Connectivity

Connectivity describes how well the paths in a network connect to one another. The usual measures are path density and intersection density: many short blocks with many junctions means high connectivity, while long blocks and cul-de-sacs mean low connectivity even when the streets themselves are perfectly good.

It matters because it decides the gap between straight line distance and real travel time. The main obstacles are the large ones: rivers, railway lines and motorways, which can put two places three hundred metres apart twenty minutes apart on foot. Cul-de-sac layouts do the same at a smaller scale, repeatedly.

Connectivity matters most for walking and cycling, because those modes are the ones that notice a detour. A driver absorbs an extra kilometre without much thought. Someone walking does not, and a detour that doubles the trip often means the trip is not made. This is why connectivity analysis is a core part of active mobility planning and why it appears as an accessibility indicator in its own right rather than only as an input.