[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Cascading failure dynamics in integrated multimodal urban transport networks

## Details

**Authors** Jinghua Song, Yuan Wang, Zimo Yan

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** npj Urban Sustainability

**Kind of work** article

**Discipline** Engineering

**Secondary disciplines** Network Science

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-026-00476-0) 
10.1038/s42949-026-00476-0

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

To test whether static structural network properties predict a multimodal urban transport network's functional resilience to cascading failures.

### Who or what was studied (sample)

The integrated, multilayer public transport network of Wuhan, spanning multiple transport modes.

### How they did it (methods)

Comparison of static structural metrics (degree, betweenness centrality, network motif participation) against dynamic load-redistribution cascade simulations run on the multilayer network model.

### What they found (results)

Structural indicators such as degree, betweenness centrality, and feed-forward loop motif scores were only weakly associated with functional recoverability, and cascade vulnerability was governed more by dynamic load redistribution than by static structural prominence.

## Commentary

### In short

The finding combines a systems (S) structure, in which distinct transport modes act as interacting layers composing the citywide network, with a relationships (R) structure, in which the network's functional vulnerability tracks dynamic redistribution processes rather than static structural properties.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

**Added** 2026-09-17

**How to cite this** Jinghua Song, Yuan Wang, Zimo Yan (2026). Cascading failure dynamics in integrated multimodal urban transport networks. npj Urban Sustainability.