Network Connectivity of VANETs in Urban Areas

Modeling complicated vehicular traffic behavior and the associated network connectivity in urban areas has been a challenging task for the past several years. In this paper, we study how intersections and two-dimensional road topology affect the connectivity behavior of traffic in urban areas. To better understand this phenomenon, we investigate both static and dynamic aspects of network connectivity in urban areas and analyze several characteristics such as network connectivity, path redundancy, re-healing time, etc. Based on a comprehensive study, we make several key observations and provide insights into the behavior of network connectivity whereby critical routing problems are identified and suggestions are made for the key components of an appropriate routing protocol for different vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) applications in urban areas.