Theoretical Models of Time-Space: The Role of Transport Networks in the Shrinking and Shrivelling of Geographical Space - Methods for Multilevel Analysis and Visualisation of Geographical Networks - page 58

( Kirsch , 1995 ). According to Kirsch, the evolution of time-space cannot be seen as
a simple contraction or shrinking process. Various disagreements with the uniform
contraction idea can be found in several geographers' works on cartographical
developments ( Abler et al. , 1975 ; Boggs , 1941 ; Haggett , 1990 ). More recently,
Knowles uses the expression of a “shrunken but misshapen world” to describe
the present time-space where contraction is all but uniform ( Knowles , 2006 ). The
abandonment of commercial supersonic flight, the development of congestion and
the increasing concern about security in the air transportation system are the cause of
contradictory movements implying both convergence and divergence in time-space.
The notion of time-space convergence was introduced ( Janelle , 1968 ; Janelle &
Gillespie , 2004 ) to show that larger cities benefited more than smaller cities from the
contraction of time-space, which resulted from the development of faster modes of
transportation. For Janelle, the modernization of transport systems is seen as a factor
of concentration in urban agglomerations. Throughout history, increased transport
speeds have benefited larger cities more than smaller settlements. According to
Christaller's theory of urban hierarchy, large cities are more dispersed in space
than smaller ones. Two large neighboring cities will be separated by a much longer
distance, than any two smaller neighboring cities. Janelle demonstrated that the
increase in speed produces a stronger effect on the time-space contraction of long
distances than on short distances. The evolution of the transportation systems speed
provides an advantage to the larger cities, rather than the smaller ones, which is in
agreement with the literature on metropolitanization. For Knowles, the identification
of privileged places in the process of space contraction is still an idea that must be
demonstrated to challenge the misrepresentations of uniform time-space shrinkage
( Knowles , 2006 ).
Recently, the literature on globalization has adopted the principle of fast com-
munication and transportation on a global scale as its base ( Sassen , 1991 ; Smith &
Timberlake , 2002 ; Taylor , 2004 ). Global transport systems are solely responsible for
making the present movement of globalization and the unprecedented concentration
of population in major metropolises possible.
The initial discussion on the three-dimensional model presented here considered
the terrestrial relief as the space of reference. The expressions of time-space peaks
and time-space valleys referred to the relative position of the portions of space in
the representation. In the time-space deformation, following the introduction of the
high-speed train system within French national space ( L'Hostis et al. , 1993 ), the
development of a new high-speed tangential axis was seen as a way to fill up the
valleys created from the introduction of a differential in transport speeds, combined
with a star shape in the network. These initial contributions emphasized the analogy
with terrestrial relief.
Later, the idea of a time-space 'crumpling' was introduced to develop a metaphor
( L'Hostis , 2000 ) to represent European space deformed by the high-speed rail
network. The image developed is the deformation of a shrivelled sheet of paper,
which is an idea of the three-dimensional treatment of a plane. The metaphor
refers to a shortening of some distances while preserving the initial geographical
surface. The metaphor of 'crumpling' opposes the two spaces of high and low