Cars - Effects of the automobile on societies

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	Cars - Effects of the automobile on societies

Over the course of the 20th century, the automobile rapidly developed from an expensive technological wonder into the de facto standard for passenger transport. The development of the automobile built upon the transport revolution started by railways, and like the railways, introduced sweeping changes in infrastructure, manufacturing and legislation. The wide reaching effects of automobiles on everyday life have been a subject of much controversy. Proponents on one end of the spectrum claim the car is a marvel of technology that has brought about unprecedented prosperity, while opponents on the other end claim it is a cancer on cities that has caused more harm than good.

Economic changes

The development of the automobile has caused changes in city planning, as well as changing the roles of horses and railroads.

Industry restructuring

Huge industries devoted only to the automobile were created. Others were expanded from once trivial insignificance to imminent importance. Before the internal-combustion engine was developed, gasoline was a waste product, often discarded. Once the automobile became commonplace, the production of gasoline blossomed into a matter of such importance that the governments took action to secure a steady flow of oil. The steel industry was already established, but the coming of the automobile created huge amounts of business for it. The chemical, rubber, and petroleum industries were remade to suit the needs of the automobile and industries sprang up, such as service stations, motels, and automobile insurance, that were completely reliant upon the automobile for their livelihood.

As automobiles began to travel at higher and higher speeds, the sign industry began building larger and larger signs and billboards to draw the attention of drivers. Larger signs mean more people.

Infrastructure

Aside from industries, one of the most visible effects the automobile has had on the world is the huge increase in the amount of surfaced roads. For example, between 1921 and 1941, the United States spent US$40 billion on roads, increasing the amount of surfaced road from 387,000 miles (619,000 kilometres) to over 1,000,000 miles (1.6 million kilometres) which doesn't even take into account road widening.

With increased road-building came loss of habitat for wildlife on a massive scale. Loss of rural areas and agricultural land to pavement has also been extensive.

The quality of roads was also improved. Roads were paved with asphalt, and roads with more than one lane on each side became commonplace.

Technological changes

Production

The assembly line and other methods of mass production were developed when American businessmen began seeking ways to build more automobiles at a lower price. The idea of using many small identical parts that could be exchanged for each other was engendered by the president of the Cadillac Automobile Company, Henry M. Leland. Once other automobile makers realized the value of small identical parts that were interchangeable, they hired many small machine shops to make identical parts that were then put together at assembly plants. Because of this, broken parts could easily be sent to car owners. This greatly prolonged the life of the automobile, making it even more attractive to consumers.

Ransom E. Olds took the first step towards assembly line production when he had the framework of each automobile pushed on a wooden platform supported by rolling casters. Henry Ford built on this when he used conveyor belts to pull along the bare frame of an automobile while workmen added parts to it that were brought to them by other conveyor belts. Ford's utilization of the conveyor belt in the factory was inspired by the Chicago Packing Association's disassembly line, where workers dressed beef pulled along by an overhead trolley.

Cultural changes

Prior to the appearance of the automobile, horses, streetcars and bicycles were the major modes of transportation within cities. Horses require a large amount of care, and were therefore kept in public facilities that were usually far from residences. The manure they left on the streets also created a sanitation problem. The automobile had neither of those disadvantages.

The automobile made regular medium-distance travel more convenient and affordable, also in areas without railways. Because automobiles did not require rest, and were faster than horse-drawn conveyances, people were routinely able to travel farther than in earlier times. Historically, most people never travelled more than a few tens of kilometres of their birthplace in their entire lives; the advent of the automobile began the transformation of society in such a way that those who had never travelled that distance were only a tiny minority.

Changes to urban society

Beginning in the 1940s, most urban environments in United States lost their streetcars, Cable cars, and other forms of light rail, to be replaced by diesel-burning motor coaches or buses. Many of these have never returned, though some urban communities eventually installed subways.

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