Accessibility models based on the gravity analogy: In theory and practice

Abstract

The most commonly applied types of accessibility models are based on the gravity analogy. In these models, researchers use different types of resistance factors, but they rarely give any elaborate explanation for their choice of a specific type of factor in their research. Another problem with this kind of analysis is that in many cases, the authors do not describe precisely how they determine the constants for a line of calculations in a given model. Thus, the results cannot be fully accepted since they cannot be reproduced by the reader. Finally, we consider it to be yet another huge problem that the results of the models are rarely compared to the real (for example traffic) parameters, therefore, it is also impossible to detect what would happen if the researcher used a different model. In this study, we tried to line up the most commonly used models, and by enlightening the resistance factors, examine their possible usage and their boundaries through exact Hungarian examples.