Transportation Geography

Transportation Geography, also Transport Geography, is the branch of geography that investigates spatial interactions; letting them be of people, freight, and information. It can consider humans and their use of vehicles, or other modes of traveling. And how markets are serviced by flows of finished goods and raw materials. It is a branch of Economic geography.

“The ideal transport mode would be instantaneous, free, have an unlimited capacity and always be available. It would render space obsolete. This is obviously not the case. Space is a constraint for the construction of transport networks. Transportation appears to be an economic activity different from others. It trades space with time and thus money” (translated from ).

Geography and transportation intersect in terms of movement of people, goods, and information. Over time, accessibility has increased and led to a greater reliance on mobility. This trend can be traced back to the industrial revolution, although it has significantly accelerated in the second half of the twentieth-century, for various reasons. Today, societies rely on transport systems to support a wide variety of activities. These activities include commuting, supplying energy needs, distributing goods, and acquiring personal wants. Developing sufficient transport networks has been a continuous challenge to meet growing economic development, mobility needs, and ultimately to participate in the global economy.

Transport and urban geography are closely intertwined, with the concept of ribbon development closely aligned to urban and transport studies. As humans increasingly seek to travel the world, the relationship transport and urban areas have often become obscured.

Transportation geography measures the result of human activity between and within locations. It focuses on items such as travel time, routes undertaken, modes of transport, resource use, and sustainability of transport types on the natural environment. Other sections consider topography, safety aspects of vehicle use, and energy use within an individual's or group's journey.

The purpose of transportation is to overcome space, which is shaped by both human and physical constraints, such as distance, political boundaries, time, and topographies. The specific purpose of transportation is to fulfill a demand for mobility, since it can only exist if it moves something, whether it is people or goods. Any kind of movement must consider its geographical setting, and then choose an available form of transport based on cost, availability, and space.