Transportation and the City of the Future Options Menu: Forum In Module 7, we examined the concept of Space-Time Convergence the idea that as transp

Transportation and the City of the Future Options Menu: Forum
In Module 7, we examined the concept of Space-Time Convergence the idea that as transportation and communications technology improve, places become closer together in terms of the time/cost of traveling between then. Towards the end of Module 7, we start to think about how transportation might look on the future.
Watch the following video, which looks at how new transportation technologies might impact future travel between and within cities.
Venture City. 2019. Elon Musk: The City of the Future. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L054Xd97_rk&feature=youtu.be.
If you experience problems accessing the above link, go to YouTube.com and type Elon Musk: The City of the Future into the search engine and click on the following video:

What is your reaction to this video? What do you think the major benefits of these new transportation technologies might be? Can you think of any downsides/negatives? If these new transportation technologies came into existence, say 10 years from now, how do you think they might impact you and how you might live your life?

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Transportation and the City of the Future Options Menu: Forum In Module 7, we examined the concept of Space-Time Convergence the idea that as transp
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Module 7
Basic Geographic Concepts

Space-Time Convergence

1

Space-Time Convergence

Space-time convergence refers to the decrease in travel time between two
locations

It implies that two locations can be reached in a lesser amount of time,
which is usually the outcome of innovations in transportation and
communications technology

It is because of improvements in transportation and communications
technology that the value of the distance exponent (e) in the Gravity Model
tends to decrease over time

In this Module, we will examine some of these improvements in
transportation and communications technology

2

Measuring Distance

Distance can be measured in different ways

Geographic Distance

There are two ways we can measure geographic distance

Euclidian Distance

Sometimes referred to as as the crow flies.

It is the straight line distance between two points

Manhattan metric

The distance you travel when you use the road
network to get from one place to another

By road, it is 18 miles from the UT to Maumee Bay
State PARK

University
of Toledo

Maumee Bay
State Park

3

Measuring Distance

Distance can also be measures by:

Time (how long it takes to travel between two places)

It takes 27 minutes to drive from UT to Maumee Bay
State Park

Money (how much it costs to travel between two places)

It costs $1.80 in gasoline to drive from UT to Maumee
Bay State Park

4

Distance as Time

Under what conditions would it take longer
than 27 minutes to drive from UT to
Maumee Bay State Park?

Bad weather (e.g. snow)

Heavy traffic (e.g. during rush hour)
Note traffic is light when the map on

the right was generated

Road construction

5

Distance as Time

Any of the factors noted on the previous slide would
cause the value of e to increase

Remember, in the Gravity Model, the value e
decreases when you can travel between two
places more quickly

Conversely, the value e increases when if it
takes more time to travel between two places

Bad weather, heavy traffic, or road
construction would cause a temporary
increase in the value of e for the journey
between UT and Maumee Bay State Park

6

Distance as Cost ($)

Distance can also be measured in terms
of how much it costs to travel between
two places

In terms of gasoline, it costs $1.80 to
travel between the UT and Maumee
Bay State Park

7

Distance as a Cost ($)

An increase in the price of gasoline would
increase the cost of traveling between UT and
Maumee Bay State Park

It is such a short distance, however, an increase
in gas prices is unlikely to reduce the number of
people who make the trip

However, an increase in the price of gasoline or
an air ticket might reduce the number of
people traveling over larger geographic
distances

8

Cost of travel

The cost of travel varies geographically

For example, the average cost of
gasoline varies from place to place

The map on the rights shows how
gasoline prices varied among different
regions of the US in 2017

9

Read Hymas, Lisa. 2012. How high do gas prices
have to get to trigger behavior change?
Grist.org. https://grist.org/oil/5-is-the-
new-4-how-high-do-gas-prices-have-to-go-
to-change-behavior/

Read the following:

https://grist.org/oil/5-is-the-new-4-how-high-do-gas-prices-have-to-go-to-change-behavior/

Transportation and
Communications
Technology
In the next set of slides, we will look at how transportation and

communications technology have improved over time

Transportation improvements make it possible for people to travel
between places faster and more cheaply

Communications improvements made it possible for people to
communicate with people in other places faster and more cheaply

All these improvements reduced the friction of distance and
contributed to a decrease in the value of e in the Gravity Model

11

Lansing to Detroit, 1840-Today

1840 and 1960

In the next slide you will see how
travel time between Lansing and
Detroit, MI (a distance of 90 miles)
changed between 1840 and 1960

1840

In 1840 it took 20 hours to travel from
Lansing to Detroit by stagecoach

19th century

Throughout the 19th century, two
improvements reduce the travel time
between Lansing and Detroit

Introduction of wooden plank roads

Introduction of the railroad

1880

By 1880, you could travel from Lansing
to Detroit in 3 hours

Today

By car, it takes about 90 minutes to
travel between Lansing and Detroit

12

Travel Time from Lansing to Detroit, MI, 1840-1960

0

5

10

15

20

25

1840 1860 1880 1990 1920 1940 1960

H
o

u
rs

Year

Stagecoach

Stagecoach
& Wooden
Plank Road

Railroad

Automobile

13

Read Longfellow, Rickie. 2017. Back in time:
Plank roads. Fhwa.dot.gov.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/
back0508.cfm

Read the following:

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0508.cfm

US Railroad Network, 1860-
1890

In the following slide you will see maps of the U.S. railroad
network in 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890

As you look at these maps, consider the implications of the
expansion of the railroad network for

The movement of people

The movement of goods (trade between cities and
regions)

The everyday life of Americans

15

16

1860 1870

1880 1890

Australia to the United
Kingdom (UK)

The distance from Australia to the UK is
approximately 9,455 miles

Think about flying from Australia to the UK

How long do you think it would take you to get
from Australia to the UK?

How many layovers would you have?

How much do you think it would cost?

Now think about the same trip in 1935, and think
about the answers to the same two questions

17

Australia to UK

Measure 1935 1947 2018

Time 12 day 4 days 17 hours

Number of stops 31 6 Non-stop

Cost (in $2018) $15,000 $29,000 $1,000

The table below shows the time, number of stops, and
cost (expressed in $2018) to fly between Australia and
the UK in 1935, 1947, and 2018

18

Read

Leadbeater, Chris. 2018. 31 stops, fares from
10,834 and sandwiches courtesy of the co-pilot
the first flight from Britain to Australia. The
Telegraph.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/o
ceania/australia/articles/history-of-kangaroo-route-
flights-from-uk-to-
australia/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_fb_tmg

Read the following:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/oceania/australia/articles/history-of-kangaroo-route-flights-from-uk-to-australia/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_fb_tmg

How far can you travel from NYC in 24 hours?

This map shows how far you
can travel from New York City
in 24 hours for various years

20

Read

Yanofsky, David. 2013. How far you could get from
New York in one dayback in the day. qz.com.
https://qz.com/162061/how-far-you-could-get-
from-new-york-in-one-day-back-in-the-day/

Read the following:

https://qz.com/162061/how-far-you-could-get-from-new-york-in-one-day-back-in-the-day/

Cost of a 3-minute
phone call

between New York
and London in
2020 dollars,
1930-2000

In this chart you can see how the cost of transferring information across
space has decreased over time

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

C
o

st
(

$
2

0
2

0
)

Year

22

Read ODell, Cary. No date. First official transatlantic phone call.
https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-
recording-preservation-
board/documents/FIRST%20TRANSATLANTIC%20C
ALL.pdf

Read the following:

https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/FIRST%20TRANSATLANTIC%20CALL.pdf

Instantaneous
Communication

Today you can communicate with someone in
a distant country at no or little cost using a
variety of technologies such as e-mail,
FaceTime, Zoom etc.

This has reduced the cost of communicating
with other people to almost zero (although you
do have to have access to a computer, iPad,
Smart Phone, etc.)

24

Space-Time
Convergence
This graphic captures the essence of time-

space convergence by showing the world
shrinking as transportation technology
improves

Between 1500 and 1840, horse drawn
carriages and sailing ships travelled at an
average speed of 10mph.

By the 1960s, we had jet passenger aircraft
that could travel at between 500mph and
700mph

25

The Future of Travel

Have you thought about the future of travel?

What types of transportation technologies will be
using?

How will these new and/or improved technologies
change the speed and cost of travel?

In the next three slides, you can see and read about
one possible future transportation technology the
hyperloop.

26

Watch
The B1M. No Date. Hyperloop Explained.

If you experience problems loading the above
video, simply go to YouTube.com and type
Hyperlook Explained in the search engine, and
you can watch using the link shown below:

Watch the following:

Read
Boffey, Daniel. 2020. Amsterdam to Paris in 90

minutes? Dutch tout hyperloop as future of travel.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/a
pr/10/amsterdam-to-paris-in-90-minutes-dutch-
tout-hyperloop-as-future-of-travel

Read the following:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/apr/10/amsterdam-to-paris-in-90-minutes-dutch-tout-hyperloop-as-future-of-travel

Read

Brown, Mike. No Date. Here are the 11 Proposed
Hyperloop Routes in The United States.
https://www.inverse.com/article/30029-hyperloop-
one-11-routes-across-the-united-states

Read the following:

https://www.inverse.com/article/30029-hyperloop-one-11-routes-across-the-united-states

Summary

In this Module, we have examined the
concept of Space-Time Convergence

Space-Time Convergence is simply the idea
that, as transportation and communication
technologies improve, places become closer
together in terms of time, cost, and
convenience

30

End

In the next Module, we will examine
the concept of Spatial (Geographic)
Diffusion

31

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