Everything about Effects Of The Automobile On Societies totally explained
Over the course of the
20th century, the
automobile rapidly developed from an expensive toy for the rich into the
de facto standard for passenger
transport in most developed countries. In developing countries, the effects of the automobile have lagged, but are emulating the impacts of developed nations. The development of the automobile built upon the transport revolution started by
railways, and like the railways, introduced sweeping changes in employment patterns, social interactions,
infrastructure and goods distribution.
The effects of automobiles on everyday life have been a subject of controversy. While the introduction of the mass-produced automobile represented a revolution in mobility and convenience, the modern consequences of heavy automotive use contribute to the use of
non-renewable fuels, the generating of
air and
noise pollution, and the facilitating of
urban sprawl and
urban decay.
Economic changes
The development of the automobile has contributed to changes in employment distribution, shopping patterns, social interactions, manufacturing priorities and
city planning; increasing use of automobiles has reduced the roles of
walking,
horses and
railroads.
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
kilometers) to over 1,000,000 miles (1.6 million kilometers) which doesn't even take into account road widening.
United States
In addition to federal, state, and local dollars for roadway construction, car use was also encouraged through new
zoning laws that required that any new business construct a certain amount of parking based on the size and type of facility. The effect of this was to create a massive quantity of free
parking spaces and to push businesses further back from the road. Many shopping centers and
suburbs abandon sidewalks altogether, making pedestrian access dangerous. This had the effect of encouraging people to drive, even for short trips that might have been walkable, thus increasing and solidifying American auto-dependency. As a result of this change, employment opportunities for people who were not wealthy enough to own a car and for people who couldn't drive, due to age or physical disabilities, became severely limited.
Environmental impact
air pollution and
noise pollution. The manufacture and use of automobiles makes up 20 to 25 percent of the
carbon dioxide emissions that are widely believed to be causing global
climate change. There are over 600 million cars and light vehicles (excluding heavy trucks and buses) worldwide, The automobile contributes significantly to noise pollution worldwide; in response to these impacts, an entire technology of
noise barrier design and other
noise mitigation has emerged. In the United States the typical
car emits approximately 3.4 grams per mile of
carbon monoxide
With increased road-building came negative effects on
habitat for
wildlife, primarily through
habitat fragmentation and
surface runoff alteration. 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, especially in areas without railways. Because automobiles didn't require rest, and were faster than horse-drawn conveyances, people were routinely able to travel farther than in earlier times. The construction of highways half a century later continued this revolution in mobility. Some experts suggest that many of these changes began during the
Golden age of the bicycle, the preceding era from 1880—1915.
Changes to urban society
Beginning in the
1940s, most urban environments in the
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.
Another change brought about by the automobile is that modern urban pedestrians must be more alert than their ancestors. In the past, a pedestrian had to worry about relatively slow-moving streetcars or other obstacles of travel. With the proliferation of the automobile, a pedestrian has to anticipate safety risks of automobiles at high speeds.
According to many social scientists, the loss of
pedestrian-scale villages has also disconnected communities. Many people in developed countries have less contact with their neighbors and rarely walk unless they place a high value on
exercise.
Advent of suburban society
Because of the automobile, the outward growth of cities accelerated, and the development of
suburbs in automobile intensive cultures was intensified. Until the advent of the automobile,
factory workers lived either close to the factory or in high density communities further away, connected to the factory by
streetcar or
rail. The automobile and the federal
subsidies for roads and suburban development that supported car culture allowed people to live in low density communities far from the city center and
integrated city neighborhoods. The developing suburbs created few local jobs, due to single use zoning. Hence, residents commuted longer distances to work each day as the suburbs expanded.
Car culture
The car had a significant effect on the culture of the
middle class. Automobiles were incorporated into all parts of life from music to books to movies. Between
1905 and
1908, more than 120 songs were written in which the automobile was the subject. The automotive themes of these songs reflected the general culture of the automotive industry: sexual adventure, liberation from social control, and masculine power. Books centered on motor boys who liberated themselves from the average, normal, middle class life, to travel and seek adventure in the exotic. Car ownership came to be associated with independence, freedom, and increased status.
George Monbiot writes that widespread car culture has shifted voter's preference to the
right of the political spectrum. He thinks that car culture has contributed to an increase in individualism and fewer social interactions between members of different socioeconomic classes
Since the early days of the automobile, car manufacturers and petroleum fuel suppliers successfully lobbied governments to build public roads. Road building was sometimes also influenced by
Keynesian-style political ideologies. In Europe, massive freeway building programs were initiated by a number of
socialist governments after
World War II, in an attempt to create jobs and make the automobile available to the working classes. From the 1970s, promotion of the automobile increasingly became a trait of some
conservatives.
Margaret Thatcher talked of a "great car economy", and increased government spending on roads.
Safety
Motor vehicle accidents are attributed to 44% of accidental deaths in the United States, making them the country's leading cause of accidental death.
Costs
In countries such as the United States the infrastructure that makes car use possible, such as highways, roads and parking lots is funded by the government and supported through government zoning and construction requirements. The gas tax covers about 60% of highway construction and repair costs. Payments by motor-vehicle users fall short of government expenditures tied to motor-vehicle use by 20–70 cents per gallon of gas. Zoning laws in many areas require that large, free parking lots accompany any new buildings. Municipal parking lots are often free or don't charge a market-rate. Hence, the cost of driving a car in the US is subsidized, supported by businesses and the government who cover the cost of roads and parking. This government support of the automobile through subsidies for infrastructure, the cost of highway police enforcement, recovering stolen cars, and many other factors makes public transport a less economically competitive choice for commuters when considering direct out-of-pocket costs. Consumers often make choices based on the direct out-of-pocket costs and underestimate the indirect costs of car ownership, auto insurance and car maintenance. However, globally and in some US cities, tolls and parking fees partially offset these heavy subsidies for driving. Transportation planning policy advocates often support tolls, increased gas taxes, congestion pricing and market-rate pricing for municipal parking as a means of balancing car use in urban centers with more efficient, less environmentally and socially destructive modes of transportation such as buses and trains.
When cities charge market rates for on-street parking and municipal parking garages, and when bridges and tunnels are tolled, driving becomes less competitive in terms of out-of-pocket costs than other modes of transportation. When municipal parking is underpriced and roads are not tolled, most of the cost of vehicle usage is paid for by general government revenue, a subsidy for motor vehicle use. The size of this subsidy dwarfs the federal, state, and local subsidies for the maintenance of infrastructure and discounted fares for public transportation.
By contrast, although there are environmental and social costs for rail, there's a very small impact.
Access and convenience
Worldwide the automobile has allowed easier access to remote places. However, average journey times to regularly visited places have increased in large cities, especially in
Latin America, as a result of widespread automobile adoption. This is due to
traffic congestion and the increased distances between home and work brought about by urban sprawl.
Examples of automobile access issues in underdeveloped countries are:
- Paving of the Mexico Pacific Coast highway through Baja California, completing the connection of Cabo San Lucas to California, allowing the first routine travel along that route and the first convenient access to the outside world for villagers along the route. (occurred in the 1950s)
- In Madagascar, approximately 30 percent of the population doesn't have access to reliable all weather roads.
- In China, there are currently 184 towns and 54,000 villages that have no access to automobile use (or roads at all)
- The origin of HIV explosion in the human population has been hypothesized by CDC researchers to derive in part from more intensive social interactions afforded by new road networks in Central Africa allowing more frequent travel from villagers to cities and higher density development of many African cities in the period 1950 to 1980.
The following developments in retail are partially due to automobile use:
Drive-thru fast food purchasing
Gasoline station grocery shoppingFurther Information
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