  Supplementing a lattice with long-range connections effectively models
small-world networks characterized by a high local and global
interconnectedness observed in systems ranging from society to the brain. If
the links have a wiring cost associated to their length l, the corresponding
distribution q(l) plays a crucial role. Uniform length distributions have
received most attention despite indications that q(l) ~ l^{-\alpha} exist, e.g.
for integrated circuits, the Internet and cortical networks. Here we discuss
for such systems the emergence of small-world topology, its relationship to the
wiring costs, the distribution of flows as well as the robustness with respect
to random failures and overload. The main finding is that the choice of such a
distribution leads to favorable attributes in most of the investigated
properties.
