A Kinetic Theory of Traffic Distribution and Similar Problems

A general approach to traffic distribution problems which provides a means of dealing with both equilibrium states and time-dependent situations is presented. It depends upon a knowledge of certain transition coefficients and points out the fundamental importance of these quantities in the analysis of distribution problems. Although the paper is written as a discussion of traffic distribution it is suggested that the method is of much wider significance and may be valuable for dealing with a variety of social, economic, and biological systems.