formation (merging) of networks in geographical space according to agreed rules and simulated the spatial distribution of networks in regions to define their type and stages of formation of the centers. They also defined the correlation between the phenomenon of spatial self-organization and existing growth poles and the formation of spatial connection networks. The analyses carried out have shown that the spatial diffusion of rules of formation of networks leads to the formation of scale-free structures. The application of Barabási’s theory of scale-free networks in spatial analyses will make it possible to describe two hitherto separated issues relating to spatial management—the theory of spatial self-organization and the concept of growth poles—by means of one research tool. The use of assumptions of the scale-free network theory combined with the theory of spatial self-organization and the concept of growth poles should streamline the process of sustainable development planning for the area under analysis and make it possible to optimize the formation of the landscape.