
''Modern automobiles on the road.''
Over the course of the 20th century, the automobile rapidly developed from an expensive technological wonder into the ''de facto'' standard for personal 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.
== 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.
=== 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).
With increased road-building came loss of habitat for wildlife on a massive scale. Loss of rural areas and agricultural land to Pavement (roads) has also been extensive.
The quality of roads was also improved. Roads were paved with asphalt, (an environmental hazard) 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), 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 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 a 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, tram 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 ===
''Traffic queuing in London, England.''
Beginning in the 1940s, most urban environments in United States lost their streetcars, Cable car (railway)s, 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 metros.
Another change brought about by the automobile is that modern urban pedestrians must be more alert than their ancestors. In the past one had to worry about being run over by streetcars, kicked in the face by horses, or stepping in horse dung. Now, one must worry about being hit by automobiles at much higher speeds, and breathing noxious exhaust fumes. The Futurama exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair showed a City of the Future in which pedestrian and automobile traffic was fully grade-separated. However, for cost reasons, this vision has never come to pass outside of small experiments in a handful of downtowns. See skyway.
The loss of pedestrian-scale villages caused a loss of community connection. People no longer know their neighbors and rarely walk unless they place a high value on exercise.
Also, in countries with high levels of violent crime like the United States, most people who exercise prefer to do so in the safety of their home or in subscriber-only fitness clubs (which they drive to and from).
===Advent of suburban society===
Because of the automobile, the outward growth of cities accelerated, and suburbs began developing rapidly for the first time. Until the advent of the automobile, factory workers were forced to live close to the factory or a railroad line that led to the factory. The automobile allowed them to live miles away from the stench and grime of the factories and the city, yet still work at a factory. The developing suburbs created few local jobs, forcing residents to commute elsewhere to their jobs.
Shopping centers were then built in or near suburbs to save residents trips to the city. The shopping centers provided enough goods and services to reduce the need of suburban residents to visit the city.
===Recreation===
The creation of good roads and dependable automobiles changed recreation and vacations. Before the automobile, resorts were predominantly found near the coast or a railroad. If people did not live near either one, then they were unlikely to be able to visit one. Once the automobile became abundant, resorts sprang up that were off the beaten path. Resorts appeared in scenic places, far away from the hectic life of the cities. In the United States, national parks became popular tourist attractions and developed designs with automobile travelers in mind.
===Social status===
The automobile rapidly became a symbol of social status, and in some cases, a fashion item. The automobile, more than almost any other possession, allowed people to flaunt wealth. Not only was (and is) the ownership of an automobile demonstrative of a certain level of income and prestige, it is also highly visible.
===Safety===
Automobile accidents caused many deaths before automobile safety laws were implemented. To this date, automobiles remain a major cause of accidental death and injury, not to mention emotional stress.
Driving of automobiles are able to move relatively quickly in and out of inner-city urban cores. In comparison to pedestrians or users of mass transit, they are slightly less vulnerable to mugging, but are naturally vulnerable to crimes like carjacking, to torts like injuries sustained in car accidents, and to the inconvenience of vehicle breakdowns.
The automobile expanded the role, abilities and efficiency of the emergency services such as the response to a emergency calls for firefighters or paramedics.
==Car-oriented convenience==
Many aspects of daily life in the First World industrialized countries reflect an impulse to make life convenient for car users.
Without having to exit one's car, a resident of a typical large North American city may accomplish the following:
*Buy gasoline at a gas station (in areas where full service is still available)
*Have the car washed
*Obtain cash from an automated teller machine
*Buy many different kinds of fast food, and eat it
*Buy freshly prepared coffee or other such highly specialized beverages
*Deposit mail for delivery by the postal service
*Drop off apparel for dry cleaning
*Return library books, videotapes, or almost any other small object that is regularly lent to the public
==Environmental Changes==
The automobile is one of the most destructive modern influences on the environment. For a large part of its development, no consideration was given to concerns such as air pollution, destruction caused by road-building, and the massively increased consumption of limited natural resources, most notably petroleum. Some of these concerns are now starting to be addressed in some parts of the world.
==Related topics==
* the carfree movement
*car addiction
*carbon economy
*congestion
*economic growth
*employment
*external costs
*freedom
*mobility
*obesity
*oil dependency
*pollution
*positive feedback, aka non-linear development (virtuous cycles and vicious cycles)
*safety
*segregation
*social exclusion
*social mobility
*social status
*speed
*stress (medicine)
*systemics
*urban sprawl
*waste
Urban studies and planning
Transportation
Macroeconomics
Road transport
Automobiles
Sociology
Pollution
This is a very good article. As a passer-by, I was amazed at your decision to delete it. I understand your reasoning, but I think it should be moved rather than deleted. It is, after all, a nice, long, well-structured article that deserves to stay. Remember, Wikipedia is not only a conventional encyclopedia. Yes, it looks like an essay, but I think it should be integrated with automobile or something like that -- User:Ronline, 22 Nov 2003 :I think it's a very opinionated article, it says very little against the automobile and the one line paragraph on safety implies accidents are a thing of the past. It is a good essay, maybe it would be better suited boosting the egos of certain fat-cats. I'd best say no more incase I begin to sound Politics. User:SimonMayer 06:47, 11 Jan 2004 (GMT) ::Simon, please give this article a thorough editing. I've parsed it down, but it still needs a lot of work. See if you can remove the POV and redundancies. And see if you can remove parts that are already written elsewhere in wikipedia. My head hurts trying to deal with this article. User:Kingturtle 17:52, 11 Jan 2004 (UTC) :::I'm not sure I have the ability or knowledge to change it, infact I don't know if I have the strength, I set the challenge for someone else to do it... User:SimonMayer 10:33, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC) This aricle could do with more about the negative impacts of the car, it reads like propaganda written by Ford or General Motors at present User:G-Man 01:20, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC) *This article reads like a paper written for a low-level college course. User:Kingturtle 02:53, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- ==RFC on some major changes to this article== After reading the comments above, I would like to do a load of work on this area and I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on my ideas. I think the article should be renamed something like 'Effects of the automobile on society' and the following areas covered: *Remove subjective trash like 'The automobile gave whole new meanings to accessibility, time, and distance', concentrate on facts. *The article should start with a summary, not stuff that belongs on automobile *comments like '(Flink, 33)' should be binned unless someone has a good reason for them. *I'm open to suggestions, but perhaps the article should be restructured something along the lines of: **Cultural changes **Economic changes **Technological changes I don't want to offend anyone with my changes, and I will probably have to do them in stages, so please do let me know how it's going and feel free to edit/delete/revert etc as you see fit. User:Akadruid 13:25, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Wow! Excellent reformating and edits. This page needed it! Excellent work. Keep at it :) User:Kingturtle 18:16, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I have a bit of a problem with this: ''Up until the automobile, horses were the major means of transportation within cities. Horses require a large amount of care, and were therefore kept in public facilities that were usually far from residences. They also created a sanitary problem with the manure they left on the ground. The automobile had none of those disadvantages. The automobile may have had some affect on the role of women in society, providing a means of transport that was safer in some ways than existing travel.'' Surely streetcars, railroads, bicycles etc were major modes of transport prior to cars and not just horses. Also this article should mention more about congestion and the contribution car culture has to the promlems of obesity caused by lack of excercise etc, and other problems related to cars User:G-Man 21:20, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC) *Please please please make changes as you see fit! your ideas are important here. So add willingly. User:Kingturtle 22:44, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC) *Yeah 100% correct. That section is pretty poor. I just started laying into formats on this article, it still needs loads of work. The bit about Leland appears to differ with other articles in the WP. As a side note, if anyone drifting through here has an interest, Wikipedia:WikiProject_Automobiles is looking for volunteers. (This was me, forgot to sign :) User:Akadruid) ---- ===Photo=== I think a photo of a snarled, bumper-to-bumper freeway would be more appropriate than the one here. This must be from the early 1960s. Anybody? User:Heidimo 16:02, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC) *Yes. I thought about that when I put that one up, but I couldn't find one. I think this one is from Australia, not the US. If anyone has such an item, please do upload it! User:Akadruid 09:29, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC) **I removed the image for the time being. User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 10:38, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC) ***I think it would be better to find a more accurate picture rather than just delete it. It does add to the article, even as it is. I'll try and snap something on my way to work one day since I walk along congested London streets! User:Akadruid 16:05, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC) ****I too could take a photo of congested London streets.... still not much help for an article about the United States (unless you mean London, Ohio? ) User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 16:12, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC) *****I'm proposing we change the title of the article anyway (see above) since there is little US-specific content. Aside from that, I can't do much about a picture of US roads anyway, and one traffic jam is a lot like another for the purposes of illustration! I'm a strong believer in doing things like this, since a poor picture might only be a small improvement to the article, but it might prompt someone to replace it (or add to it) and then you may get a great picture. Just my £0.02 anyway. User:Akadruid 12:46, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ******As you can see, I agreed that a name change was appropiate, which solves the photo issue. Now lets have at least two photos, the Ozzie empty freeway and the narled up London street. User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 13:01, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) *******Haha! you're trying to edit this at the same time as me - I just got an edit conflict on the new image, so I'll let you finish first! User:Akadruid 13:04, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) *******OK, I've added the new image further down the page. It doesn't look as busy as I intended - there is a big jam on the opposite side of the road. If I see a better image opportunity soon I will add it. User:Akadruid 13:10, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- ==Suburban growth== ''Because of the automobile, cities grew and suburbs appeared for the first time.'' :Not quite true. In Los Angeles, California—considered by some to be the apotheosis of suburban auto hell—the sprawl actually started with Pacific Electric Railway's extensive network of streetcar and interurban routes, at a time when large numbers of average folks were still using public transit. I rewrote this sentence and polished up the following one. --User:Sewing 23:55, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC) == name of article == Please change the name of the name of the article back. The facts and figures and topics in this article are about America. The article is about the effects on the United States. Feel free to start a different article about society at large. User:Kingturtle 15:34, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) :"I'm proposing we change the title of the article anyway (see above) since there is little US-specific content..." - akaDruid. One of you is wrong! User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 15:51, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ::But if it does get made US-specific again, please remove the pictures of London and Australia! User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 15:56, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) Facts and figures in this article specific to the U.S.: *Aside from industries, one of the most visible effects the automobile had on the world is the huge increase in the amount of surfaced roads. In 1921, the United States had only 620,000 km (387,000 miles) of surfaced road throughout the country. Over the course of the next twenty years, the United States spent US$40 billion and over one million new miles of roads. With this 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, (an environmental hazard) and roads with more than one lane on each side became commonplace. *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 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 a 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. Until Charles F. Kettering's invention of the electric self-starter, in order to start the engine, the driver would have had to rapidly turn a crank sticking out of the front of the automobile. This difficult and sometimes dangerous task had restricted automobile use. The self-starter rotated the engine's crankshaft with an electric motor, eliminating the need to do it by hand. *The creation of good roads and dependable automobiles changed the ideas of U.S. citizens recreation and vacations. Before the automobile, resorts were predominantly found near the coast or a railroad. If people did not live near either one, then they were unlikely to be able to visit one. Once the automobile became abundant, resorts sprang up that were off the beaten path. Resorts sprang up in scenic places, far away from the hectic life of the cities. National Parks became popular tourist attractions and developed designs with automobile travelers in mind. *Automobile accidents caused many deaths before the United States Government passed automobile safety laws. To this date, automobiles remain a major cause of accidental death and injury, not to mention emotional stress. The automobile expanded the role, abilities and efficiency of the emergency services such as the response to a 9-1-1 call for firefighters or paramedics. Facts and figures in this article specific to other societies: *nothing. Sincerely, User:Kingturtle 16:26, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) P.S. For those of you who don't know, this article started out as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Effects_of_the_automobile_on_society&oldid=1306419 school paper] by a student - and it was full of problems. It was nominated for deletion, but survived. User:Kingturtle 16:27, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) OK. First up - I want to make this into a useful article, so I can easily be persuaded of improvements. Given the above, this is my take on this: *I doubt there is enough content to here to support a seperate article for the US. While you are correct on the lack of content specific to other societies, IMHO there is almost no useful content which is exclusive to the US. The bulk of useful exisiting content, and potential future contributions, are applicable to most countries where the automobile is prevelant. Specifically, all the references to 'US Government' and 'US Roads' etc in the quoted section would be better replaced with 'governments' and 'road networks' or stripped out entirely. Since the article was originally written from a US POV these sections have not yet been made applicable to other countries. *If there is an additional article made for the US, it should focus only on factors unique to the US. *Perhaps 'Social impact of the automobile' would be better. *The article is still horribly opinionated. A more neutral locational bias is only a start to improving it. *The sections covering the historical development of the automobile concern US history. However, this belong under automobile or possibly US history. OK start shooting :) User:Akadruid 17:15, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) == "Effects of the automobile on society" moved to "Effects of the automobile on societies"??? == This article is completely from the POV ''industrialized-nations'' and from the POV of ''Western nations''. It barely (if at all) touches on cultural anthropology (which would seem vital if we are talking about ''societies''). There is nothing here regarding the effects on third world societies or on ''communist'' or ''totalitarian'' societies, or ''indigenous peoples''. Moreover, nearly all the effects discussed in this article have to do with what happened in the United States, but not other societies. There are difference between the effects of the automobile on the U.S., France, China, Russia, Afghanistan, etc. Therefore the new (and even the old) name of this article is misleading and off target. Really, this article should be renamed Effects of the automobile on Western industrialized societies...but even that isn't fully accurate. User:Kingturtle 18:53, 9 May 2004 (UTC) *As a person from post-communist Eastern Europe, I can say that most of effects discussed in the article took place there as well, with some delay. I can try to add some information and numbers specific to that region. User:Andris 20:16, May 9, 2004 (UTC) I absolutely agree. I haven't had the time to check who decided to make the change (though I have an idea), but I agree that it is most inappropriate as it stands and recommend the original name be restored. BTW, I'm not sure if you saw this article in its first incarnation; far from being a low-grade college essay, it appeared to be a grade-school or junior high essay. There remain only a few odd phrases from the original document - isn't evolution amazing? User:Dwindrim 19:28, 2004 May 9 (UTC) :Yes, I had actually support its deletion. But since people wanted it to stay, I put in a few huge edits early on. This article still needs tremendous revisions. User:Kingturtle 20:15, 9 May 2004 (UTC) == Other commentary == *What does the word "pizzarized" mean? As in , ''Automobile accidents caused many deaths before automobile safety laws were pizzarized....'' If it's a typo, it should be corrected. If it's a real word, it isn't in common usage. Perhaps a definition is warranted. --User:Kaleid 02:22, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Effects_of_the_automobile_on_societies:
Effects_of_the_automobile_on_societies
Effects_of_the_automobile_on_societies
Effects of the automobile on societies
''Modern automobiles on the road.''
''Traffic queuing in London, England.''
Effects of the automobile on societies
This is a very good article. As a passer-by, I was amazed at your decision to delete it. I understand your reasoning, but I think it should be moved rather than deleted. It is, after all, a nice, long, well-structured article that deserves to stay. Remember, Wikipedia is not only a conventional encyclopedia. Yes, it looks like an essay, but I think it should be integrated with automobile or something like that -- User:Ronline, 22 Nov 2003 :I think it's a very opinionated article, it says very little against the automobile and the one line paragraph on safety implies accidents are a thing of the past. It is a good essay, maybe it would be better suited boosting the egos of certain fat-cats. I'd best say no more incase I begin to sound Politics. User:SimonMayer 06:47, 11 Jan 2004 (GMT) ::Simon, please give this article a thorough editing. I've parsed it down, but it still needs a lot of work. See if you can remove the POV and redundancies. And see if you can remove parts that are already written elsewhere in wikipedia. My head hurts trying to deal with this article. User:Kingturtle 17:52, 11 Jan 2004 (UTC) :::I'm not sure I have the ability or knowledge to change it, infact I don't know if I have the strength, I set the challenge for someone else to do it... User:SimonMayer 10:33, 13 Jan 2004 (UTC) This aricle could do with more about the negative impacts of the car, it reads like propaganda written by Ford or General Motors at present User:G-Man 01:20, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC) *This article reads like a paper written for a low-level college course. User:Kingturtle 02:53, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- ==RFC on some major changes to this article== After reading the comments above, I would like to do a load of work on this area and I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on my ideas. I think the article should be renamed something like 'Effects of the automobile on society' and the following areas covered: *Remove subjective trash like 'The automobile gave whole new meanings to accessibility, time, and distance', concentrate on facts. *The article should start with a summary, not stuff that belongs on automobile *comments like '(Flink, 33)' should be binned unless someone has a good reason for them. *I'm open to suggestions, but perhaps the article should be restructured something along the lines of: **Cultural changes **Economic changes **Technological changes I don't want to offend anyone with my changes, and I will probably have to do them in stages, so please do let me know how it's going and feel free to edit/delete/revert etc as you see fit. User:Akadruid 13:25, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Wow! Excellent reformating and edits. This page needed it! Excellent work. Keep at it :) User:Kingturtle 18:16, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) ---- I have a bit of a problem with this: ''Up until the automobile, horses were the major means of transportation within cities. Horses require a large amount of care, and were therefore kept in public facilities that were usually far from residences. They also created a sanitary problem with the manure they left on the ground. The automobile had none of those disadvantages. The automobile may have had some affect on the role of women in society, providing a means of transport that was safer in some ways than existing travel.'' Surely streetcars, railroads, bicycles etc were major modes of transport prior to cars and not just horses. Also this article should mention more about congestion and the contribution car culture has to the promlems of obesity caused by lack of excercise etc, and other problems related to cars User:G-Man 21:20, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC) *Please please please make changes as you see fit! your ideas are important here. So add willingly. User:Kingturtle 22:44, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC) *Yeah 100% correct. That section is pretty poor. I just started laying into formats on this article, it still needs loads of work. The bit about Leland appears to differ with other articles in the WP. As a side note, if anyone drifting through here has an interest, Wikipedia:WikiProject_Automobiles is looking for volunteers. (This was me, forgot to sign :) User:Akadruid) ---- ===Photo=== I think a photo of a snarled, bumper-to-bumper freeway would be more appropriate than the one here. This must be from the early 1960s. Anybody? User:Heidimo 16:02, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC) *Yes. I thought about that when I put that one up, but I couldn't find one. I think this one is from Australia, not the US. If anyone has such an item, please do upload it! User:Akadruid 09:29, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC) **I removed the image for the time being. User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 10:38, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC) ***I think it would be better to find a more accurate picture rather than just delete it. It does add to the article, even as it is. I'll try and snap something on my way to work one day since I walk along congested London streets! User:Akadruid 16:05, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC) ****I too could take a photo of congested London streets.... still not much help for an article about the United States (unless you mean London, Ohio? ) User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 16:12, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC) *****I'm proposing we change the title of the article anyway (see above) since there is little US-specific content. Aside from that, I can't do much about a picture of US roads anyway, and one traffic jam is a lot like another for the purposes of illustration! I'm a strong believer in doing things like this, since a poor picture might only be a small improvement to the article, but it might prompt someone to replace it (or add to it) and then you may get a great picture. Just my £0.02 anyway. User:Akadruid 12:46, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ******As you can see, I agreed that a name change was appropiate, which solves the photo issue. Now lets have at least two photos, the Ozzie empty freeway and the narled up London street. User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 13:01, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) *******Haha! you're trying to edit this at the same time as me - I just got an edit conflict on the new image, so I'll let you finish first! User:Akadruid 13:04, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) *******OK, I've added the new image further down the page. It doesn't look as busy as I intended - there is a big jam on the opposite side of the road. If I see a better image opportunity soon I will add it. User:Akadruid 13:10, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ---- ==Suburban growth== ''Because of the automobile, cities grew and suburbs appeared for the first time.'' :Not quite true. In Los Angeles, California—considered by some to be the apotheosis of suburban auto hell—the sprawl actually started with Pacific Electric Railway's extensive network of streetcar and interurban routes, at a time when large numbers of average folks were still using public transit. I rewrote this sentence and polished up the following one. --User:Sewing 23:55, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC) == name of article == Please change the name of the name of the article back. The facts and figures and topics in this article are about America. The article is about the effects on the United States. Feel free to start a different article about society at large. User:Kingturtle 15:34, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) :"I'm proposing we change the title of the article anyway (see above) since there is little US-specific content..." - akaDruid. One of you is wrong! User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 15:51, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) ::But if it does get made US-specific again, please remove the pictures of London and Australia! User:Pcb21 User_talk:Pcb21 15:56, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) Facts and figures in this article specific to the U.S.: *Aside from industries, one of the most visible effects the automobile had on the world is the huge increase in the amount of surfaced roads. In 1921, the United States had only 620,000 km (387,000 miles) of surfaced road throughout the country. Over the course of the next twenty years, the United States spent US$40 billion and over one million new miles of roads. With this 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, (an environmental hazard) and roads with more than one lane on each side became commonplace. *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 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 a 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. Until Charles F. Kettering's invention of the electric self-starter, in order to start the engine, the driver would have had to rapidly turn a crank sticking out of the front of the automobile. This difficult and sometimes dangerous task had restricted automobile use. The self-starter rotated the engine's crankshaft with an electric motor, eliminating the need to do it by hand. *The creation of good roads and dependable automobiles changed the ideas of U.S. citizens recreation and vacations. Before the automobile, resorts were predominantly found near the coast or a railroad. If people did not live near either one, then they were unlikely to be able to visit one. Once the automobile became abundant, resorts sprang up that were off the beaten path. Resorts sprang up in scenic places, far away from the hectic life of the cities. National Parks became popular tourist attractions and developed designs with automobile travelers in mind. *Automobile accidents caused many deaths before the United States Government passed automobile safety laws. To this date, automobiles remain a major cause of accidental death and injury, not to mention emotional stress. The automobile expanded the role, abilities and efficiency of the emergency services such as the response to a 9-1-1 call for firefighters or paramedics. Facts and figures in this article specific to other societies: *nothing. Sincerely, User:Kingturtle 16:26, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) P.S. For those of you who don't know, this article started out as a [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Effects_of_the_automobile_on_society&oldid=1306419 school paper] by a student - and it was full of problems. It was nominated for deletion, but survived. User:Kingturtle 16:27, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) OK. First up - I want to make this into a useful article, so I can easily be persuaded of improvements. Given the above, this is my take on this: *I doubt there is enough content to here to support a seperate article for the US. While you are correct on the lack of content specific to other societies, IMHO there is almost no useful content which is exclusive to the US. The bulk of useful exisiting content, and potential future contributions, are applicable to most countries where the automobile is prevelant. Specifically, all the references to 'US Government' and 'US Roads' etc in the quoted section would be better replaced with 'governments' and 'road networks' or stripped out entirely. Since the article was originally written from a US POV these sections have not yet been made applicable to other countries. *If there is an additional article made for the US, it should focus only on factors unique to the US. *Perhaps 'Social impact of the automobile' would be better. *The article is still horribly opinionated. A more neutral locational bias is only a start to improving it. *The sections covering the historical development of the automobile concern US history. However, this belong under automobile or possibly US history. OK start shooting :) User:Akadruid 17:15, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC) == "Effects of the automobile on society" moved to "Effects of the automobile on societies"??? == This article is completely from the POV ''industrialized-nations'' and from the POV of ''Western nations''. It barely (if at all) touches on cultural anthropology (which would seem vital if we are talking about ''societies''). There is nothing here regarding the effects on third world societies or on ''communist'' or ''totalitarian'' societies, or ''indigenous peoples''. Moreover, nearly all the effects discussed in this article have to do with what happened in the United States, but not other societies. There are difference between the effects of the automobile on the U.S., France, China, Russia, Afghanistan, etc. Therefore the new (and even the old) name of this article is misleading and off target. Really, this article should be renamed Effects of the automobile on Western industrialized societies...but even that isn't fully accurate. User:Kingturtle 18:53, 9 May 2004 (UTC) *As a person from post-communist Eastern Europe, I can say that most of effects discussed in the article took place there as well, with some delay. I can try to add some information and numbers specific to that region. User:Andris 20:16, May 9, 2004 (UTC) I absolutely agree. I haven't had the time to check who decided to make the change (though I have an idea), but I agree that it is most inappropriate as it stands and recommend the original name be restored. BTW, I'm not sure if you saw this article in its first incarnation; far from being a low-grade college essay, it appeared to be a grade-school or junior high essay. There remain only a few odd phrases from the original document - isn't evolution amazing? User:Dwindrim 19:28, 2004 May 9 (UTC) :Yes, I had actually support its deletion. But since people wanted it to stay, I put in a few huge edits early on. This article still needs tremendous revisions. User:Kingturtle 20:15, 9 May 2004 (UTC) == Other commentary == *What does the word "pizzarized" mean? As in , ''Automobile accidents caused many deaths before automobile safety laws were pizzarized....'' If it's a typo, it should be corrected. If it's a real word, it isn't in common usage. Perhaps a definition is warranted. --User:Kaleid 02:22, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
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