Since the start of the twentieth century, the role of cars in society has become highly important, though controversial. They are used throughout the world and have become the most popular mode of transport in many of the more developed countries. In developing countries cars are fewer and the effects of the car on society are less visible but still significant. The spread of cars built upon earlier changes in transport brought by railways and bicycles. They introduced sweeping changes in employment patterns, social interactions, infrastructure and the distribution of goods. Automobiles provide easier, more comfortable access to remote places and mobility, helping people to geographically widen their social and economic interactions. Adverse effects of the car on everyday life are also significant. The introduction of the mass-produced car represented a revolution in industry and convenience, creating job demand and tax revenue. The resulting mobility transition also brought severe consequences to the society and to the environment. The modern negative associations with heavy automotive use include the use of non-renewable fuels, a dramatic increase in the rate of accidental death, the disconnection of local community, the decrease of local economy, the rise in cardiovascular diseases, the emission of air and noise pollution, the emission of greenhouse gases, generation of urban sprawl and traffic, segregation of pedestrians and other active mobility means of transport, a shrinking railway network, urban decay, and the high cost per unit-distance of private transport. Since many people do not have cars, the resulting inequality intensifies structural inequalities and causes irreparable damage to the environment. Hence, neglecting the negative externalities of private automobility is irresponsible, and replacing combustion engine vehicles with EVs is merely a strategy to lose more slowly from social and environmental points of view.
History
In the early 20th century, cars entered mass production. The United States produced 45,000 cars in 1907, but 28 years later, in 1935, that had increased nearly 90-fold to 3,971,000. The increase in production required a large new workforce. In 1913, 14,366 people worked for the Ford Motor Company, and by 1916 that had increased to 132,702. Bradford DeLong, an economic historian, noted that "Many more lined up outside the Ford factory for chances to work at what appeared to them to be, and (for those who did not mind the pace of the assembly line much) was an incredible boondoggle of a job". There was a surge in the need for workers at big, new high-technology companies such as Ford. Employment increased greatly.
When the motor age arrived in Western countries at the beginning of the 20th century, many conservative intellectuals opposed the increase in motor traffic on the roads. The new vehicles removed space for pedestrians and made walking more dangerous, with car collisions becoming a major cause of pedestrian deaths. W.S. Gilbert, the famous British librettist, wrote to The Times on 3 June 1903:
Sir,–I am delighted with the suggestion made by your spirited correspondent Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey that all pedestrians shall be legally empowered to discharge shotguns (the size of the shot to be humanely restricted to No. 8 or No. 9) At all motorists who may appear to them to be driven to the common danger. Not only would this provide a speedy and effective punishment for the erring motorist, but it would also supply the dwellers on popular high roads with a comfortable increase of income. "Motor shooting for a single gun" would appeal strongly to the sporting instincts of the true Briton, and would provide ample compensation to the proprietors of eligible road-side properties for the intolerable annoyance caused by the enemies of mankind. Ten years later, Alfred Godley wrote a more elaborate protest, "The Motor Bus", a poem which cleverly combined a lesson in Latin grammar with an expression of distaste for the new form of motor transport.
Access and convenience
Worldwide, the car has allowed easier access to remote places. More people have gone to live in those remote places and commute to work. The resulting traffic congestion and urban sprawl has brought an increase in average journey times in large cities, and the decommissioning of older tram systems. Increases in air pollution and noise, and diminishing road safety, diminish resident's quality of life. Examples of car access issues in underdeveloped countries include the paving of Mexican Federal Highway 1 through Baja California, completing the connection of Cabo San Lucas to California. In Madagascar, about 30% of the population does not have access to reliable all-weather roads. In China in 2003, 184 towns and 54,000 villages had no motor road (or roads at all). Certain developments in retail are partially due to car use, such as supermarket growth, drive-thru fast food purchasing, and gasoline station grocery shopping as well.
Economic changes
Employment and consumption habits The development of the car has contributed to changes in employment distribution, shopping patterns, social interactions, manufacturing priorities and city planning; increasing use of cars has reduced the roles of walking, horses and railroads. In addition to money for roadway construction, car use was also encouraged in many places through new zoning laws that required any new business to construct a certain amount of parking based on the size and type of facility. This policy succeeded in creating many free parking spaces, with business places further back from the road. The resulting less dense settlements were better suited to cars, and less well to carless living. Retail parks attract revenue away from high streets and town centres. Many new shopping centers and suburbs did not install sidewalks, 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 auto-dependency. Opportunities for employment, activities, and housing widened for users, and narrowed for the carless.
Economic growth
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