Impact Of The Automobile On The 20th Century

First, mass motorization and increased road standards were results of inappropriate urban planning. Every two households in the US had one registered automobile on average in the mid 1930s, which is earlier than many European countries. According to this high rate of motorization, high road standards were developed by planners and engineers quickly, and cities adopted to this pattern easily. After the mortgage policies in the 1950s (1), the interstate systems destroyed urban neighborhoods and created divided urban systems by using wide big roads, so urban sprawl increased. Also, low vehicle taxes and gasoline prices reduced the cost of driving, and increased this car travel demand over time. Additionally, the government subsidized most of the gas taxes, tolls, and registration fees, and the result was the lack of public transportation in many US cities. Especially after World War II, privately owned transit systems increased ticket prices, cut services, and prompted people to own a private car. In 1970s, some of the US cities started to promote walking and cycling with appropriate amenities (1), but it was not enough to change people’s travel behaviors. Lastly, maybe most importantly, zoning laws do not allow mixed land-use planning which facilitates shorter trips between amenities in most of the US cities. Zoning laws, also requires a minimum number of parking lots per usage, rather than the maximum numbers of limited parking such as most European

Lawyer, David S. "Fuel-Efficiency of Travel in the 20th Century: The United States of America." Fuel-Efficiency of Travel in the 20th Century: The United States of America. N.p., June 2002. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

The automobile has had a profound impact on the United States. It has brought us

Second, the development of new public transit systems, was important in shaping the design of our cities and the growth of our cities by enabling people to move further away from the inner city. Early on, large cities didn’t really have public transportation. Their main source of transportation were horse drawn wagons and walking. In conclusion, most people lived near on in the downtown area, where most of the working establishments were located. Because of this, it made big cites crowed and congested. With the breakthrough of the “el”, electric streetcars, and subways, around 1867, cities began expand more. Those who were fortunate enough to move out of the dirty cities and into better neighborhoods surrounded outside the city, did so. The new transit systems in most cities allowed people to escape the chaos of urban life and provided potential for growth of our cities.

The automobile began as a rich man’s toy, and in today’s society almost every single person owns one of these miraculous inventions. After the automobile became more popular, society has evolved around it, creating highways and fast food chains. The automobile has revised from a bare invention, such as the horseless carriage, to now technologically advanced motor vehicles with bluetooth and wireless internet. Since the beginning age of the automobile in 1885, the invention has advanced, prospered, and changed society throughout the world.

The document “The Social Influence of the Automobile” was written in June of 1922 by Allen D. Albert. In this article Albert is saying that since the creation of automobiles the life has shifted for the better. “…almost without a pause in our thinking have we adjusted our lives to these factors new since yesterday”1 while automobiles brought a drastic change in life as it was, people adjusted to it quickly. In 1920’s cars were available to the general public at an affordable price, therefor offering the public a better, faster way of getting from place to place. Most importantly according to the document cars brought a change in the social aspects of life. With the help of a car travel times were decreased. Cities were now in reaching distance.

Cars in the 1920s completely impacted daily life and greatly influenced the cars that we use everyday. Back before cars were popular, everyone traveled by horse and buggy. They had no source of cart heating, nothing to absorb shock, wheels without tires. All they had for streets back then were dirt roads with a top layer of gravel. This was not a problem for horses and buggies, but cars didn’t handle well in the mud. Because of this, the invention of the paved road we use now came about. After that, they needed a more organized and efficient way to navigate to faraway places, since the people could now travel at ease. An interstate highway system was created as a result of the First Federal Highway Act, passed in 1921. The highways heading

New technologies facilitated an individual’s productivity of work and lifestyle (Industrialization, 3). Technology and science enabled the development of what came to be called "the suburbs". Street car, railroads, and

American society has been changed by many different creations throughout history, such as telephones, fridges and credit cards. The creation that has affected American society the most is the automobile. The automobile has affected the American society in several ways: first, it has created more jobs. Second, it allowed people to travel to destinations they could not before. Third, it has polluted the environment. Lastly it has changed the urban and rural landscapes. All of these reasons prove that the automobile has altered the American society.

During this time period, America saw a great change in its economy. After WWI, many citizens had extra time and extra money. Due to the surplus, they were eager to attain a variety of new products on the market. The greatest example of these technologies is the automobile. Not only did the car become affordable through the use of assembly lines, but it also gave the public an opportunity to travel and live in areas other than the city. Although there was not a great selection of cars back then, progressive advertisement strategies persuaded the public that they indeed needed a car.

Henry Ford was a self-sufficient man, he is greatly known for initiating the era of mass consumption and mass production in the American economy. Not only did he create “Ford Motor Company” but he is also known for numerous other things such as creating the moving assembly line, high wages and sponsoring Americanization school for foreign workers so they could have a successful future.

Whether or nor the inventor of the car imagine our developed automobile industry and very convenient transportation facilities may don’t be known. Obvious no man had more effect on the daily lives of most people in the United States than did Henry ford a pioneer in automobile production. Automobile culture change America society in different ways. For example, lifestyle, infrastructure and economy. There’s no question about that car is a necessity, we don’t lose it.

Karl Benz invented the first automobile in 1866; it has changed the world in how we commute every day. From riding in carriages to now cutting our time travel whether it is riding a bus or our on car. It has become more of a necessity in today's world to have a car because its something that we choose to have in our daily life that it is a choice that is high on the priority list to own. As to wealthier people the type of car you drive puts in a different class. Where some get the choice of car that they want others have a certain budget on what to look for. The way an automobile symbolizes today, changed in society, and how a car has become a collection.

Since the development of the steam engine people had been interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn’t confined to tracks. The earliest attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first began to truly spread with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful, and safer automobiles. Still the automobile still had numerous problems and were mainly in the hands of the rich. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that was truly able to create a practical vehicle that could be used by all and

In the beginning, man’s only form of transportation was his own feet. Later, to comfort his journey on foot, was the invention of footwear. Through envy of the speed of other animals he would learn to tame these animals. People who live in the desert ride atop camels. The people who live in the frigid climates travel by dogs. Some people from places like India ride elephants. But the must widely used form of transportation by animal power was by horse. Man would soon develop boats and ships to travel long distances over water and time would flow like the rivers and hundreds of years later, in the late 1700s steam power became the new craze. Steam power got the wheels turning amongst many inventors who