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Transport and Tourism
Lecture 6
Transport and geography
The geography of transport systems (Rodrigue et al.)
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Transportability refers to the ease of movement of passengers, freight or
information.
It is related to transport costs as well as to the attributes of what is being
transported (fragility, perishability, price).
Political factors can also influence transportability such as laws, regulations,
borders and tariffs.
When transportability is high, activities are less constrained by distance.
Transport
as derived
demand
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The importance of transportation
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Historical
Social
Political
Environmental
The geography of transport systems
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Economic
Growth of the demand
Reduction of costs
Expansion of infrastructures
Fallacies about transportation
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If transport is disrupted or ceases to operate, the consequences can be
dramatic. The paradox gives rise to several fallacies about transportation;
two major ones are:
1. Access is not accessibility: Many transport systems have universal
access; no specific user can have a competitive advantage over others
since access is the same for anyone. For instance, a public highway
system can in theory be accessed by anyone,
2. Distance is not time: Distance often tends to be interchanged with time
when measuring the performance of transport systems, which is a
conceptual error.
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Concepts and dimensions of transport geography
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Transport geography is a sub-discipline of geography concerned about
movements of freight, people and information.
It seeks to link spatial constraints and attributes with the origin, the
destination, the extent, the nature and the purpose of movements.
Since the 1990s, transport
geography has received
renewed attention,
especially
because the issues of
mobility, production and
distribution are
interrelated in a complex
geographical setting.
It is now recognized that
transportation is a system
that considers
the complex relationships
between its core
elements: networks,
nodes and demand
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The role of transport geography
There are three basic geographical
considerations relevant to transport
geography:
• Location.
• Complementarity
• Scale.
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Transportation and space
Physical constraints:
Three basic spatial constraints of the
terrestrial space can be identified:
• Topography
• Hydrography
• Climate
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Absolute and relative barriers to
movements
Physical constraints
fundamentally act as
absolute and relative
barriers to movements:
• Absolute barriers are
geographical features
that entirely prevent a
movement. They must
either be bypassed or be
overcome by specific
infrastructures.
• Relative barriers are
geographical features that
force a degree of
friction on a movement.
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Figure 1.6
The great
circle
distance
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Transportation and the spatial structure
The following factors are particularly important in shaping
the spatial structure:
– Costs
– Accessibility
– Agglomeration
Two processes are taking place at the same time:
• Specialization.
– Linked geographical entities are able to specialize in the
production of commodities for which they have an advantage,
and trading for what they do not produce.
• Segregation.
– Linked geographical entities may see the reinforcement of one at
the expense of others, notably through economies of scale.
– This outcome often contradicts regional development policies
aiming at providing uniform accessibility levels within a region.
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Space/time relationships
Four major factors are of particular
relevance in this process:
• Speed.
• Economies of scale.
• Expansion of transport infrastructures.
• Efficiency of transport terminals.
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The value is negative because the time value is being reduced;
if the value was positive, a space/time divergence would be
observed.
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Historical evolution of transportation
• Transportation in the pre-industrial era (pre-1800s)
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The industrial revolution and transportation
(1800–70)
The canal era was however short-lived as a new mode which would
revolutionize and transform inland transportation appeared in the second
half of the nineteenth century.
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Emergence of modern transportation systems
(1870–1920)
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Transportation in the Fordist era
(1920–70)
• The Fordist era was epitomized by the adoption
of the assembly line as the dominant form of
industrial production, an innovation that
benefited transportation substantially.
• Basic telecommunication infrastructures, such
as the telephone and the radio, were mass
marketed during the Fordist era.
• However, the major change was the large
diffusion of the automobile, especially from the
1950s as it became a truly mass consumption
product.
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A new context for transportation:
the post-Fordist era (1970–)
• Among the major changes in
international transportation since the
1970s are
• the massive development of
telecommunications,
• the globalization of trade,
• more efficient distribution systems,
• and the considerable development of air
transportation .
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Future transportation
• Each mode, due to its geographical and technical
specificities, was characterized by different technologies
and different rates of innovation and diffusion.
– A transport innovation can thus be an additive/competitive force
where a new technology expands or makes an existing mode more
efficient and competitive.
• Technological innovation is linked with faster and more
efficient transport systems.
– This process implies a space–time convergence where a greater
amount of space can be exchanged with lesser amount of time.
– The comparative advantages of space can thus be more efficiently
used.
• Technological evolution in the transport sector is linked
with the phases of economic development of the world
economy.
– Transportation and economic development are consequently
interlinked as one cannot occur without the other.
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