Assessment of settlements` centrality in Botosani county using Shimbel index

Abstract

Having its origins in social sciences, the concept of centrality has gained an important role in studying the spatial networks at different spatial scales. This paper examines the different facets of centrality and analyses the degree of centrality for the settlements with administrative role in one of the least central counties in Romania, the Botosani County. Starting from the road network in this county, the Shimbel index is calculated for road and straight line distances between the nodes in order to show the present centrality of the settlements and the potential one. The straightness centrality is calculated. All the indexes are mapped. The results show that the settlements with high centrality values are located around the geographical center of the county and that the settlements on the western side are "more central" than those located on the eastern and southern side. Another finding is that the Shimbel index depends on the road network that is majorly influenced by the elevation and the number of direct ties between the localities influences their general centrality and accessibility.