Gould’s Spatial Exploration Model of Transport Development
The behavioural model was
proposed in 1966 as an alternative to the Taaffe, Morrill and Gould concepts of
transport development. It incorporates a random approach and is based upon a
simulation of search theory, with the development of a transport network within
an area, which contains resources and hazards, or constraints, indicated by
isorithms of environmental quality.
The developer aims to tap the
resources of a previously unexploited area, depicted as a square, by building
roads from a port on the coast, which forms one side of this square. As road
building proceeds so the developer will encounter the resources and the
constraints, such as mountains or rivers, within the environment. In stage one
capital is invested in roads, which diverge from the port in straight lines.
In stage two, information on the
nature of the resources or of the hazards encountered by the advancing roads is
fed back to the development who may react in one of two ways. The resource
already tapped may be exploited by investing in all-weather roads, or the
search may be continued for other resources by extending the road network.
Stage three comprises the construction of further links following the
principles outlined in the first two stages (Figure 3.5).
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| Gould’s Spatial Exploration Model of Transport Development |
