Chapter 1.a

Urban and Regional Transportation Planning
CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY
The Sisyphus Analogy in Transportation

The Sisyphus Analogy in Transportation

Sisyphus is a character of Greek mythology that because of his
misdeeds was condemned for eternity by the gods to roll a stone up
a hill, only to see it roll back down. The legend offers several
analogies to introduce key concepts behind transportation, which are
volume, distance, friction and effort.
Volume represents a load of passengers or freight that

can be carried as a single load.
Friction is the difficulty of moving a volume per unit of
distance; the friction of distance. It can be related for
instance to the quality of transport infrastructure.
Effort is the amount of energy required to move the
volume per unit of distance, considering the friction. It
is commonly represented as the cost of transport.
Essentially, Effort = f(volume, distance, friction).

THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY

Transportgeographycanbebetterunderstoodfromaseriesofcoreprinciples:
Transportation is the spatial linking of a derived demand. It takes place

becauseofothereconomicactivitiesandislinkingthespatialcomponentsof
this demand. For instance, commuting is the spatial linking of labor flows
resulting from the demand for labor at one location (e.g. a commercial
district) and its supply at an other (e.g. a residential district). A market
economy could not function without the capacity of transportation to link
supplyanddemand.

Distance is a relative concept involving space, time and effort.

How distance is perceived is a function of the amount of effort
made to overcome it. These efforts can be assessed in terms of
spatial distance, time distance or other effort measures such as
cost or energy spent to overcome distance.

Space is at the same time a support and a

constraint for mobility. It is the context in which
mobility takes place, so space can be a support
for mobility as it will shape the nature and
structure of the transport system. How space
acts as a constraint for transport is often
relative and paradoxical.

For instance, a river acts as a constraint for land

transport systems such as roads and railways, but
represents the support for fluvial transportation (if the
river is navigable). At the same time that the
atmosphere is the spatial support for air transport
operations, the weather can be a constraining factor
under specific circumstances (e.g. snowstorms,
thunderstorms, hurricanes).

The relation between space and time can converge or

diverge. Every form of transport involves the
consumption of a unit of time in exchange of a given
amount of space. Over time this process has mostly
converged, implying that a greater amount of space
can be reached with the same amount of time (or the
same amount of space can be reached with a lesser
amount of time).

This is jointly the outcome of technological

improvements as well as a better capacity and
extent of transport infrastructures. The relation
between space and time can also diverge when
congestion starts to be significant and that
each additional unit of movement results in
additional delays.

A location can be a central or an intermediate

element of mobility. Locations are said to be central
when they act as generators (origins) or attractors
(destinations) of movements. Locations are labeled as
intermediate when movements are passing (transiting)
through them on their way to another location. Ports
and airports are often intermediate locations since
they act as hubs within a complex transport network.

To overcome geography, transportation must

consume space. Transportation infrastructures are
important consumers of space, which includes the
pathways (e.g. roads and rail lines) as well as the
terminals. The more extensive a transport system and
the higher the level of mobility, the more extensive its
consumption of space. Globalization has been linked
with the setting of massive terminal facilities such as

Transportation seeks massification but is

constrained by atomization. Transport
systems are the most effective when they
develop economies of scale, particularly in
terms of the loads (passengers or freight) they
can carry.

Massification involves conveyances with higher

capacity and supported by larger terminals. However,
more than often the first and last segments of a
transport sequence require atomization, which implies
that loads must be consolidated and deconsolidated.
So, the higher the level of massification, the more
complex atomization becomes.

Velocity is a modal, intermodal and managerial effort.

Velocity does not necessarily mean speed, but the
time it takes for a passenger or an unit of freight to
move across a complete transport sequence. For
instance, the speed advantage of air transportation is
undermined if a passenger is spending several hours
between connecting flights.

Therefore, the velocity of passengers or freight is a

joint consideration of the effectiveness of the
respective modes involved, as well as that of the
intermodal operations connecting the modes. In
addition, the complexity of transport systems require
an effective management of its operations, such as
scheduling. All of the above jointly contribute at
improving the velocity of flows carried by transport
TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

Transportability refers to the ease of a movement, with high

transportability requiring limited efforts and low transportability
implying complexity and high costs. The transportability of
passengers is constant in its requirements (unless involving
people with disabilities), with parameters related to tolerance to
acceleration and deceleration, basic comfort, air pressure and
ambient temperature (for air transport). For freight,
transportability is cargo dependent, with some commodities
having limited storage requirements, but heavy to carry.

There are four major factors influencing transportability:
Weight. A simple indicator of the amount of energy
that must be spend to carry the cargo. Heavy cargo
require more energy to be transported as well as
heavier modes and equipment to handle it.
Commodities such as coal, grain and petroleum have a
high density.

Storage. The complexity related to hold the cargo in
inventory before it can be used. This can range from
simple piling to complex temperature controlled
warehousing. Commodities tend to have simple storage
requirements while retail goods need to be handled in
distribution centers. At the end of the spectrum many
food and pharmaceutical products require complex
storage and procedures.

Fragility. The ease at which the cargo can be
damaged during transport. Fragile cargo require
additional handling and storage procedures.

Perishable. Some cargo degrade after being
harvested or manufactured. After a specific duration
their commercial value decline or becomes negligible.
Perishable cargo thus has a much lower
transportability than cargo that does not degrade with
time.
TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND


There are two major types of derived transport demand:
Direct derived demand. This refers to

movements that are directly the outcome of
economic activities, without which they would
not take place. For instance, work-related
activities commonly involve commuting between
the place of residence and the workplace.
There is a supply of work in one location (residence) and a

demand of labor in another (workplace), transportation
(commuting) being directly derived from this relationship.
For freight transportation, all the components of a supply
chain require movements of raw materials, parts and
finished products on modes such as trucks, rail or
containerships. Thus, transportation is directly the
outcome of the functions of production and consumption.

Indirect derived demand. Considers movements

created by the requirements of other movements. For
instance, fuel consumption from transportation
activities must be supplied by an energy production
system requiring movements from zones of extraction,
to refineries and storage facilities and, finally, to
places of consumption.

Warehousing can also be labeled as an indirect derived

demand since it is a "non movement" of a freight
element. Warehousing exists because it is virtually
impossible to move cargo directly from where they are
produced to where they are consumed. Passenger
movements also generate service-related movements
such as roadside assistance (in case of an accident or
mechanical problem).
REPRESENTATIONS OF DISTANCE
Three major representations can be used for distance and the friction it imposes on
transportation:
Euclidean distance. The most basic manner to represent

distance as a simple function of a straight line between two
locations where distance is expressed in geographical units
such as kilometers. Commonly used to provide an
approximationofdistance,butrarelyhasapracticaluse.
transportation:
Transport distance. A more complex representation

that accounts for the existing structure of the transport
network. In a simple form involving only one mode, it is
a routing exercise considering the shortest path between
two points. In a more complex form, it concerns the set
of activities related to physical transportation, such as
loading, unloading and transshipment, are considered.
transportation:
Logistical distance. A complex representation

that encompasses all the tasks required so that
a movement between two locations can take
place. Logistical distance thus includes physical
flows, but also a set of activities necessary for
the management of these flows.
THE SPATIAL CONSIDERATION OF A MOVEMENT

For an unit (whatever it is an unit of freight, a

person or information) to be transferred
between an origin A and a destination B, the
friction of distance must be considered, which is
the effect that each unit of distance may have
on a movement.
Spatial constraints such as distance, the

physiography (elements of the landscape such
as rivers and elevations) or different
administrative divisions (notably for
international transportation) impede
movements. Furthermore, infrastructure must
be present and available in order to support a
movement.
It is common, although not the rule, for transfer

costs to increase proportionally with distance. If
costs are prohibitive, a transfer cannot occur or
is economically unsound. There is consequently
a distance after which a transfer cannot be
economically justified, but this varies according
to the mode used.

Specific transportation modes, because of their
performance, have a strong spatial consideration.
For instance, given the same amount of time, a
pedestrian may cross a D(W) distance, while a
cyclist and an automobilist would cross a D(C) and
a D(D) distance respectively. Different modes
have consequently different relationships with
space because of their respective frictions of
distance.
TRANSPORTATION AND THE MOBILITY OF PASSENGERS AND

FREIGHT
TRANSPORTATION AND THE MOBILITY OF PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT
The great majority of passengers movements are

related to commuting, shopping and recreation.
These movements are dominantly bound by the
time constraints of individuals who are unwilling to
spend more than one hour per day commuting. It is
only when passenger movements are less bound to
time constraints, such as for business and tourism
(when an individual has days instead of hours),
that their geographical range can be extended.
TRANSPORTATION AND THE MOBILITY OF PASSENGERS AND

FREIGHT
Again, this reflects the unwillingness of most

people to commit large amounts of time to
travel. Unlike passengers, most cargo does not
have acute time constraints, although some like
perishables do.
OPERATIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PASSENGERS AND FREIGHT

TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORTATION
There are obviously fundamental differences

between passenger and freight transport
systems since they commonly move in
separate modes. It is however at their
respective terminals that the differences are
the most acute since they concern different
facilities and often different locations.
TRANSPORTATION
While each passenger is an independent decision-

making unit, each load of freight must be managed
from its origin to its destination. The passenger
terminal relates to Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong
while the freight terminal concerns a distribution
center in Shenzhen. Although they are located just 40
km from one-another, they are operationally a world
apart.
ABSOLUTE, RELATIVE AND ARBITRARY BARRIERS

A BARRIER IS A FEATURE THAT CAN IMPEDE MOVEMENTS, WHICH COME IN

THREE MAIN CATEGORIES:
ABSOLUTE BARRIERS ARE GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

THAT PREVENT A MOVEMENT, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE
TO GO BEYOND THE BARRIER IN ITS CURRENT FORM.
RELATIVE BARRIERS ARE GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
THAT IMPOSE A LEVEL OF FRICTION ON A MOVEMENT.
THE MOVEMENT IS A POSSIBILITY BUT COMES AT A
COST THE VARIES ACCORDING TO THE LEVEL OF
FRICTION.

A BARRIER IS A FEATURE THAT CAN IMPEDE MOVEMENTS, WHICH
COME IN THREE MAIN CATEGORIES:
ARBITRARY BARRIERS ARE NON PHYSICAL

EFFECTS ON A MOVEMENT THAT CAN BE LINKED
TO A SPECIFIC AREA, MORE THAN OFTEN A
JURISDICTION. THEY ARE CALLED ARBITRARY
SINCE THEY ARE THE OUTCOME OF HUMAN
DECISIONS AND ACTIVITIES.
CORE COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION


FOR TRANSPORTATION TO TAKE PLACE, FOUR CORE COMPONENTS ARE
ESSENTIAL:
MODES. THEY REPRESENT THE CONVEYANCES,

MOSTLY TAKING THE FORM OF VEHICLES THAT
ARE USED TO CONVEY MOBILITY TO
PASSENGERS OR FREIGHT. SOME MODES ARE
DESIGNED TO CARRY ONLY PASSENGERS OR
FREIGHT, WHILE OTHERS CAN CARRY BOTH.

FOR TRANSPORTATION TO TAKE PLACE, FOUR CORE COMPONENTS ARE
ESSENTIAL:
INFRASTRUCTURES. THE PHYSICAL

SUPPORT OF TRANSPORT MODES, WHERE
ROUTES (E.G. RAIL TRACKS, CANALS OR
HIGHWAYS) AND TERMINALS (E.G. PORTS
OR AIRPORTS) ARE THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT COMPONENTS.
FOR TRANSPORTATION TO TAKE PLACE, FOUR CORE COMPONENTS ARE ESSENTIAL:
NETWORKS. A SYSTEM OF LINKED LOCATIONS THAT

ARE USED TO REPRESENT THE FUNCTIONAL AND
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF TRANSPORTATION. IT
INDICATES WHICH LOCATIONS ARE SERVICED AND
HOW THEY ARE SERVICED. WITHIN A NETWORK
SOME LOCATIONS ARE MORE ACCESSIBLE (MORE
CONNECTIONS) THAN OTHERS (LESS CONNECTIONS).
FOR TRANSPORTATION TO TAKE PLACE, FOUR CORE COMPONENTS ARE ESSENTIAL:
FLOWS. MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE, FREIGHT AND

INFORMATION OVER THEIR RESPECTIVE NETWORKS.
FLOWS HAVE ORIGINS, INTERMEDIARY LOCATIONS
AND DESTINATIONS. AN INTERMEDIARY LOCATION IS
OFTEN REQUIRED TO GO FROM AN ORIGIN TO A
DESTINATION. FOR INSTANCE, FLYING FROM ONE
AIRPORT TO ANOTHER MAY REQUIRE A TRANSIT AT
HUB AIRPORT.

Chapter 1.a

Încărcat de

Informații document

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Chapter 1.a

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Urban and Regional Transportation Planning

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

The Sisyphus Analogy in Transportation

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

The Sisyphus Analogy in Transportation

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Volume represents a load of passengers or freight that

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Transportation is the spatial linking of a derived demand. It takes place

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Distance is a relative concept involving space, time and effort.

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Space is at the same time a support and a

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

For instance, a river acts as a constraint for land

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

The relation between space and time can converge or

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

This is jointly the outcome of technological

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

A location can be a central or an intermediate

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

To overcome geography, transportation must

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Transportation seeks massification but is

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Massification involves conveyances with higher

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Velocity is a modal, intermodal and managerial effort.

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Therefore, the velocity of passengers or freight is a

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

Transportability refers to the ease of a movement, with high

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

There are four major factors influencing transportability:

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTABILITY OF FREIGHT (SELECTED CARGO)

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND

Direct derived demand. This refers to

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND

There are two major types of derived transport demand:

There is a supply of work in one location (residence) and a

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND

Indirect derived demand. Considers movements

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

TRANSPORTATION AS A DERIVED DEMAND

Warehousing can also be labeled as an indirect derived

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

Euclidean distance. The most basic manner to represent

CHAPTER 1 - TRANSPORTATION AND GEOGRAPHY