Topic 1 Transportation and Geography

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Topic 1 Transportation and Geography

• What is Transport Geography?
• Transportation and Space
• The Geography of Transportation Networks

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C The Geography of Transportation Networks

• 1. Transport Networks
• 2. The Topology and Typology of Networks
• 3. Networks and Space

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1. Transport Networks

• Transport network
• Framework of routes between locations
• A permanent track (e.g. roads, rail and canals).
• A scheduled service (e.g. airline, transit,
  train).
• Various types of links between points along which
  movement can take place.
• Creates accessibility.
• Network structure
• Ranges from centripetal to centrifugal.
• Express inequalities between places.
• Express transport rates.
• Integration processes impacted on the structure
  and flows of transportation networks.

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Centrifugal and Centripetal Networks
Centrifugal
Centripetal
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Transport Hub
Point-to-Point
Hub-and-Spoke
Hub
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Detour Level in a Hub-and-Spoke Network
A
1
D
B
C
7
Cost, Revenue and Level of Network Coverage
Cost 10 Revenue 15 Benefit 5
4
5
A
10
3
7
Cost 12 Revenue 18 Benefit 6
B
Cost 14 Revenue 25 Benefit 11
C
Cost 19 Revenue 29 Benefit 10
D
8
Impacts of Integration Processes on Networks and
Flows
Before Integration
After Integration
International border
Network
Flows
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2. The Topology and Typology of Networks

• Topology
• The arrangement and connectivity of a network.
• Each network has a specific topology.
• Mesh networks
• At least two nodes with two or more links between
  them.
• Hub-and-spoke networks
• Peripheral nodes are connected to a central node,
  the hub.
• Linear networks
• Only one link between two nodes and where each
  nodes has a maximum of two links.
• Tree networks
• Converging to one node from a hierarchy of other
  nodes.

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Types of Network Topology
Hub-and-Spoke
Mesh
Linear
Tree
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Network Strategies to Service a Set of Locations
A
B
C
E
F
D
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2. The Topology and Typology of Networks

• Mode of territorial occupation
• Clearly defined and delimited
• Strictly reserved space for transport
  infrastructure.
• Ownership can be clearly established.
• Road, canal and railway networks.
• Vaguely defined and delimited
• Space may be shared with other modes.
• Not the object of any particular ownership, only
  rights of passage.
• Air and maritime transportation networks.
• Without definition
• Space has no tangible meaning, except for the
  distance it imposes.
• Little control and ownership are possible.
• Agreements must be reached for common usage.
• Radio, television and cellular networks.

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Mode of Territorial Occupation by Transport
Networks
Overlap
Air corridor
Rail
No service
Road
Cellular coverage
Maritime corridor
Clearly defined
Vaguely defined
Without definition
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3. Networks and Space

• Transportation networks and space
• Territorial organization of economic activities.
• Efforts incurred to overcome distance.
• Measured in absolute or relative terms
• Related to continuity, topographic space and
  spatial cohesion.
• The territory is a topological space having two
  or three dimensions, depending on the transport
  mode considered.
• Flows and infrastructures are linear having one
  dimension.

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Transport Networks and Space
Transport Network
Space
Accessibility
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Absolute and Relative Distance in a Network
30 minutes
10 km
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3. Networks and Space

• Spatial continuity
• Ubiquity
• The possibility to reach any location from any
  other location.
• Fractionalization
• The possibility for a traveler or an unit of
  freight to be transported without depending on a
  group.
• Instantaneous
• The possibility to undertake transportation at
  the desired moment.
• Topographic space
• Not a continuous space.
• Variety of physical features.
• Level of influence on the structure of transport
  networks
• Depends on the mode.

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Networks and Spatial Continuity
A
B
C
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Networks as Tools of Spatial Cohesion (Control)