The Automobile and the City

19 th Century Origins of the Internal Combustion Engine

The Automobile was “European by Birth and American by Adoption” Etienne Lenoir Nicholas Otto Karl Benz Gottlieb Daimler Emile Constant Levassor

France, statistics on vehicles in use by year, (Britannica, 1911, XVIII,920) YearTotal Vehicles in Use , , , , , , , , , , ,000

The Early 20 th c. Competition Among Engine Technologies Steam Electric Internal Combustion (ICE)

The Rise of the American Automobile Industry Frank and Charles Dureya Elwood Haynes along with Edgar and Elmer Apperson Hiram Maxim Alexander Winton Albert Pope Ransom Olds Henry Ford

American Motor Vehicle Production, YearNumberValue ,290, ,576 16,000, ,766 24,500, ,787 42,000, ,000 50,000, ,694105,000, ,952 83,000, ,891135,000, ,000225,000,000

The Market Shifts in the Early American Automobile Industry Initially, the automobile was a play thing for the rich With the coming of Henry Ford and mass production, the automobile becomes a perceived necessity in rural areas After WWI and with the advent of closed steel-bodied automobiles, the market gradually shifts to city dwellers

Prior to the 1920s, American Highways were Horrendous Federal Legislation, 1916 and 1921 Funding largely supported by the gasoline tax Thomas McDonald and the Bureau of Public Roads An arterial system developed to link all major cities of 50,000 or more N-S highways odd numbers, E-W highways, even

Autos and City Space Development During the 1920s Filling in the space between the fingers of development caused by the trolley lines Housing architecture – the California bungalow From carriage house to garage

Main Street, 1910

Main Street, 1925

The Parkway and the Suburb – New York City Area The Long Island Motor Parkway ( ) The Hutchinson River Parkway (1928) The Saw Mill River Parkway (1929) The Cross Country Parkway (1931)

Big Bridges and Far Suburbs Delaware River (Franklin) Between Philadelphia and Camden; Haddonfield, NJ George Washington Between New York and Northern New Jersey

Alfred P. Sloan and the Road Gang National Highway Users Conference National City Lines and Roy Fitzgerald Trolleys and Buses GM fined in 1949 A Case of Technological Suppression?

What is Good for GM is What is Good for America?

The Case of Los Angeles The Pacific Electric “Red” car trolley system Decentralization taking place in LA before widespread use of the car Trolley disadvantages and poor service Inherent flexibility of the automobile – the psychological notion of “freedom”