A GIS-based approach to estimating the human effort involved in movement over natural terrain
Abstract
Although it is often perceived as a simple activity, walking represents an important aspect of the relationship between humans and the physical environment within which they live. Our ability to move ourselves and our goods from place to place under various environmental conditions is a fundamental factor conditioning the human use and structuring of space. Measures of our relative ability to move between different locations are called accessibility, and these measures are dependent upon both spatial and aspatial variables. In walking, these include the location of the origin and destination of the proposed trip, the relevant characteristics of the individual undertaking the movement (physical condition, etc.), and those environmental factors (terrain, vegetation cover, etc.) that directly influences our ease of movement or our perception of the difficulty of movement.
Research in human physiology over the last several decades has led to several quantitative estimates of the human energy expended in walking under a variety of conditions. The difficulty in archaeological research has been effectively to apply these effort equations within the context of specific landscape situations. By evaluating these equations within the context of geographic information system (GIS) technology we can easily create 'energy views' of the landscape as viewed from any desired location. This paper reviews the walking energy equations developed elsewhere and provides an illustration of their practical use within the context of the GRID module of Arc/Info. Some suggestions for additional research are also presented.
