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Topic 1 – Transportation and Geography. What is Transport Geography? Transportation and Space The Geography of Transportation Networks. A – What is Transport Geography?. 1 – The Purpose of Transportation 2 – The Importance of Transportation 3 – Transport Geography.
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Topic 1 – Transportation and Geography What is Transport Geography? Transportation and Space The Geography of Transportation Networks
A – What is Transport Geography? 1 – The Purpose of Transportation 2 – The Importance of Transportation 3 – Transport Geography
The Sisyphus Analogy in Transportation Overcoming space Variety of human and physical constraints. Space has a cost (distance, time, administrative divisions and topography). Volume Friction of distance Costs. Distance involved. Nature of what is being transported. Distance Effort Purpose of transportation Transform the geographical attributes of freight, people or information. Give an added value in the process. Fulfillment of a demand for mobility. Friction ∟
Different Representations of Distance Euclidean Distance B A Transport Distance Pickup B A Delivery Transshipment Mode 1 Mode 2 Logistical Distance Order Pickup B A Delivery Transshipment Mode 1 Mode 2 Order Processing PackingScheduling Inventory Management Unpacking SortingWarehousing
Transportation as a Derived Demand Activity Working Vacationing Manufacturing Direct Taxi Air travel Touring bus Trucks Containership Commuting Warehousing Indirect Energy Derived Demand Transportation cannot exists on its own and cannot be stored.
Operational Differences between Passengers and Freight Transportation
2 – The Importance Transportation • Spatial differentiation of the economy • Different locations. • Location of resources (raw materials, labor, manufacturing). • Spatial division of production and consumption. • Service embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals, institutions and corporations. • Often invisible for to consumer, but always part of all economic functions.
2 – The Importance Transportation • Strategic infrastructure • Embedded in the socio-economic life of individuals, institutions and corporations. • If disrupted or cease to operate, the consequences can be dramatic. • No specific user can have a competitive advantage over others. • Often invisible to the consumer. • The perceived invisibility of transportation is derived from its efficiency.
3 – Transport Geography • Geographers are interested about transportation for two main reasons: • Transport infrastructures occupy space: • Terminals, equipment and networks. • The basis of a complex spatial system. • Transport is an expression of spatial relationships: • Networks: The main support of these interactions.
The Transport Geography Perspective Infrastructures Passengers Freight Information Interactions (Flows) Locations (Nodes)
Two Common Fallacies in Transport Geography Distance vs. Time Access vs. Accessibility 55 50 30 50 25 55 b 30 35 35 30 40 30 40 35 40 45 65 65 c 65 60 60 a Access is uniform; as long a there is a possibility to enter or to exit (e.g. public highway). Often no specific user can have a competitive advantage over others. Accessibility varies according to one's location within the transport system. Distance remains constant. Time can vary due to improvements in transport technology or because of congestion.
Common Problems for Transport Systems Capacity Transfer Hub / Gateway Terminal Route Bottleneck Integration Reliability
B – Transportation and Space 1 – Physical Constraints 2 – Overcoming the Physical Environment 3 – Transportation and the Spatial Structure 4 – Space / Time Relationships
Absolute and Relative Barriers Absolute Barrier Modal Change A B Detour Relative Barrier A B Low High Friction
2 – Overcoming the Physical Environment • The physical challenge • Rapid scientific and technological developments: • Enable transportation to overcome the physical environment. • From adapting to the environment to adapting the environment.: • Creation of new spaces (land reclamation). • Road and rail: • Advance in engineering (bridges and tunnels). • Maritime: • Large port terminals. • Dredging and canals. • Air transport: • Large airport terminals.
The Geographical Space of Maritime Transportation Northwest Gibraltar M Suez Malacca A I P P Panama Sunda Magellan Good Hope
3 – Transportation and the Spatial Structure • Inertia of transport infrastructures • Physical attributes: • Natural conditions can be modified and adapted to suit human uses. • Most networks follow the easiest (least cost) and most direct path, which generally follows valleys and plains. • Historical considerations: • New infrastructures generally reinforce historical patterns of exchange. • Highway network of France. • Urban streets pattern.
4 – Space / Time Relationships • Space / Time Convergence • Amount of space that can be “purchased” with a specific amount of time. • Related to the efficiency of the transport system. • Significant convergence in the 19th and 20th centuries. • Space / time convergence has reached the global level.
Mail Delivery Times between New York and San Francisco, 1840-2000 Ocean route NYC to Panama, Overland Transcontinental stagecoach Completion of Panama railroad Rail to St. Joseph (MO) and Pony Express Transcontinental rail service Air mail service FedEx Overnight
Space / Time Convergence of the Global Transport System (1500-1840) Average speed of wagon and sail ships: 16 km/hr Industrial Revolution 1850-1930 Average speed of trains: 100 km/hr. Average speed of steamships: 25 km/hr Space / Time Convergence 1950 Average speed of airplanes: 480-640 km/hr Modern Era 1970 Average speed of jet planes: 800-1120 km/hr 1990 Numeric transmission: instantaneous
Estimated Travel Time to the Nearest City of 50,000 or more People, 2000
4 – Space / Time Relationships • Space / Time Divergence • Inversion of the process. • More time spend to travel the same amount of space. • Congestion is the dominant factor: • Commuting (congestion and suburbanization). • Air travel (congestion and security). • The “last mile” problem. • On the long run, can impose locational adjustments.