Urban Mass Transit - The Life Story of a Technology (Hardcover)

This volume in the Greenwood Technographies series covers urban mass transit - that is, the technologies that allow cities to move large numbers of people around. Just a few hundred years ago, the size of cities was limited by the time it took people to move from one part of the city to another. The development of successive technologies has forever altered the urban landscape. From horse-drawn omnibuses to subways to current light-rail, this volume highlights the technological and social struggles that have accompanied urbanization and the need for an efficient and cost-effective means of transportation in cities. Urban Mass Transit: The Life Story of a Technology follows the story of transportation in cities through all stages of its history: Urbanization and transit by horsepower The introduction of mechanical power to run cable railways Electrification and the ascendance of the trolley The Rise of the motor vehicle and the decline of the trolley Rapid transit and the revival of mass transportation The volume includes a timeline, a glossary, and a bibliography of resources useful for further research.