Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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SOE: Fachverband Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

SOE 6: Mobility, Traffic Dynamics, Urban and Regional Systems

SOE 6.2: Talk

Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 11:00–11:15, GÖR/0226

Global settlement percolation: estimating critical distances — •Diego Rybski — IOER Dresden

Cities and settlements can be understood as percolating systems. We apply spatial clsutering, where any two items belong to the same cluster if their Euclidean distance is smaller than a threshold. Varying this threshold, at a critical distance a transtion occurs where a giant cluster emerges -- resembling a percolation transition. We systematically analyze high-resolution data on the global scale and estimate this critical distance for various spatial units. We find that the critical distance is complementary to other geographical indicators. Our estimates can be of use for down-stream research.

Keywords: cities; settlements; percolation