Introduction
Technology is being changed every day and its impact occurs in every sphere of life. It influences the transportation systems also. The emergence of automobiles made a tremendous change in the life of the people. This paper mainly presents the new advents in the automobile sector and its impact on society. The paper also focuses on the growth of industries, the creation of mobile society, the emergence of the middle class, the development of consumerism, automobiles in industrialized countries, and positive & negative impacts on the lives of people in industrialized countries.
Purpose of the paper
The purpose of this paper is to introduce some issued in connection with the advent of automobiles and to understand all are the negative and positive impacts of the advances in transportation in industrialized countries.
New Means of Transportation
Technological innovations changed the world thoroughly. The effect of advanced technology could be seen in every sphere of life. It has brought advances in the means of transportation also. Rail, airplanes, automobiles and vessels are the various means of transportation. An automobile is the most used transportation in the world. The emergence of automobiles started with industrialization. So, the use of automobiles was more in developed and industrialized countries.
The advent of Automobiles
The advent of automobiles changed the world a lot since it contributed much to the bringing of a new culture, worldwide. It has brought many concepts and ways of life and some of the important things among them are given in the following:
- Single entity: Automobiles have become an inevitable part of the fast moving world. Various transportation mediums have helped to overcome the distances; making the world easily accessible. People can move anywhere in the world at any time. People became free to travel independently. There existed separate communities before the innovation of the automobile. Therefore, we can say that this phenomenon made the people a single entity.
- Development of consumerism: Consumerism means that people can buy anything from the market at the time he wants to get it. With the advent of automobile culture only, it became possible. It carries things from one place to another very soon. Today, we live in a consumerist society where everything is accessible to us. The movement of persons and things are dependent mostly on transportation.
- The emergence of the middle class: One of the important reasons for the emergence of the middle class is the emergence of automobiles especially in the United States. “Blue-collar workers found steady work, which ultimately created the middle class. The rise of unionized workers further strengthened the middle class, creating job security and giving labor a powerful political voice that is courted by the nation’s politicians and lawmakers”. (Wagner, 2010, para.2).
- Mobile society: It means the society that moves always. People travel from one place to another in an easier and faster way. When we observe people in a town, we can understand that many people are traveling by bus, car, bikes, etc. When a group of people moves, society itself starts moving. In this sense, we can say that the innovation of automobiles created a mobile society.
- Growth of industries: The emergence of the automobile industry accelerated the growth of industries such as the petroleum industry and rubber industry which are vital parts of automobiles. “The automobile had one of its greatest impacts on the industries that directly contributed to the motor vehicle. The fuel and tire industry shared the greatest natural impact of the automobile. The emergence of the automobile almost immediately revolutionized the petroleum industry.18 Before 1900, only a very small amount of petroleum was converted into gasoline. Basically, gasoline was regarded highly as an unattractive useless product”. (Impact of the automobile from 1900-1945, 2010, para.5).
Automobiles in the Industrialized Countries
The ever-increasing number of automobiles created the necessity for road construction. In most of the underdeveloped and developing countries, they are not able to meet the increasing demand for the road to run the vehicles. The increased number of automobiles created a situation in the United States to construct roads. “The first cross-country highway opened in 1913, originating at Times Square in New York and ending in San Francisco. This highway, and others that followed, created a mobile society and changed the fabric of the American family. People moved with ease, reuniting families or dropping out of society”. (Wagner, 2010, para.1).
This changed the life of the people who lived in the urban cities and also it influences the people living in the rural areas. People lived nearby their workplaces before the innovation of automobiles. It made density in the industrialized cities. With the emergence of automobiles, travel became much easier. This is why people expanded into the suburb parts of the main city. It reduced the density in the cities.
Positive Impact on the Lives of People in the Industrialized Countries
People could live in the suburb place to control the density in the urban areas. When a majority of people come and live together, there will be a scarcity of food, water, etc. There is a possibility for the spread of epidemics and pandemics. So the emergence of the automobile positively helped not to create such an atmosphere. “The automobile has radically changed city life by accelerating the outward expansion of population into the suburbs.
The suburban trend is emphasized by the fact that highway transportation encourages businesses and industry to move outward to sites where land is cheaper, where access by car and truck is easier than in crowded cities, and where space is available for their one or two-story structures”. (Brancheau, Wharton & Kamalov, n.d, para.7).
Negative Impact on the Lives of People in the Industrialized Countries
Air pollution is the primary negative impact on the lives of people. Air is getting polluted by the emission of various gasses such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, etc. Air pollution causes the break-up of health issues. The problem is more among developing and underdeveloped nations. Around 500,000 Asians die prematurely from air pollution every year, while 3.8 million suffer from health problems such as asthma and respiratory diseases.
The burden in terms of health cost ranges from US$392 million to US$2.16 billion annually”. (Transport sector, n.d, p.3). Accidents are also a big problem due to an immense increase in traffic. Many people die out of accidents especially in developing nations where the demand for road construction is not met. Noise pollution is another problem as a result of the emergence of automobiles.
Conclusion
The automobile is one of the means of transportation throughout the world. The innovation of automobiles made a lot of changes to society. Now it is possible to move from one country to another within few hours that were impossible before the advent of the automobile. This paper has presented the new means of transportation like automobiles and the negative and positive impact that created on the lives of people.
Reference List
Brancheau, J., Wharton, A., & Kamalov, F. (n.d.). The history of automobiles. Web.
Impact of the automobile from 1900-1945. (2010). 123 Helpme. Web.
Transport sector. (n.d). A Primer on Health Impacts of Development Programs, p.3. Web.
Wagner, R. (2010). How did the automobile change America? Model T. E How. Web.