On line Study Materials for M. Sc.

2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

SPATIAL INTERACTION CONCEPT OF ULLMAN

A systematic approach to the study of transportation in the context of spatial interaction was
developed by Ullman (1954, 1956, 1957, 1967, 1970, and 1973).

The fundamental concept developed by him is known as ‘Ullman’s Principles’ or

‘Ullman’s Traid’. Ullman (1954, 1957, and 1973) put forward three main reasons of the
interactions involving transportation:

(i) Complementarity

(ii) Intervening opportunity, and

(iii) Transferability.

Complementarity: There must be a supply and a demand between the interacting locations.
A residential zone is complementary to an industrial zone because the first is supplying
workers while the second is supplying jobs. The same can be said concerning the
Complementarity between a store and its customers and between an industry and its suppliers
(movements of freight). If location B produces/generates something that location A requires,
then an interaction is possible because a supply/demand relationship has been established
between those two locations; they have become complementary to one another. The same
applies in the other direction (A to B), which creates a situation of reciprocity common in
commuting or international trade.

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College
On line Study Materials for M. Sc. 2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

Intervening opportunity: There must not be another location that may offer a better
alternative as a point of origin or as a point of destination. For instance, in order to have an
interaction of a customer to a store, there must not be a closer store that offers a similar array
of goods. If location C offers the same characteristics (namely complementarity) as location
A and is also closer to location B, an interaction between B and A will not occur and will be
replaced by an interaction between B and C.

Transferability: Freight, persons or information being transferred must be supported by

transport infrastructures, implying that the origin and the destination must be linked. Costs to
overcome distance must not be higher than the benefits of related interaction, even if there is
complementarity and no alternative opportunity. Transport infrastructures (modes and
terminals) must be present to support an interaction between B and A. Also, these
infrastructures must have a capacity and availability which are compatible with the
requirements of such an interaction.

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College
On line Study Materials for M. Sc. 2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

Transferability is a combination of 3 considerations-

1. The characteristics and value of the commodity.

2. The distance over which the interactions need to take place (as measured in both time
and money penalties).

3. The ability of the commodity to bear the costs of movements. If it costs too much
money to transport or it takes too long time to arrive then interaction will not take
place.

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College
On line Study Materials for M. Sc. 2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

THE GRAVITY MODEL

The gravity model is the most common formulation of the spatial interaction method. It is
named as such because it uses a similar formulation than Newton’s law of gravity. Gravity
like representations have been applied in a wide variety of contexts, such as migration,
commodity flows, traffic flows, commuting, and evaluating boundaries between market
areas.

Accordingly, the attraction between two objects is proportional to their mass and inversely
proportional to their respective distance. Consequently, the general formulation of spatial
interactions can be adapted to reflect this basic assumption to form the elementary
formulation of the gravity model:

Pi and Pj: Importance of the location of origin and the location of destination.

dij: Distance between the location of origin and then location of destination.

k is a proportionality constant related to the rate of the event. For instance, if the same system
of spatial interactions is considered, the value of k will be higher if interactions were
considered for a year comparatively to the value of k for one week.

Thus, spatial interactions between locations i and j are proportional to their respective
importance divided by their distance. The gravity model can be extended to include several
calibration parameters:

P, d and k refers to the variables previously discussed.

β (beta): A parameter of transport friction related to the efficiency of the transport system
between two locations. This friction is rarely linear as the further the movement the greater

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College
On line Study Materials for M. Sc. 2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

the friction of distance. For instance, two locations services by a highway will have a lower
beta index than if they were serviced by a regular road.

λ (lambda): Potential to generate movements (emissivity). For movements of people, lambda

is often related to an overall level of welfare. For instance, it is logical to infer that for
retailing flows, a location having higher income levels will generate more movements
(customers).

α (alpha): Potential to attract movements (attractiveness). Related to the nature of economic

activities at the destination. For instance, a center having important commercial activities will
attract more movements.

A significant challenge related to the usage of spatial interaction models, notably the gravity
model, is related to their calibration. Calibration consists in finding the value of each
parameters of the model (constants and exponents) to insure that the estimated results are
similar to the observed flows and that those results can be replicated. If it is not the case, the
model is of limited use as it predicts or explains little. It is impossible to know if the process
of calibration is accurate without comparing estimated results with empirical evidence.

In the two formulations of the gravity model that have been introduced, the simple
formulation offers a good flexibility for calibration since four parameters can be modified.
Altering the value of beta, alpha and lambda will influence the estimated spatial
interactions. Furthermore, the value of the parameters can change in time due to factors such
as technological innovations, new transport infrastructure and economic development.

For instance, improvements in transport efficiency generally have the consequence of

reducing the value of the beta exponent (friction of distance). Economic development is
likely to influence the values of alpha and lambda, reflecting a growth in mobility.

The value of Beta can vary according to the socio-economic conditions in a region. Low
levels of development and unsophisticated transport development implies higher power than
2. When the exponent value is high it implies a rapid decrease in the movement with distance
and vice versa. When it is 0 there is no frictional effect of distance.

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College
On line Study Materials for M. Sc. 2nd Semester, Paper 202, Unit 16

References:

1. Jean-Paul Rodrigue (2013). The Geography of Transport Systems. Routledge, Taylor

& Francis Group, London & New York. (E-ISBN: 978–0–203–37118–3).
2. Kingsley E. Haynes (1984). Gravity and Spatial Interaction Models. SAGE
Publications. pp. 9-13.
3. https://transportgeography.org/

Dr. Swapan Kumar Maity, Assistant Professor of Geography, Nayagram P.R.M. Govt. College