Spatial Technologies, Accessibility, and the Social Construction of Urban Space

Accessibility is both an important concept, and a powerful indicator, in the understanding of the impact of spatial technologies, i.e. transportation, communication, and information technologies. However, virtually all existing measures of intra-metropolitan accessibility incorporate only transportation without considering other means of spatial interaction. In this paper, the author argues that by carefully examining the relationship between transportation and communication, it is possible to develop measures that represent urban spatial structure more completely. Based on studies of teleworking in the United States, the author presents an accessibility measure that takes into account both travel and telecommuting. A case study of employment accessibility in the Boston Metropolitan Area indicates that advances in spatial technologies may generate the dual effect of locational equalization and socio-spatial polarization. In the urban space that is increasingly technologically delineated and socially constructed, low-income workers will very likely find themselves in a more and more disadvantaged position. # 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved