In: Social Science Computer Review. GIS Special Edition, 27 (2009), Nr. 3. S. 437-451

Vorschau

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Abstract

Although the United Kingdom has long lost its position at the heart of a practically global empire, the British capital London still continues to stand at the very center of a global telecommunication and information network. Yet, global connectivity is not evenly distributed throughout the metropolis. As recent studies show, information-dependent businesses tend to concentrate in particular quarters in and around the City of London and the West End despite the spatial flexibility that modern telecommunication technology allows for. This study seeks to demonstrate how the modern ‘‘digital divide’’ that rips through London continuously evolved from similarly uneven connectivity patterns in the telegraphic network of late 19th-century London. With the help of historical Geographic Information Systems (GIS), these patterns will be visualized. This examination will show how important a role continuity played in the evolution of modern informational patterns and how this sheds new light on issues of technological dynamism and agency.