The Development of Transport and Changing Attitudes C.M. Peters Department of Civil Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Ports
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Transactions on the Built Environment vol 16, © 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 The development of transport and changing attitudes C.M. Peters Department of Civil Engineering, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK Abstract The development of transport is inextricably linked to the general development of civilisation as we understand it today, and this paper examines these connections through a review of the development of transport. The review specifically investigates transport with regard to trade, land-use, the development of the car and the transport infrastructure and their impact on the environment. 1 Introduction The Twentieth Century: in 1916 Henri Dieterding^ of Royal Dutch Shell anticipated 'A Century of Travel \ in 1973 Galbraith^ identified 'An Age of Uncertainty', in 1992 Yergin^ described 'The Century of Oil', more recently Hobsbawm^ reflected upon 'An Age of Extremes'. The twentieth century has indeed been all of these. The quest for travel and the power to do it has dominated the century. The results of this appear to be bringing the world of the 21st century to the brink of possible destruction, but in a very different way to the military threat at the beginning of the twentieth century. Whether the current environmental debate is seen as exaggerated by mass media and vociferous minorities or as a problem of truly global proportions, there can be little doubt that despite all the widespread efforts the overall pollution problems are getting worse, and calls for action are quite justified. This paper presents a personal view of the development of travel and transport with respect to the political, economic, social and cultural changes of modern civilisation from before the industrial revolution to the present time. Transactions on the Built Environment vol 16, © 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 156 Urban Transport and the Environment 2 Civilisation, Early Land Use Development and Trade Ever since the beginning of civilisation mankind has learned to take advantage of his environment by changing or modifying its use to develop its potential. The early stages of civilisation entailed the transformation from a 'hunter-gatherer' lifestyle to a nomadic and then settled existence. Bronowski^ identifies that "early nomadic peoples would have needed to follow the natural migration of wild herds - but that sheep and goats (the first animals to be domesticated) have no natural migrations". He thus suggests that "when man domesticated the animals he assumed the responsibility of nature for them". This would imply that it is important how society transports and cares for its domestic animals. Early development of agriculture in some areas was also accompanied with mineral and timber development. As populations became more settled and less warlike their numbers grew, villages grew to towns and towns developed to cities. This settled form of existence also encouraged the development of specialisation skills (e.g the blacksmith, carpenter), so that individual households would be no longer independent and self sufficient but more inter-dependent upon each other. Towards the end of the dark ages of European history (circa 1300-1400) there emerged two main centres of industry and trade. To the south were the Mediterranean ports and city states (dominated by Barcelona, Genoa and Venice) - and in Northern Europe the Hanseatic League, dominated by Lubeck, Hamburg and Cologne^. Both these trading centres reached out to much of the then known world, but there also existed considerable north-south trade between the two areas. In 1453 the fall of Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the Ottoman Empire effectively closed off access to the east for the Mediterranean city states. This stimulated the western Europeans (particularly Spain and Portugal) to investigate alternative routes to the east. It was mainly those countries with an Atlantic seaboard which had developed the larger ships capable of venturing across the deep oceans. As history records the Americas were discovered in 1492, and following the circumnavigation of the world, thereafter the main trade routes were to be east-west rather than north-south. In Great Britain through the first phase of the industrial revolution (1760- 1870), the location of industry revolved around location of natural resources, for example textile mills were located near water power, with housing constructed locally by mill owners and the population moved in. The canals were the prime movers of both raw materials 'in' and the shipment of manufactured goods 'out' to towns and ports for sale and export. At this time overseas interests by Europeans was more a trading and missionary venture. As the industrial revolution spread across western Europe towards the east and to North America it brought dramatic land-use changes together with many investment and employment opportunities. Clearly there was a general tacit acceptance to this industrial development. After some two hundred years, and at the peak of industrial output of the 1960s-1970s it was inconceivable to those involved that the sunset of many of these traditional industries was to be just two decades away. Transactions on the Built EnvironmentUrba vol 16,n ©Transpor 1995 WIT Press,t an wwdw.witpress.com, the Environmen ISSN 1743-3509t 15 7 3 Trade and Transport The opportunities for our forebears to travel were obviously much less than today, however in reality the extent of travel in medieval times is generally underestimated. England in the middle ages had many markets and fairs - people would often travel 10 to 20 miles to take their goods to market^. Both water and land transport were extensively used. England had many navigable rivers which were used for travel (and unlike on mainland Europe travellers were not deterred by tolls), but the use of weirs to control water levels did hinder navigation. In the fifteenth century most roads were merely tracks over the existing ground, it was not until the seventeenth century that the designated turnpike routes appeared, and the properly constructed roads by Engineers came a century later. It was particularly during the rainy season that carts became bogged down and travelling between towns was particularly hazardous. The key point about transport and trade prior to the twentieth century was the load carrying capacities of the horse^:- One horse could carry up to 150 kg on pannier or 2 tonnes by cart A horse drawn canal barge could carry 100 tonnes (or more) A coastal ship (of the day) would carry 300-400 tonnes The major factors which would affect trade through the transport developments of the industrial revolution were:- changes in cost and speed of travel and extensions of markets Following the opening of Bridgewater's canal (Worsley to Manchester) in 1761 the cost per tonne of transporting coal was reduced from £2 (by road) to 30 pence (by canal)^. With regard to the transportation of bulk goods of low value (coal, ores, clay etc) where the transport costs are a significant portion of the overall commodity costs - then cost of transport is vital. For the transportation of high value goods (e.g silks, gemstones, woollens) where the transport costs are relatively low - then speed of transport is vital. It is significant to note that the steam railways introduced in the early nineteenth century were able to cater for both high value and low value goods, and that up until that time all land transport was relatively very expensive. 4 The Era of Motor Transport and the New Century The machine that is most commonly acknowledged as the first motor car is the Benz three-wheeler built in 1883. This was far from the earliest attempt at a form of mechanised road transport; in the nineteenth century many steam driven road vehicles were demonstrated^*" - but they tended to be big and cumbersome, noisy and emitted clouds of black smoke. The Benz machine was much more compact but still had all the other liabilities. However the single factor which gave it distinct advantage that was to maintain its dominance through independent use, was the power source: a compact liquid fuel which to this day (bar nuclear fuels) contains more energy per unit mass than any alternative, and it did not require a large copper boiler or a concrete jacket! Transactions on the Built Environment vol 16, © 1995 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3509 158 Urban Transport and the Environment As these contraptions were noisy, slow, unreliable and emitted clouds of noxious fumes it was difficult to see how they would catch on. They were however the playthings of the wealthy and as such over the next two decades gradual improvements were made, not the least of which was the invention of the pneumatic tyre patented by Dunlop in 1888^. This allowed for improved suspensions which gave a much more comfortable ride and allowed higher speeds, (but not in the UK as higher speeds were illegal^), this in turn gave added impetus to further improvements and developments. Early in the new century two significant events were to happen - a war started in Europe in 1914 and Henry Ford was building cars for a new generation of farmers in the USA. The war swept away or changed the old European Imperial dynasties which allowed a greater prosperity for the masses and Ford showed how to make cheaper cars for ordinary people. However the political changes were not fully effected until after the Great Depression and World War Two^. But by the end of 1945 there was a more determined spirit to build a better future - this time for both vanquished and victor. There was a real spirit of freedom, and in all the chaos of war torn Europe nothing epitomised this freedom more than the freedom of the open road- which was to be especially significant in western Europe and North America.