Editing Spoke–hub distribution paradigm

{{Short description|Form of transport routing}}
{{multiple issues|
{{Globalize|date=December 2010}}
{{more footnotes|date=December 2011}}
{{original research|date=December 2011}}
}}
{{wikt | hubbing}}

The '''spoke–hub distribution paradigm''' (also known as the [[Spoke–hub distribution paradigm|hub-and-spoke system]]) is a form of [[topology optimization| transport topology optimization]] in which [[Transportation planning | traffic planners]] organize routes as a series of "[[spokes]]" that connect outlying points to a central "hub". Simple forms of this distribution/connection model contrast with [[point-to-point transit]] systems, in which each point has a direct route to every other point, and which modeled the principal method of transporting passengers and freight until the 1970s. [[Delta Air Lines]] pioneered the spoke–hub distribution model in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/first-in-the-air|title = Delta's Firsts in the Airline Industry}}</ref> In the late 1970s the [[telecommunications]] and [[information technology]] sector subsequently adopted this distribution topology, dubbing it the [[star network]] network topology.

"Hubbing" involves "the arrangement of a transportation network as a hub-and-spoke model".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hubbing|title = Hubbing|date = 30 May 2018}}</ref>

[[File:comparison_of_point_to_point_vs_hub_and_spoke.svg|thumb|upright|Point-to-point (top) vs hub-and-spoke (bottom) networks]]

==Commercial aviation==
[[File:Emirates_A380-800_(A6-EEC)_departs_London_Heathrow_7June_2015_arp.jpg|thumb|[[Emirates (airline)|Emirates]] is an example of an airline which operates using the hub-and-spoke model, allowing flights between numerous 'spoke' destinations by connecting at the airline's hub at [[Dubai International Airport|Dubai]]]]
{{Main|Airline hub}}
In 1955, Delta Air Lines pioneered the hub-and-spoke system at its hub in [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]],<ref>[http://www.delta.com/about_delta/corporate_information/delta_stats_facts/delta_through_decades/index.jsp Delta Air Lines Newsroom - Press Kit]. Delta.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.</ref> in an effort to compete with [[Eastern Air Lines]]. In the mid-1970s [[FedEx Corporation|FedEx]] adopted the hub-and-spoke model for overnight package delivery. After the airline industry was [[Airline Deregulation Act|deregulated]] in 1978, several other airlines adopted Delta's hub-and-spoke paradigm.

Airlines have extended the hub-and-spoke model in various ways. One method is to create additional hubs on a regional basis and to create major routes between them. That reduces the need to travel long distances between nodes near one another. Another method is to use [[focus city|focus cities]] to implement point-to-point service for high-traffic routes and to bypass the hub entirely.

==Transportation==
The spoke–hub model is applicable to other forms of transportation as well:
*[[Ship transport|Sea transport]] in which [[feeder ship]]s transport shipping containers from different ports to a central container terminal to be loaded onto larger vessels.
*[[Cargo airline]]s: most [[UPS Airlines]] flights travel through its [[Louisville International Airport#Worldport|Worldport]] at [[Louisville International Airport]], and many [[FedEx Express]] parcels are processed at its "SuperHub" at [[Memphis International Airport]].
*[[Freight rail transport]] in which cargo is hauled to a central exchange terminal. At the terminal, shipping containers are loaded from one freight car to another, and [[classification yard]]s (marshalling yards) are used to sort freight cars into trains and divide them according to varying destinations. [[Intermodal freight]] is often loaded from one mode to another at central hubs.
*[[Public transport|Public transit]] uses various [[transport hub]]s to allow passengers to transfer between different lines or transportation modes. Often those hubs are [[intermodal passenger transport|intermodal]] linking buses, trams, local trains, subways and so on.

For passenger [[road transport]], the spoke–hub model does not apply because drivers generally take the shortest or fastest route between two points. However, the road network as a whole likewise contains higher order roads like [[limited access highways]] and more local roads with most trips starting and ending at the latter but spending most of the distance on the former.

==Industrial distribution==
The hub-and-spoke model has also been used in economic geography theory to classify a particular type of industrial district. Economic geographer Ann Markusen theorized about industrial districts, with a number of key industrial firms and facilities acting as a hub, with associated businesses and suppliers benefiting from their presence and arranged around them like the spokes of a wheel. The chief characteristic of such hub-and-spoke industrial districts is the importance of one or more large companies, usually in one industrial sector, surrounded by smaller, associated businesses. Examples of cities with such districts include [[Seattle]] (where [[Boeing]] was founded), [[Silicon Valley]] (a high tech hub), and [[Toyota City]], with [[Toyota Motor Corporation|Toyota]].

==East Asian relations==
{{Main|San Francisco System}}
In the context of East Asian geopolitics, [[Victor Cha]] says the hub-and-spokes paradigm refers to the network of alliances the United States has built individually with other East Asian countries. The 1951 [[Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan]], the 1953 [[U.S.–South Korea Status of Forces Agreement]] and the 1954 [[Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of China]] (later replaced by the [[Taiwan Relations Act]]) are some examples of such bilateral security relationships.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Hemmer | first1 = C. | last2 = Katzenstein | first2 = P. J. | author-link2 = Peter J. Katzenstein| doi = 10.1162/002081802760199890 | title = Why is There No NATO in Asia? Collective Identity, Regionalism, and the Origins of Multilateralism | journal = [[International Organization]]| volume = 56 | issue = 3 | pages = 575–607 | year = 2002 | jstor = 3078589| doi-access = free }}</ref> The system creates a bilateral security architecture in East Asia that is different from the multilateral security architecture in Europe. The US acts as a "hub", and Asian countries like [[South Korea]] and [[Japan]] are its "spokes". There is a strong connection between the hub and the spoke, but weak or no connections between the spokes themselves.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Cha | first1 = V. D. | author-link1 = Victor Cha| title = Powerplay: Origins of the U.S. Alliance System in Asia | doi = 10.1162/isec.2010.34.3.158 | journal = [[International Security]]| volume = 34 | issue = 3 | pages = 158–196 | year = 2010 | s2cid = 57566528 }}</ref>

In April 2014, all ten [[ASEAN]] defense chiefs and [[United States Secretary of Defense]] [[Chuck Hagel]] attended the US–ASEAN Defense Forum in Hawaii. The meeting was the first time the US hosted the forum and was part of a US attempt to get the countries to strengthen military ties between themselves.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/04/us-swears-asia-pivot-isnt-dead/ |title=US Swears Asia Pivot Isn't Dead |last1=Keck |first1=Zachary |date=2 April 2014 |publisher=The Diplomat |access-date=3 April 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Hub and spokes architecture]]
*[[Hubs and nodes]]
*[[Roundabout]] (traffic circle)
*[[Foreign policy of the United States]] for an example of international coordination through a third country.
*[[Ville Radieuse]]
*[[Highway dimension]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Badcock, B. A., 2002, ''Making Sense of Cities: A Geographical Survey'', London: Arnold, pp.&nbsp;63–94.
* Lawrence, H., 2004, "Aviation and the Role of Government", London: Kendall Hunt, pp.&nbsp;227–230.
* {{cite journal | last1 = Markusen | first1 = A | year = 1996 | title = Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts | journal = Economic Geography | volume = 72 | issue = 3| pages = 293–313 | doi=10.2307/144402| jstor = 144402 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoke-hub distribution paradigm}}
[[Category:Freight transport]]
[[Category:Civil aviation]]