Transport and Development

232 Pages·1973·20.751 MB·English

by  B. S. Hoyle (eds.)

GEOGRAPHICAL READINGS
Transport and Development
The Geographical Readings Series
Published
Rivers and River Terraces o. H. D UR Y
Introduction to Coastline Development J. A. STEERS
Applied Coastal Geomorphology J. A. STEERS
World Vegetation Types s. R. EYRE
Developing the Underdeveloped Countries ALAN B. MOUNTJOY
Glaciers and Glacial Erosion CLIFFORD EMBLETON
Transport and Development B. s. HOYLE
Climatic Geomorphology EDWARD DERBYSHIRE
Titles in preparation include
The City in The Third World D. J. DWYER
Biogeography R. P. MOSS
Transport and Development
EDITED BY
B. S. HOYLE
MACMILLAN EDUCATION
Selection, editorial matter and introduction
© B. S. Hoyle 1973
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without permission
First published 1973 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
London and Basingstoke
Associated companies in New York
Melbourne Dublin Johannesburg and Madras
SBN 333 14477 5 (hard cover)
SBN 333 14478 3 (paper cover)
ISBN 978-0-333-14478-7 ISBN 978-1-349-15506-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-15506-4
Text set in 10/12 pt. Monotype Times New Roman
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7
INTRODUCTION 9
Geography, Transportation and Regional Development
BY Howard L. Gauthier (1970) 19
2 Transport Expansion in Underdeveloped Countries: A
Comparative Analysis
BY Edward J. Taaffe, Richard L. Morrill and Peter R.
Gould (1963) 32
3 Transport and Economic Growth in Developing Countries:
The Case of East Africa
BY B. S. Hoyle (1970) 50
4 The Search for Spatial Regularities in the Development of
Australian Seaports 1861-1961/2
BY Peter J. Rimmer (1967) 63
5 Transport Expansion in Liberia
BY William R. Stanley (1970) 87
6 Highway Improvements and Agricultural Production: An
Argentine Case Study
BY Fred Miller (1968) 104
7 The Importance of Passenger Transport in Nigeria
BY Alan Hay (1969) 125
8 Recent Railway Construction in Tropical Africa
BY A.M. O'Connor (1969) 139
9 Container Potential of West African Ports
BY David Hilling (1969) 151
10 Transportation and the Growth of the Sao Paulo Economy
BY Howard L. Gauthier (1968) 167
6 Contents
11 Transportation and Urban Development in West Africa:
A Review
BY Shalom Reichman (1972) 190
12 Towards a Theory of Transport and Development
BY George Wilson (1966) 208
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 231
Acknowledgements
'Transport Expansion in Underdeveloped Countries', by Edward J.
Taaffe, Richard L. Morrill and Peter R. Gould, reprinted from the
Geographical Review, 53 (1963) and 'Transport Expansion in Liberia',
by William R. Stanley, reprinted from the Geographical Review, 60
(1970), copyrighted by the American Geographical Society of New
York; 'Towards a Theory of Transport and Development', by George
W. Wilson, from The Impact of Highway Investment on Development,
by George W. Wilson, Barbara R. Bergmann, Leon V. Hirsch and
MartinS. Klein© 1966, by the Brookings Institution, Washington
D.C.; 'Recent Railway Construction in Tropical Africa', by A.M.
O'Connor, from Transport in Africa, proceedings of a symposium
held at the Centre of African Studies 1969, by permission of Centre of
African Studies Committee, University of Edinburgh; 'Transporta
tion and Urban Development in West Africa: A Review', by Shalom
Reichman. from CNRS publications of papers from the Inter
national Conference on La croissance urbaine en Afrique noire
et a Madagascar, by permission of Centre National de Ia
Recherche Scientifique; 'Container Potential of West African Ports',
by David Hilling, from Dock and Harbour Authority, 50, No. 583
(1969), reprinted by permission of The Dock and Harbour Authority;
'Geography, Transportation and Regional Development', by Howard
L. Gauthier, from Economic Geography, 46 (1970), reprinted by per
mission of Economic Geography; 'Highway Improvements and
Agricultural Production: An Argentine Case Study', by F. Miller,
from Traffic Quarterly, 22 (1968), reprinted by permission of Eno
Foundation for Highway Traffic Control, Inc.; 'The Search for
Spatial Regularities in the Development of Australian Seaports
1861-1961/2', by Peter J. Rimmer, from Geografiska Annaler, 49B
(1967), reprinted by permission of Geografiska Annaler; 'The Im
portance of Passenger Transport in Nigeria', by Alan Hay, Nigerian
Journal of Economic and Social Studies, 11 (1969), by permission of
Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies (Nigerian Econo
mic Society); 'Transportation and the Growth of the Sao Paulo
8 Acknowledgements
Economy', by H. L. Gauthier, from Journal of Regional Science, 8,
No. 1, reprinted by permission of the Journal of Regional Science;
'Transport and Economic Growth in Developing Countries: The
Case of East Africa', by B. S. Hoyle, from Geographical Essays in
Honour of K. C. Edwards, eds. R. H. Osborne, F. A. Barnes and J. C.
Doornkamp (1970), reprinted by permission of the University of
Nottingham.
Introduction
THE relationship between transport and development is a subject of
considerable theoretical interest and practical importance, and one
that has occupied a good deal of attention over many years in both
advanced and less-developed countries. The interaction between the
level and pattern of transport resources and the average level of
living of the population of an area is a critical factor affecting econo
mic and social progress, and must be taken into account at all stages
of national and regional development planning. In the advanced
countries, much attention was paid to transport innovation during
the formative years of industrial growth; today, new strategies of
economic planning require the modification or renewal of inherited
transport systems. In the less-developed countries, to which this
volume primarily refers, there is widespread concern for transport in
the context of the desire to promote rapid economic development.
The spectrum of transport modes available in the less-developed
world ranges from head porterage to jumbo jets and from canoes to
containers, although there may be no intermodal choice in one
locality. Yet 'there is no escape from transport' (Munby, 1968); even
in the most remote and least developed of inhabited regions, trans
port in some form is a fundamental part of the daily rhythm of life.
The study of transport is not the unique prerogative of any one
discipline, but is shared by many fields of inquiry each with its own
range of viewpoints. Economists are concerned particularly with the
assessment of the demand for transport and with the problems of the
cost of overcoming distance (Fromm, 1965; Prest, 1969); the costs of
investment in the transport sector are weighed objectively against
the benefits likely to accrue, and against the potential feedback from
investment in alternative sectors. For the geographer the chief
importance of transport arises from its role as one of the principal
factors affecting the location and distribution of economic and social
activities. Geographers are thus concerned with the changing spatial
structure of transport networks in relation to other aspects of the
landscape, and with the factors affecting changing patterns of traffic