ABSTRACT
The power of ICT to conquer distance, using bits rather than atoms as noted by Negroponte, changes the meaning of distance and also space and place. The ability to interact across vast distances easily and at low cost led to many spatial analyses of ICT’s implications for geography. Hepworth (1990), Kellerman (1993 and 2002), Cairncross (1997), Wilson and Corey (2000), Dodge and Kitchin (2000; 2001), and Zook (2005) all have contributed to our understanding of the meaning of space in a virtual world. With cities a product of our need to interact closely for economic and social purposes, analysts directed attention to how cities will change. Cities as a cause and effect of industrialization prompt questions about population concentrations in a post-industrial setting. The future of cities was examined by Castells (1989) and Drennan (2002), with urban life challenged by Mitchell (1995; 1999), and caution from Graham and Marvin (1996; 2001) about the costs, as well as the benefits of ICT mediated urban life.
