Uber Urbanization: Part I
By Betsy Bonilla
Many
different factors contribute to the urban creation and expansion in the United
States. Economic forces, transportation, construction and communication
technology (even more so today) are just some of the main contributors to
urbanization. We see all of these factors in action when we look at the four
stages of Urban Growth according to the book “The New Urban Sociology”.
The
first stage would be the colonial period from 1630 to 1812, where the wealth of
countries equaled the well-being of commerce or trade and when mercantilism
began to develop and allowed for the colonial cities of the United States to
benefit from shipbuilding, slave trading, flour, fur, meat, wheat and lumber.
Also with the development of privatism, less state (king) and more emphasize on
individual accomplishments, and the ability to expand as needed, due to all of
the cheap land available, allowed for the United States to grow.
This
leads to the second stage, Industrial period from 1812 to 1920, where
technology, industrialization and land development continue to increased urban
growth. Roads, canals, train tracks, telegraph lines were all built and this
allowed competitive capital to take hold. Individuals would build up new
competing business and build a city at the same time. Factories created factory
towns and communities where homes, work, families and energy sources were all
in close proximity of each other. This decreased export and increased labor and
the domestic market of consumers within the United States, unfortunately it
also increased public health crisis within these new communities. In addition,
as technology continued to unfold new means of transportation and architecture
advancements changed the lay of the land once again.
These
advancements lead to the third stage of urban growth the Metropolitan period
(from 1920 to 1960). Where monopoly capitalism replaced competitive capitalism
and small business were crushed by large corporations. Smaller towns became
part of larger cities through suburbanization, with the development of cars and
other types of transportation it allowed for people, with the means, to leave
the inner city and expand outward; building their homes and schools away from
the "work place".
Therefore,
the deconcentration and restructuring of settlement space have resulted in the
formation of the multicentred metropolitan region. Suburbanization among other
things like the great migration, were blacks migrated from the south because
jobs were lost due to new technology like the cotton picker, were responsible
for the creation of this multicentre urban region the fourth stage of urban
expansion between 1960 and today. Central cities began to have dimensions of
ethnic and racial concentration and newer core cities began to develop.
Therefore, there is no longer just one center of focus within the urban
community but multiple and as the urban structure and urban culture, continues
to expand the harder it becomes to distinguish between the urban and rural
communities. (Gottdiener, Ryan, & Hutchison, 2015)
Now
considering this (really broad) summery of the urban expansion in the United
States we begin to notice as Gottdiener, Ryan, & Hutchison points out that
there are “Legacies” that in one way or
another relate to this growth even today. Which are the lack of walls; nothing
stopping the expansion, real estate developed as economy; land is money,
privatism; pursuit of self-interest, large-scale immigration and regional
dispersal of metropolis. There are many different examples on how this can
relate to us today and how new technology continues to change and move the
structure and culture of urbanization.
We
know that transportation was and continues to be a huge part of the expansion
of urban area but as Gottdiener, Ryan, & Hutchison mentioned it would be
misleading to think that transportation technology alone was what caused the
rapid expansion of urban areas. Technology might have been the means of growth
but inception and execution came from the desire to accumulate wealth. (Gottdiener, Ryan, & Hutchison, 2015)
One
thing that I can relate this too is how we use technology to advance our
everyday means of transportation. Now that we have trains, planes, boats,
subways, buses, scooters, cars, bikes ex... People are trying to find different
ways to make theses ‘typical’ means of transportation work for them and make
them money. If you live in the suburbs, it is extremely hard not to have a car
and if you live in the city, it has become extremely difficult to maintain and
or use one. Yes you can take the train, bus or subway but what if you do not
have access to those means of transportation? Not within walking distance and
many times not as reliable as we would like them to be. Maybe it is right next
door but does it go where you need it to go? Well yes you can take a taxi cab
to the right train station or bus station or even all the way to your
destination but by the time you add up all of the cost and time wasted going
around in circles you might as well just call it quits. Unfortunately, the same
thing that has helped with the structural foundation of the expansion of our
society today might also be the thing to cage people in.
Do not get me wrong, transportation
is a beautiful thing but who is really the ones who benefit from it? Before it
was the way the wealthy left the poor behind and now it seems as if that were
still the case. Every year the cost of using any kind of transportation,
private or public, has increased and with a decrease in income and jobs, the
choice of weather it is worth taking the trip across town or out of town have
to be carefully weighed.
So
along came Uber! Not the first of its kind and I am going on a limb but surly
not the last. Before it was just carpooling, one day you drive us to work or school
and the next day I will. It is and was a simple way to save money, use your car
less and parking (root of all evil) with most of the time the cost being equal.
Unfortunately, now that we no longer live as close to our peers and coworkers,
carpooling does not always work and with the fare increase in public transportation,
we needed a new cheap way of getting from point A to point B.
Cab Drivers Hate It, Entrepreneurs Embrace It: The Rideshare Revolution
Looking
at this new car sharing phenomena, Uber, is said to be [perhaps the fastest
growing company in world history] by Sverre Rørvik Nilsen and that “competition
from Uber… Helps the Poor” by Josh Peterson. So, could it be possible that this
was the answer to all our problems? Could mixing the idea of the Taxi with
carpooling really be as great as they make it sound? Using an application on
your mobile phone to notified people in your surrounding area that you are in
need of a ride without having to spend a whole lot of money sounds awesome and technology
once again has changed the way we move. Uber even advertises all of the new
wonderful jobs/businesses opportunities available for the average person. (Could
this be a new form of industrialization?) So not only can you get from point A
to point B with half the amount of money you could also be the one to drive
people around for half the money. Wait…that does not sound right. Yes, we want
and need faster, cheaper and nicer transportation, but who should be the one to
pay for it? Does this really help the poor? Moreover, how does this affect the
growth of urban areas?
It
seems like Uber is creating more questions/problems than answers/solutions but
I think that it is important to look at all of these factors because in one way
or another it is changing and affecting how and where we live.
Works Cited
Gottdiener, M., Ryan, M. T., & Hutchison, R.
(2015). The New Urban Sociology (Fifth Edition ed.). Boulder, CO:
Westview Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment