ENGR 101/HUM 200: Technology and Society

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ENGR 101/HUM 200 Technology and Society

• October 19 , 2005

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Transportation Laundry List

• Bridges
• Highways
• Pavement
• Heavy and Light Rail
• Airplanes
• Electric Trolleys
• Automobiles

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Transportation Effects on Society

• Temporal
• Short term
• Long term
• Spatial
• Local
• Regional
• Global

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Cultural Narratives of Transportation Technologies

• Stories we tell ourselves
• Airplane travel is glamorous
• Railroad travel is romantic
• The open road in an automobile is freedom

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Cultural Narratives of Future Transportation

• Those flying cars
• Our current highways

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Temporal

• Travel-time savings
• Cheaper to operate a vehicle
• Cheaper freight costs
• More efficient movement of goods

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Spatial

• Local
• Land use in local communities
• Regional
• Public transit across communities
• Global
• Globalization of manufacturing

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Transportation Infrastructure

• Reduces effective distances
• Lowers congestion
• Makes travel cheaper
• Makes travel faster
• Makes transport of goods more efficient
• Makes scale economies viable
• Allows interregional and international
  specialization

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Congestion

• Its inevitable!
• Reflection of current lifestyle
• Reflects advantages of public transportation
• Comfort, privacy, speed, flexibility, convenience

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4 Ways to Solve Congestion

• Tolls
• Expand roads
• Expand public transit
• Live with it
• What are the obstacles for each of these
  solutions? Technical? Social? Both?

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