Transportation geography and geographic thought in the United States: an overview

The development of transportation geography is considered in the context of three geographic traditions: ecology, area study and spatial organization. Beginning in the mid-1950s, there was an increase in spatial, quantitative and theoretical work. During the 1970s, a critique of this positivistic ap...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of transport geography 1994, Vol.2 (3), p.155-168
Main Authors: Taaffe, Edward J, Gauthier, Howard L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
geographic thought
transportation geography
USA
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Summary:The development of transportation geography is considered in the context of three geographic traditions: ecology, area study and spatial organization. Beginning in the mid-1950s, there was an increase in spatial, quantitative and theoretical work. During the 1970s, a critique of this positivistic approach emerged. Since 1970, there has been a growth of pluralism with a complex intertwining of philosophical and definitional paradigms that have had an important impact on transportation studies. It is hoped that future emphasis will be on the specific-theory level of a paradigm, particularly the link between theory and empiricism as exemplified by: verification studies; GIS; mode l-context analysis; policy analysis; and regional studies.
ISSN:0966-6923
1873-1236
DOI:10.1016/0966-6923(94)90001-9