GRMD 3305

Transport Geography

2024 Spring
Instructor: Scarlett Jin
Department of Geography and Resource
Management
 Left Center Right

Please writing
down your
preferred name and
student ID on the
chair that you are Scarlett
Stage
seating on. 1155359382

Example:
 What is Transport Geography

“Transport geography is a sub-discipline of geography

concerned with the mobility of people, freight, and information
and its spatial organization. It includes attributes and
constraints related to the origin, destination, extent, nature,
and purpose of mobility.”
- Textbook (Rodrigue, 2020)

Purpose of transportation: overcome space with time and money.

 Why Transport Geography?

Vital role in societal life
 Historical importance
 Social importance
 Political importance
 Economic importance
 Environmental impacts
 Public health impacts
Why Transport Geography?
Historical Importance
Why Transport Geography?
Social Importance
Why Transport Geography?
Economic Importance
Why Transport Geography?
Political Importance
Why Transport Geography?

Environmental
Impacts

Source: https://ar5-syr.ipcc.ch/topic_observedchanges.php
Why Transport Geography?

Public Health
Impacts

Source: https://www.iqair.com/newsroom/what-pollution-
measures-should-i-watch-out-for
 Why Transport Geography?
Environmental
Impacts

Palm Oil Spill, 2017

Source:
http://sc.mp/XG0Lk6?utm_source=copy-
link&utm_campaign=2105996&utm_medium=
share_widget
Plastic Pellet Spill, 2012
Source:
http://sc.mp/XG0Lk6?utm_source=copy-
link&utm_campaign=2105996&utm_medium=
share_widget
 Why Transport Geography?
Knowledge Skills
 Concepts and theories  Critical thinking skills
 Characteristics of  Writing skills
different transportation
modes  Communication and
interpersonal skills
 Economic,
environmental, public  Public speaking skills
health, and social  Learning skills
impacts
 Today’s Plan

01 Why Transport 02 Instructor & Tutor

Geography

03 Course Contents & 04 Student Self-

Evaluation introduction

05 Mobility & Accessibility

Scarlett (JIN Ting)
BSc, School of Hotel and Tourism Management,
PolyU
MPhil, GRM, CUHK
PhD, Department of Geography, The Ohio State
University, U.S.
Postdoc, Department of Geography, Virginia Tech,
U.S.

Office: Room 228, Wong Foo Yuan Building

Meeting by appointment: scarlettjin@cuhk.edu.hk
LI Wenyu
Year-3 PhD Candidate (CSS Fellowship)
Research interests: GIS, Social
vulnerability, CSS(computational social
science)

Office: Room 251, Wong Foo Yuan Building

Email: liwenyu@link.cuhk.edu.hk

Office hours: Wed 3:00-4:00 PM, Thu 3:30-4:30

PM
Course Schedule
 Course Evaluation

Tutorial Team Project Final Exam Bonus Points

15% 40% 45% 5%

100%
 Course Evaluation

2% 4% 5%
Tutorial 1
Q&A Session Class
of Project Participation
Tutorial 2%
Presentation (Lecture &
Tutorial 2
Tutorial)
2%
15%
Tutorial 3
 Course Evaluation

25% 15%
Team
Written Report
Team Project Presentation
(All team members
> 3,500 words are required to
participate)
40% 15-minute
presentation
+ 5-minute Q&A
 Course Evaluation

A handout will be
provided at each lecture
Most exam questions
come form handouts Final Exam
Only hardcopy
NOT available on the 45%
Blackboard
 Course Evaluation

Transport Geography
News Sharing
5%

2-to-5-minute mini-presentation
Bonus Points
before lecture
Sign up any week with our TA. 5%
2-3 students per lecture, limited
spots, first come first served!
 Course Materials
 Textbook: Rodrigue, J-P (ed) (2020), The Geography of
Transport Systems, Fifth Edition, New York: Routledge.
(free online book: https://transportgeography.org/)
 Additional reading materials will be provided on
Blackboard
 PPT slides will be available on Blackboard on Thursday
after the lecture
 Appendixes
 Appendix A: Essay Style and Citation Details

 Appendix B: Critical Thinking Skills

 Appendix C: Tips for Preparing Your Presentation

 Appendix D: Peer Assessment Form

 Appendix E: Assessment Criteria for Teamwork in the Group Project

 Appendix F: Grade Descriptors for GRMD3305 Transport Geography

 Appendix G: Declaration
Self-Introduction
 Your name & preferred name
 Your major & year of study
 Why take this course? What do
you expect to learn?
 Which lecture topic(s) are you
most interested in?
 What is your future career goal?
Is it somehow related to this
course?
Mobility vs.
Accessibility
 Mobility vs. Accessibility
 Mobility is the potential for movement

 Accessibility is the potential for interaction

Source: Hansen, W. G. (1959). How accessibility shapes land
use. Journal of the American Institute of planners, 25(2), 73-76.
 Good Mobility Poor Mobility
Ability to move around Inability to move around
 Good Accessibility Poor Accessibility
Ability to get what your need Inability to get what you need

Destinations Destinations
close by far away

Many
No public
transportation
transportation
mode choices
 Mobility-Accessibility Relationship
 Good mobility usually contributes to good accessibility

 BUT
 You can have good accessibility
with poor mobility, e.g.,
congested urban areas
Manhattan,
New York City

 You can have poor accessibility

with good mobility, e.g., rural
areas, upscale residential areas
Kau To Shan,
Shatin
 What Determines Accessibility?
 Accessibility = f(proximity + connectivity)
 Proximity
 How close you are to destinations?
 Connectivity
 How directly does the transportation system link you
to destinations?
Implications of planning for
accessibility vs. mobility?
 Problems of planning for mobility
 Video: How highways make traffic worse
(https://youtu.be/2z7o3sRxA5g?si=n9_aEJB6xFMS-bVx)
 Find answers to the following questions:
1. What is induced demand?
2. Why building more highways can’t reduce
congestion?
3. What are the possible solutions?
 Mobility vs. Accessibility
Planning for mobility
Planning i.e., more road
 Focus on “level of service” for mobility building

 Priority to vehicles + +

 Make it easier to drive i.e., less Ease of

Congestion mobility
driving

+ +

Amount of
driving
 Mobility vs. Accessibility

Planning for
Planning for accessibility
accessibility
 Focus on “livability”
–
 Priority to people
Congestion
… and so less Need for  Make it easier to NOT drive
need for roads driving

? ?

Amount of
driving
 Mobility vs. Accessibility
Planning for mobility Planning for accessibility
 Focus on “level of service”  Focus on “livability”
 Priority to vehicles  Priority to people
 Make it easier to drive  Make it easier to NOT drive
End of Lecture