The E-merging Geography of the Information Society: From Accessibility to Adaptability

Abstract

Issues related to the reconceptualization of access and accessibility in the information age have received significant attention from both policy makers and academic researchers in recent years (Couclelis 1996, Handy and Niemeier 1997, Kwan 1999, Litan and Niskanen 1998, Leebaert 1998, Miller 1999). This growing interest is attributed partly to the central importance of access and accessibility in geographic theories and models, and is caused partly by the extraordinary innovations in communication and transportation technologies in the late 20th century (Hodge 1997, Hanson 1998). From recent literature, one concludes that there is little consensus on how to define (much less how to measure) access and accessibility in the information age. Most authors do seem to agree that the traditional conceptualizations of access and accessibility are incapable of capturing the new reality and that we need to redefine and reconceptualize accessibility in light of the new Internet-led revolution in telecommunications (See Chapter 16 by Hanson and Chapter 17 by Occelli). However, few have asked the fundamental questions: why are we so obsessed with the access and accessibility issues, and what exactly are their roles in our social and economic lives? If the dazzling development in telecommunications has rendered the definition of access and accessibility so elusive that they defy conventional measurements, what kind of alternative questions can we ask to better understand the E-merging geography of the information society?