Proximity in networks : the role of transport infrastructure
BURMEISTER ; COLLETIS-WAHL
Type de document
COMMUNICATION AVEC ACTES INTERNATIONAL (ACTI)
Langue
anglais
Auteur
BURMEISTER ; COLLETIS-WAHL
Résumé / Abstract
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE APPEARS TO BE LESS IMPORTANT AS A LOCATIONAL FACTOR FOR INDUSTRY, IN A CONTEXT OF DECREASING TRANSPORT COSTS, QUASI-UBIQUITY OF QUALITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE INCREASE OF IMMATERIAL FLOWS (INFORMATION, COMPLEX SERVICES). HOWEVER, THE RESTRUCTURING OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS TOWARDS LEAN PRODUCTION, JUST-IN-TIME CIRCULATION, QUASI-INTEGRATION AND GLOBALIZATION OF MARKETS, IMPOSES NEW PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. THE TRADITIONAL FRAMEWORK DEALING WITH TRANSPORTATION MAINLY AS A COST THUS BECOMES LESS AND LESS RELEVANT FOR UNDERSTANDING THE EMERGING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PRODUCTION AND CIRCULATION. WE SUGGEST TO ANALYZE THE ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION IN SPATIAL STRATEGIES OF INDUSTRY THROUGH A RENEWED FRAMEWORK OF THE CONCEPT OF DISTANCE. WE INTRODUCE THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN SPATIAL DISTANCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROXIMITY. WE DEMONSTRATE THAT THE CONTRACTION OF SPACE AND TIME THAT DEFINES GLOBALIZATION LEADS TO A DIFFERENT ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AS A FACTOR OF PROXIMITY IN TERMS OF CIRCULATION.
