Interactive Effects of Telecommunications and Transportation on Individuals' Spatial Position and Residential Location Flexibility

摘要

As information and communications technologies (ICT), most notably personal computers, the internet, and mobile phones, are becoming essential means of spatial interaction for an increasingly large percentage of the world's population, today, more than ever, telecommunications has major implications for travel demand and housing choice. However, there has been a shortage of serious efforts to understand the likely future impacts of telecommunications on households' location decision under various conditions of technological progress, economic development, and social change. This research has two objectives: (1) to expand and improve an analytical framework for understanding how telecommunications may affect individuals' location choice in contemporary metropolitan areas, and (2) to apply the resulting analytical tool to an exploration of possible future changes in urban spatial structure. In the project report, the authors present their methodological approach, which is distinguished by the development of an economic measure of spatial impedance that accounts for both the time savings and the monetary expenses associated with remote interaction via ICT. The authors also describe their simulation-based analysis of the changing spatial position and residential location flexibility of individuals under various scenarios of adoption of telecommuting. Part of the simulation exercise is directed to uncovering the interactive spatial effects of telecommunications and transportation on individuals and communities differentiated by telecommunications capability, transportation mobility, and geographic location.