The "structuring effects" of transportation: political myth and scientific mystification

Abstract

Beginning with the industrial revolution during the 19th century, the rhetoric of “impact” and the “induced effect” of transportation on urban planning and development has continuously accompanied the development of communication infrastructures. However, a demonstration of the validity of this relationship has yet to be produced. Evaluating the influence of the operational implementation of a particular kind of equipment on the economics of a territory poses enormous methodological problems. Even the most rigorous empirical studies can only be used to confirm the amplification and acceleration of pre-existing tendencies. The persistence of the myth of “structuring effects” can in fact be explained by the political utilization of the notion for decision-making and in evaluation procedures at the outset of important urban projects.