Friction of distance

As the distance from a point increases, the interactions with that point decrease, usually because the time and costs involved increase with distance. In this context, however, distance need not be reckoned solely in spatial terms; the frictional effect of distance ‘on the ground’ is far less in a lowland area with good communications than in an upland area of difficult terrain, and has slackened with improvements in transport and communications. See distance decay, space-time convergence.

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The concept of friction of distance is based on the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money, and/or energy to overcome. Because of this "friction," spatial interactions will tend to take place more often over shorter distances; quantity of interaction will decline with distance.

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