Dr. Rodrigue's research interests mainly cover the fields of economic, transport and urban geography. Area interests involve East and Southeast Asia (particularly China) and North America, notably concerning transportation, distribution and trade issues. Specific topics cover transport systems and logistics, global supply chains and production networks, gateways and transport corridors, urban regions, economic integration, international trade and regional development. Current projects involve:
- The Governance of Intermodal Transportation Assets
- The Transport Geography of Logistics
- Gateways, Corridors and Inland Freight Distribution
- Globalization and Transport Terminals
GEOG 80 - Transport Geography
Professor: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Department
of Global Studies and Geography
Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York 11549 USA
Jean-paul.Rodrigue@hofstra.edu
Phone: (516) 463-5765. Fax: (516) 463-6519.
Course Site: Geography of Transport Systems
NOTE: I can provide by request a complete Blackboard course package that contains the Powerpoint slides, quizzes (e.g. multiple choice questions; true or false), maps, assignments and articles (PDF files). This package is ready to be imported in the Backboard course management system.
"There would be no transportation without geography and there would be no geography without transportation."
Transport geography investigates movements and distribution. Movements of people, goods and information have always been fundamental components of human societies. Contemporary economic processes have been accompanied by a significant increase in mobility and higher levels of accessibility. Although this trend can be traced back to the industrial revolution, it significantly accelerated in the second half of the 20th century as trade was liberalized, economic blocs emerged and the comparative advantages of global labor and resources were used more efficiently. However, these conditions are interdependent with the capacity to manage, support and expand movements of passengers and freight as well as their underlying information flows. Societies have become increasingly dependent on their transport systems to support a wide variety of activities ranging, among others, from commuting, supplying energy needs, to distributing parts between factories. Developing transport systems has been a continuous challenge to satisfy mobility needs, to support economic development and to participate in the global economy. The general goals of the course are:
- An introduction to theoretical and practical concepts of transport geography.
- Understand the role of transport infrastructures, modes and policies in the organization of space at the international, regional and local scales.
Last updated 10/14/08