Chapter 2 - Transportation and the Spatial StructureTransportation has a strong influence on the spatial structure at
the local, regional and global levels. An historical perspective on the evolution of transport systems underlines
the impacts of technological innovations and how improvements in transportation
were interdependent with economic, social and spatial changes. The
current transport systems are thus the outcome of a long evolution marked
by periods of rapid changes where new transport technologies were adopted.
Following the industrial revolution in the 19th century, transportation
systems were mechanized with the development of steam engine technology,
which permitted the setting of networks servicing regions. This process
was further expanded in the 20th century with the setting of global air
transport, container shipping and telecommunication networks. The
impacts of transport on the spatial structure became multiscalar. Transportation systems are composed of a complex set of relationships
between the demand, the locations they service and the networks that
support movements. Such conditions are closely related to the development
of transportation networks, both in capacity and in spatial extent.
Future transportation systems will likely be shaped by the same
forces than in the past but it remains to be seen which technologies
will prevail and what will be their impacts on the structure.Concepts
Ausubel, J.H. and C. Marchetti (2001) "The Evolution of Transportation",
The Industrial Physicist, April/May, pp. 20-24.
Berechman, J. (2003) "Transportation - economic aspects of
Roman highway development: the case of Via Appia",
Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Vol. 37,
No. 5, pp. 453-478.
Bernstein, W.J. (2008) A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped
the World, New York: Atlantic Monthly Press.
Bogart, D. (2009) "Inter-modal network externalities and
transport development: Evidence from roads, canals, and ports
during the English industrial revolution", Networks and Spatial
Economics, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 309-338.
Clark, G. (2008) A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic
History of the World, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gottmann, J. (1961) Megalopolis: The Urbanized Northeastern
Seaboard of the United States, New York: Twentieth Century Fund.
Harris, C. and E. Ullman (1945) "The Nature of Cities", Annals
of the the American Academy of Political Science, No. 242, pp. 7-17.
Henderson, J.V., Z. Shalizi and A.J. Venables (2000) Geography
and Development, Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 1, pp. 81-106.
Lundgren, N.G. (1996) "Bulk trade and maritime transport
costs: The evolution of global markets", Resources Policy, Vol.
22, No. 1, pp. 5-32.
Rioux, J-P (1989) La révolution industrielle, 1780-1880, Paris:
Éditions du Seuil.
Sletmo, G.K. (1989) "Shipping's Fourth Wave: Ship Management
and Vernon's Trade Cycles", Maritime Policy and Management,
Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 293-303.
U.S. Department of Transportation (1994), Assessment of Border
Crossings and Transportation Corridors of North American Trade;
Report to Congress, Washington, D.C.: Federal Highway Administration.
Taaffe, E.J., H.L. Gauthier and M.E. O'Kelly (1996) Geography
of Transportation, Second Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (2002) Transportation Elasticities,
Transport Demand Management Encyclopedia,
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm11.htm
Weber, A, 1909 (1929 Translation) Alfred Weber’s Theory of
the Location of Industries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Williams, A. (1992) "Transport and the Future", in B.S. Hoyle
and R.D. Knowles (eds) Modern Transport Geography, London: Belhaven
Press, pp.257-270.
Woxenius, J. (2006) "Temporal Elements in the Spatial Extension
of Production Networks”, Growth and Change, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 526-549.
