Which Country's Expressway Network Has been Better Developed? A Methodology of Macroscopic International Comparison under Geographic, Demographic and Economic Differences

Abstract

A scientific methodology specified by Normalized Development Level (NDL) for international comparison of the accessibility in expressway network is developed with consideration of the difference of countries in their area, population, economic development level, geographical conditions including seismic risk, which is applied to time series data of various countries over the world including EASTS’ member states. Furthermore, an index to measure the regional balance of expressway development: Regional Balance Index (RBI) is also proposed based on the calculated results of NDL and applied to the time series data in Japan, US and EU. This comparison approach based on a simplified theory which can be widely applicable even for countries and regions with limited data-availability seems practically useful for evaluating of current situations in different countries, different regions, and different times comparatively, for reviewing history of development, and for discussing direction of long-term development policy of expressway network for the future.