Time–space convergence and the reduction in the friction of distance
The IB syllabus says: Explain how a reduction in the friction of distance results in time–space convergence.
What is the friction of distance?
The friction of distance is the concept that the length of the journey (distance), and the difficulty of the journey (friction) affects the time needed to complete the journey (time). It can be expressed as follows:
Distance + friction = time
If friction is fixed (e.g. difficulty of getting from A to B), and time is always limited to the same extent (e.g. getting milk to market), then distance is fixed too (you can only go a limited way before you find no profit in going further – either because it takes too much time or because you lose your goods). So, the distance between things is limited.
In practice this means that products made in one part of the world have a limited distance they can travel before it becomes uneconomical. This is especially the case with bulky, heavy items such as vehicles or steel products.
How can the friction of distance be altered?
What if friction wasn’t fixed? Distance + less friction = Less time. So, if we can reduce friction (e.g. make it easier to get from A to B), we can save time. What do we do with that time? We could make the journey more often, or go further. This leads to time-space convergence: we can go more often (time), or we can go further (space) – or we can do a mixture of the two.
Time-space convergence
An example is the journey time between two major cities in the first industrialised country, the United Kingdom. The table below shows the time it takes to travel between the cities at different points in history.
The IB syllabus says: Explain how a reduction in the friction of distance results in time–space convergence.
What is the friction of distance?
The friction of distance is the concept that the length of the journey (distance), and the difficulty of the journey (friction) affects the time needed to complete the journey (time). It can be expressed as follows:
Distance + friction = time
If friction is fixed (e.g. difficulty of getting from A to B), and time is always limited to the same extent (e.g. getting milk to market), then distance is fixed too (you can only go a limited way before you find no profit in going further – either because it takes too much time or because you lose your goods). So, the distance between things is limited.
In practice this means that products made in one part of the world have a limited distance they can travel before it becomes uneconomical. This is especially the case with bulky, heavy items such as vehicles or steel products.
How can the friction of distance be altered?
What if friction wasn’t fixed? Distance + less friction = Less time. So, if we can reduce friction (e.g. make it easier to get from A to B), we can save time. What do we do with that time? We could make the journey more often, or go further. This leads to time-space convergence: we can go more often (time), or we can go further (space) – or we can do a mixture of the two.
Time-space convergence
An example is the journey time between two major cities in the first industrialised country, the United Kingdom. The table below shows the time it takes to travel between the cities at different points in history.
Globalization is all about the increasing interactions between places, leading to increased interconnectedness (those interactions lead to connections, or ties between places). In the example above, the interactions between London and Edinburgh are bound to increase over time.
Time-space convergence is spatially varied
When we discuss the time-space convergence of locations, we usually relate major network hubs, or nodes. (A node is a point of connection on a network.) Therefore, we would study the time-space convergence between Hong Kong and Los Angeles, Paris and London, Durban and Brisbane. In globalization, this contributes to the development in 'global cities' which have the transport infrastructure to make ever quicker links between other places.
However, the areas in between these nodes are much less well connected. It can take longer to travel from Milan to Bari (distance 885km, 8 hours 44 minutes train journey) than from Milan to New York (8 hours, 33 minute flight time). This results in the spatial relationship shown on maps being very different when the relationship is shown in time. The maps below use the example of London and the United Kingdom.
Time-space convergence is spatially varied
When we discuss the time-space convergence of locations, we usually relate major network hubs, or nodes. (A node is a point of connection on a network.) Therefore, we would study the time-space convergence between Hong Kong and Los Angeles, Paris and London, Durban and Brisbane. In globalization, this contributes to the development in 'global cities' which have the transport infrastructure to make ever quicker links between other places.
However, the areas in between these nodes are much less well connected. It can take longer to travel from Milan to Bari (distance 885km, 8 hours 44 minutes train journey) than from Milan to New York (8 hours, 33 minute flight time). This results in the spatial relationship shown on maps being very different when the relationship is shown in time. The maps below use the example of London and the United Kingdom.
The changing speed and capacity of different types of transport
The syllabus says: Examine the relative changes in the speed and capacity of two types of transport (air, ocean, road, rail, pipeline) responsible for the flow of goods, materials and people.
(Note: In the graph, you are looking for the LOWEST line to find out the cheapest type of transport.)mThe graph below shows the various costs of different types of transport. Note how these will be one of the factors that affects the friction of distance. It's clear that, over short periods, road transport is the cheapest - largely because of the relatively small economy of scale. But, over long distances, ocean and rail transport can achieve much greater savings, thereby increasing the distance that can be travelled economically. |
Further details on this section of the course can be found on the excellent Greenfield Geography website.
https://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Time%E2%80%93space+convergence+and+the+reduction+in+the+friction+of+distance
https://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/Time%E2%80%93space+convergence+and+the+reduction+in+the+friction+of+distance