Teaching Time–Space Compression

Abstract

Time–space compression shows students that geographies are plastic, mutable and forever changing. This paper justifies the need to teach this topic, which is rarely found in undergraduate course syllabi. It addresses the impacts of transportation and communications technologies to explicate its dynamics. In summarizing various conceptual perspectives, the paper illustrates the diverse ways in which it has been theorized. The links between time–space compression and globalization are explored. The paper points to four common pitfalls that plague attempts to teach this issue. It offers five classroom examples through which time–space compression can be taught.

Keywords:

• Time–space compression
• transportation technology
• communications technology
• globalization