1. Transportation Geography
Some Introductory Concepts

2. Transportation Geography
Transport geography separate discipline?
Primary concerns:
A. Networks- location, structure and evolution
B. Flows on networks : describing and predicting
C. Significance and impact of liberalization, cost changes, information and other technologies on movements and networks

3. What is Transportation?
Movement?
Flow?
Physical only?
Useful to appreciate the French view
Circulation – very broad conceptualization of transportation
Means all forms of movement and communications

4. Transportation Revolution (s)?
What comprises such a Revolution?
New and improved transport forms
Broader access to forms of transport
Basic ingredients?
Friction of Distance- decline in this value
Accessibility- ease and getting to and from places
Collapse or Telescoping of Travel Times- concept of time-space convergence

5. Second Transport Revolution?
Why? Transport in advanced capitalist economies entering a new era: technological innovation
Advances in info technology are creating fresh opportunities
Modernizing infrastructure: ERP and congestion pricing, intelligent systems
Rethinking transport policies
IT widely regarded as key to change in economy, environment and safety of all modes

6. Two Revolutions?
Electronic revolution in control of vehicles and infrastructure and cargo
Revolution in appreciation of assigning uses of space in urban areas (hubs)
This next revolution will last well into 21st Century
Economic and social institutions must adapt to technological progress
Policy makers already seeking guidance and information

7. Cumulative Modal Contribution to Economic Opportunities
Industrial Revolution
Mass Production
Globalization
Telecommunications
Air
Roads
Economic Opportunities
Railways
Source: adapted from HOP Associates.
Canal shipping
Maritime shipping
Horses
1750
1775
1800
1825
1850
1875
1900
1925
1950
1975
2000
2025
2050

8. Economic Benefits of Transportation
Direct Supply
Direct Demand
Indirect Micro
Indirect Macro
Income from transport operations (fares and salaries)
Access to wider distribution markets and niches
Improved accessibility
Time and cost savings
Productivity gains
Division of labor
Access to a wider range of suppliers and consumers
Economies of scale
Rent income
Lower price of commodities
Higher supply of commodities
Formation of distribution networks
Attraction and accumulation of economic activities
Increased competitiveness
Growth of consumption
Fulfilling mobility needs

9. The Share of Transportation in the GDP, United States 2000
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Pocket Guide to Transportation, BTS-02-02, February 2002.

10. Transport Impacts on Economic Growth
Transport Improvements
Commodity Market
Labor Market
Expansion
New Activities
Source: Adapted from Goodbody Economic Consultants (2003) Transport and Regional Development.
Growth

11. Employment in Transportation Occupations, United States, 1985-2001
Source: BTS.

12. Economic Production and Specialization
Region A
Region B
Self Reliance
Regional Trade
Trade and
Transport
Trade and
Transport
International
Trade
Product A
Product B
Product C
Product D
Gateway
Product E

13. Economic Integration and Interdependencies
Interdependent Groups
of Nations
Independent Nations G1 a a h h b b g g c f d d c e f e G2

14. Effects of Improved Transportation
A. Areal specialization promoted by improved transport
1. Allows producers to focus on particular forms of production
2. Creation of larger areas of particular product tied to distant markets- example?
B. Improvement in transport is contradictory!
1. Has made places more alike-share products, ideas, and services
2. Simultaneously it has made areas diverse since specialization has been encouraged

15. Additional Effects of Improved Transport
Access to resources and ability to market goods that otherwise would have no market
Access to raw materials and the stimulation of supplier development and outsourcing phenomenon
Expands settlement spaces
City building and supporting
Political integration- binding together of diverse political units
Social integration- allows stronger interpersonal communication and diffusion of information and ideas
“Just as commodities flow over a network so too do ideas and information”

16. Explaining Spatial Interaction
Improvements in transport not alone responsible for interaction
What are the conditions under which interaction develops?
Three factor model of Edward Ullman still relevant
Ingredients: complementarity, intervening opportunity and transferability

17. Complementarity
Interaction is due to areal or regional or spatial differentiation
But mere differences do not produce interaction
Must be a demand and supply of specific good – specific complementarity
Toyota assembly in Georgetown and production of tires in Akron
Complementarity so important that relatively low value bulk goods move across the globe: Australian iron ore, Venezuelan and Iraqi oil

18. Intervening Opportunity
Complementarity generates interchange only if no intervening source exists
Where alternative source exists flow or spatial interaction will be interrupted
Examples: grocery shopping, forest products, etc
Occasionally IO might assist interaction by making construction of intermediate transport routes profitable

19. Transferability
Measured in real time and costs
If distance between market and supply is too great and/or too costly to overcome, interaction will NOT take place despite perfect complementarity and absence of intervening opportunity
Tendency here to use alternate goods
Transform product into higher value so it can withstand cost of transport
Examples?

20. Summary Interaction based on three factors: 1. Complementarity
2. Intervening Opportunity
3. Transferability
System applies to movement of physical goods but also people
Additional Corollaries Make This Concept Richer

21. Corollaries of Spatial Interaction
Place Utility- added economic value of a commodity gained by transporting it from place where it has little value to place where it has more
Example: transporting coal from West Virginia or Kentucky into megalopolis
Negative place utility or disutility- pay to have something removed – reverse logistics!

22. Corollaries of Spatial Interaction
Time Utility- transport enhances the ability of goods to satisfy human demand-not only WHERE they are needed but also WHEN
Some Products have short shelf life –fresh inventories needed periodically- fruits and vegetables; Maine lobsters or Hawaiian fish
Computer parts- ICs need air freight and other goods have a very brief product life cycle

23. Distance Decay Basic geographical concept
Tobler’s Law- “Everything is related to everything else but things that are closer together are more related”
The negative impact of distance upon the flow of information or goods or services between places
Linear and nonlinear functions
Spatial Elastic and Non-elastic functions

24. Reasons for Distance Decay
What are impedance factors that cause a variable to decay over distance?
Economic reasons- cost and time
Non-economic reasons
Hold economic factor constant- first class mail- cannot use cost as an explanation
Information- more familiar with our immediate surroundings than with distant places
Intervening Opportunities

25. Location and Distance Concepts
Geographers view space and location in several ways
Absolute Location- position on conventional grid
Relative Location- position with respect to other locations, i.e. really situation
Absolute Distance- conventional distance in miles/kilometers between places
Relative Distance- uses metric other than the above, e.g. cost, social contacts and time between places

26. Relative Distance
Absolute Distance A>>>>B>>>>C
Social Contact Distance A>>>>>>>B>C
Cost Distance A>>B>>>>>>>>>C
Time Distance A>>>B>>>>>>>>>>>>>C
Why? Spaces in which people live and behave are much more psychological (relative) than absolute
Important to consider what people think is the distance between places
Individuals make decisions in context of relative rather than absolute space
Therefore time and cost may be better predictors of travel behavior

27. Time-Space Convergence (TSC)
Absolute space has not changed over time
But relative space has changed greatly
Space adjusting techniques such as transport and communications enable us to restructure space by changing relative distances which separate places
TSC is way of measuring relative distance by measuring the rate at which places approach one another in time distance

28. Space / Time Convergence
6.2 hours A B
2.6 hours A B
TT
Travel Time (A – B)
T2 (2000) T
Time

29. Regional Space / Time Convergence (in minutes)
Source: adapted from Janelle, D.G "Central Place Development in a Time-space Framework“, The Professional Geographer Vol. 20: pp

30. Mail Delivery Times between New York and San Francisco, 1840-2000 (in days)
Source: SRI International (2002)

31. Cost Space Convergence
Concept of space convergence can be extended to other contexts
Cost space convergence or divergence
Divergence indicates that places actually move further apart in terms of cost-examples?
Complete time-space convergence- no differences in time required to reach near or distant points
Examples? USPS, cellular telephony

32. Impact of Complete Cost Space Convergence
In absence of normal distance cost relationships, activities can agglomerate at one location OR disperse equally throughout a region
No incentive for firms to develop a hierarchy of merchandising centers-less costly to distribute direct and save building costs
Envision a world where all activities become footloose?
True or false?

33. Space / Time Convergence of the World Transport System
Average speed of wagon and sail
ships: 16 km/hr
Average speed of trains: 100 km/hr.
Average speed of steamships: 25 km/hr
1950 Average speed of airplanes: km/hr
1970 Average speed of jet planes: km/hr
1990 Numeric transmission: instantaneous

34. The Transport System Nodes Networks Demand Origins Destinations
Intermediacy
Terminals
Locations
Friction
People
Freight
Information
Flows
Linkages
Networks
Demand