Distance decay
Encyclopedia
Distance decay is a geographical
term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions. The distance decay effect states that the interaction between two locales declines as the distance between them increases. Once the distance is outside of the two locales' activity space, their interactions begin to decrease.
With the advent of faster travel, distance has less effect than it did in the past, except where places previously well-connected by railroads, for example, have fallen off the beaten path. Advances in communications technology, such as phones, radio and television broadcasts, and internet, have further decreased the eduffects of distance.
Related terms include "friction of distance," which describes the force that creates distance decay and Waldo R. Tobler
's First law of geography
, an informal statement that "All things are related, but near things are more related than far things."
Distance decay is graphically represented by a curving line that swoops concavely downward as distance along the x-axis increases. Distance decay can be mathematically represented by the expression I=1/d², where I is interaction and d is distance, among other forms. It also weighs into the decision to migrate, leading many migrants to move less far than they originally contemplated.
Distance decay is also evident in town/city centres. It can refer to:
-the number of pedestrians getting further from the centre of the Central Business District
(CBD),
-the street quality decreasing as distance from the centre increases as well,
-the quality of shops decreasing as distance from the centre also increases
-the height of buildings decreasing as distance from the centre increases
-the price of land decreasing as distance from the centre increases
Human geography
Human geography is one of the two major sub-fields of the discipline of geography. Human geography is the study of the world, its people, communities, and cultures. Human geography differs from physical geography mainly in that it has a greater focus on studying human activities and is more...
term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions. The distance decay effect states that the interaction between two locales declines as the distance between them increases. Once the distance is outside of the two locales' activity space, their interactions begin to decrease.
With the advent of faster travel, distance has less effect than it did in the past, except where places previously well-connected by railroads, for example, have fallen off the beaten path. Advances in communications technology, such as phones, radio and television broadcasts, and internet, have further decreased the eduffects of distance.
Related terms include "friction of distance," which describes the force that creates distance decay and Waldo R. Tobler
Waldo R. Tobler
Waldo Tobler is an American-Swiss geographer and cartographer. Tobler's idea that "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related to each other" is referred to as the "first law of geography." Tobler is a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara...
's First law of geography
First law of geography
The first law of geography according to Waldo Tobler is "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things."This observation is embedded in the gravity model of trip distribution...
, an informal statement that "All things are related, but near things are more related than far things."
Distance decay is graphically represented by a curving line that swoops concavely downward as distance along the x-axis increases. Distance decay can be mathematically represented by the expression I=1/d², where I is interaction and d is distance, among other forms. It also weighs into the decision to migrate, leading many migrants to move less far than they originally contemplated.
Distance decay is also evident in town/city centres. It can refer to:
-the number of pedestrians getting further from the centre of the Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
(CBD),
-the street quality decreasing as distance from the centre increases as well,
-the quality of shops decreasing as distance from the centre also increases
-the height of buildings decreasing as distance from the centre increases
-the price of land decreasing as distance from the centre increases