Origins of Colonial Transportation in Mexico
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4491092 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Peter W Rees (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 323 |
| Publication date | 1975-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Geographical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/213532 |
| OpenAlex | W2313053274 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
S TUDIES of transportation networks have followed at least two approaches. In one, the existence of the network is accepted, and analysis of its structure and linkages is emphasized, often using a technique such as graph theory.1 In the other, identification of the processes that account for the particular location of route segments is the central concern.2 Although historical in perspective, such locational studies often appear to cover more extensive time periods than might be thought necessary to explain the forces that have produced the spatial configurations of contemporary networks. The reason for this discrepancy seems to lie in the continuity, or inertia, of principal routes whose location, once established, is perpetuated by the attraction of additional on-line economic support beyond that originally generated between terminals. This continuity is weakened or disrupted only at certain critical moments, principally during the introduction of a major transportation innovation, whose technological requirements dictate a new route alignment, or at times of major cultural and economic change, when new sources of interaction may appear. It is in those moments, often in the distant past, that the original motivation for the location of present-day transport networks must be sought. Such is the case of the route pattern of eastern Mexico. The lines of communication that extend eastward from Mexico City cross a basinstudded high plateau, drop 3,000 meters down the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Madre Oriental from a temperate to a tropical environment, winding into summer in the words of Graham Greene, and finally traverse the barranca-sliced gulf lowlands to converge on the port of Veracruz. This represents one of Mexico's principal and oldest transportation axes. For much of the 430-kilometer distance the physical environment places few constraints on route location, but at two points options are limited regardless of technology. On the eastern side of the Valley of Mexico, the peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl form a massive volcanic ridge, the Sierra de Tliloc. Here, routes must either converge on one of two passes or circumvent the
Archaeology · Colonialism · Ethnology · Geography · Archaeology and Natural History · Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond · History · Mexican Socioeconomic and Environmental Dynamics
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,13 |
| Citation span | 1979 - 2020 (42) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |