Space-Time Behavior Research and Application in China - Space-Time Integration in Geography and GIScience - page 20

Chapter 3
Space-Time Behavior Research and Application
in China

Yanwei Chai, Zhilin Liu, Yan Zhang, and Tana

3.1 Introduction

The space-time behavior approach provides a unique perspective for understanding
complex relationships between human activity and urban environments in space and
time (Hanson and Hanson 1993 ;Kwan 2002a ; Miller 2004 ). Built largely on the
theoretical framework of time geography proposed by Hägerstrand (1970), space-
time behavior research has grown into an influential approach in urban geography,
urban planning and transportation planning (Dijst 1999 ;Kwan 2002b ; Timmermans
et al. 2002 ). Recently, this approach has enjoyed even greater popularity and
impact in contemporary theoretical and methodological debates, a wider variety of
empirical topics, and more active engagement with planning practices, thanks to
the development of GIS-based analytic tools and high-quality individual space-time
activity data (Kwan 2004 ; Shaw and Yu 2009 ; Neutens et al. 2011 ).
The activity-based approach using disaggregate survey data has also become
influential in China over the last two decades, as urban geographers and planners
have tried to make sense of the dynamic interactions between individual life