The concepts of site and situation can be articulated over two core dimensions:
- Site. Mostly related to the attributes of a location, which mainly fall within physical, infrastructure, and economic characteristics. They are usually amenities that make a location attractive to specific activities (e.g., commercial, residential, manufacturing). Transport terminals require a suitable site, such as good maritime access for a port or flat land in reasonable proximity to a metropolitan area for an airport.
- Situation. Related to the relationships with other locations at the local, regional or global scale. It reflects the connectivity of a location to other locations. The situation is relative to the characteristics of other locations, which can place a location at an advantage or a disadvantage. For instance, the situational value of a location could be related to a natural resource in demand by other locations. For transport terminals, the situational value is derived from the importance of the other terminals they are connected to.
While the site tends to be a fixed attribute that does not change quickly, the situation is relative and can change with a shift in market demand.