Network analysis
Topic: Remote Sensing, GIS and GNSS · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Spatial Information Technology"
Meaning
Network analysis is a GIS method for studying connected lines such as roads, railways, pipelines or rivers. It finds the shortest or fastest route between places. It also finds service areas (the places that can be reached within a set distance or time) and studies flows along the network. Vector data suits it best, because vector data stores lines and how they connect.
Example
An ambulance service in Meerut, western Uttar Pradesh, uses network analysis on the road map. It finds the quickest route from a village to the nearest hospital and shows which villages are too far to reach quickly.
Don't confuse with
- Buffer analysis: a buffer draws a straight-line distance zone around a feature. Network analysis measures distance along actual roads or lines.