A Prologue to Transportation Geography Research

A PROLOGUE TO TRANSPORTATION GEOGRAPHY RESEARCH James O. Wheeler* Research in transportation geography has undergone several substantial changes in orientation and focus over the last quarter century. Some of these shifts have paralleled general changes in the field of geography; in other instances research by transportation geographers has been instrumental in influencing the nature and direction of research by other geographers. Heuristically, four somewhat separate approaches to transportation geography research may be identified. These are termed, somewhat fancifully, and in the context of quantitative developments, the pre-revolution, the revolution, the aftermath , and early maturity. PRE-REVOLUTION. The pre-revolution took place largely prior to 1959, the date Richard Hartshorne published his Perspectives on the Nature of Geography. (1) Prior to this time transportation geography, as well as the field of geography in general, had not taken on a substantial quantitative or theoretical thrust. Although Schaefer's now renowned article published in 1953 criticizing exceptionalism in geography had some influence during the mid-to-late 1950's, the influence was principally restricted to a minority of the quantitative geographers, and it was not until somewhat later that a substantial number of quantitative and theoretical geographers began to regard Schaefer's statement as a major turning point in the direction of the discipline. (2) Research in transportation geography was heavily dominated by descriptive and historical studies, often organized on a regional or modal basis. Transportation was studied primarily in an economic as opposed to a social context. There was considerable concern with mapping and interpreting commodity flows, despite a paucity of detailed flow data. Some limited application of modeling * Dr. Wheeler is professor and head of the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia. 2 Southeastern Geographer took place during the 1950's but was largely limited to the gravity model. (3) All in all, however, quantitative techniques and theoretical perspectives were employed during this period only in isolated or specific situations, rather than commonly as during the 1960's. REVOLUTION. The term revolution refers to a short period from approximately 1959 to about 1963. The latter date is used principally because of the statement by Ian Burton at that time that "the quantitative revolution is over." (4) William Garrison was a major figure in transportation geography during this period. Although Garrison's research was mainly in transportation geography, his influence and that of his students extended throughout the discipline of geography . (5) During the early 1960's numerous studies appeared on the spatial analysis of transportation networks, on the modeling of flows using the transportation problem of linear programming, and on examining the role of transportation in location theory. At this time there were heated exchanges of opinion in geographic journals debating the merits of quantitative methods in geographic research. (6) In the subfield of transportation geography the advantages of mathematical and statistical procedures were readily accepted. The tempo of research activity was further accelerated by developments in computer technology and increasing data availability, especially involving human movement within metropolitan areas. Transportation geography during this period was highly analytical, concerned with the concept of efficiency, and fit largely within the overall framework of economic location theory. The field was also heavily influenced by the methodology of regional science. THE AFTERMATH, 1963-1970. The aftermath of the quantitative and theoretical revolution in transportation geography resulted in publication of a number of syntheses. (7) It was a time of continued application and experimentation with a variety of quantitative techniques and modeling approaches. The changes within transportation geography were reflected in the treatment of the subject matter in introductory textbooks in economic geography. Basic changes also occurred in the major geographic journals, in the kinds of articles published, and in the quantitative sophistication expected of the audience. It was also during this time that Peter Haggett suggested a conceptual reorganization of geographic analysis around the con- Vol. XVI, No. 1 cepts of point analysis, linear analysis, hierarchial analysis, and analysis of geographical surface. (8) The infusion of multivariate analysis in geography in general was paralleled in transportation geography by attempts to explain transportation as dependent variables with a set of independent variables. Likewise, the so-called geometric school of geographic analysis had...