Urban History (ABPL20034)

Second Assignment: Class Paper/Blog

Kyle Huxley (ID: 640 812)

Topic 3A: Transport and its impact on cities

Throughout the history of modern cities, development has been inextricably connected to technological innovation in the field of transport. Transport developments have been a massive driver of growth, with the development of railways, shipping channels and later, roads, connecting cities like never before for the purposes of lifestyle and commerce.

One particular example of this is seen in the first reading from this week, which talked about the impact that transport infrastructure had in France under Louis XIV. At this time, in seventeenth-century France, the development of projects such as roads, canals and bridges was contracted out by government to private enterprise, much in the way that public-private partnerships (PPPs) operate today. In particular, the example of the Canal du Midi was given, a shipping canal  constructed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, designed to open up trade routes between the two very different sides of the continent (Mukerji, 2013). However, due to the enormous engineering effort required in order to finish the canal, the entrepreneurs who underwrote the project took on a significant level of risk in proceeding with the project, and left themselves exposed to massive losses if they failed. Ultimately, they succeeded in constructing the canal, highlighting the benefits that can be sometimes found in entrepreneurial partnerships with infrastructure, as a task that seemed impossible for a government to complete could be achieved through the will and collective efforts of private enterprise.

Similarly, on the other side of the Channel, early Victorian cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and London were also transformed by the introduction of modern railway connections (Kellett, 1969), often constructed by keen entrepreneurs looking to leverage developments located along the path of the railway line. As such, the idea of commuting later became a major selling point for the Underground railway in London, as the introduction of the railway offered lifestyle choices not previously available to those who worked in the inner city. People could now live well outside of the city centre, and commute to work on a daily basis, forever shaping the way that we live our lives. This was an issue also picked up on in the Kellett reading, where it was noted the way in which the development of these railways blurred the lines between city and rural areas, as they allowed for swift and convenient movement between locations that were previously considered to be a vast distance apart. However, while the effect of these early steam railways was in many cases a positive for those outside the inner city, it created complications within cities, as railway viaducts were viewed negatively by residents, because they believed that such viaducts adversely affected the character of their properties. However, these connections opened new opportunities for commerce, as firms could build factories along the railway lines to send their goods between cities.

Locally too, we can also see how massively transport has shaped the development of Australian cities, particularly in the case of Melbourne. Here, in the early days of the mid to late 19th century, the infrastructure in place was well ahead of the population sprawl, meaning that people were adequately serviced by public transport right from the point where they moved into their homes, rather than what we see today, where infrastructure is often promised as ‘coming soon’. In these early days, the railways were all private enterprises, designed to turn a profit for investors, which meant that they were not necessarily in the business of providing connectivity, and that as a consequence, station locations and alignments were often based upon areas of intense land speculation. However, these problems were later alleviated by the public acquisition of the private railways, and later the continued expansion of the network, which created more opportunities for the quick and easy transport of goods across and between the colonies, as well as leading to patronage levels booming to levels equivalent to other major cities around the world.

In summary, the examples given in the readings and lecture from this week provide an insight into the ways in which cities have been shaped by transport infrastructure. Whether it be a railway, a canal or otherwise, transport networks have the potential to truly revolutionise the way that cities function. In terms of their creation, while allowing entrepreneurs to lead the development of transport can have a number of benefits, it can sometimes become problematic in ensuring that the right infrastructure is built for cities. This is a problem that we still face today in planning for the future, however, if we learn from the experiences of the past, we can ensure that we built the right kinds of transport infrastructure to meet out future needs.

References:

Kellett, JR 1969, ‘The railway as an agent of internal change in Victorian cities: the districts and the suburbs’, The Impact of Railways on Victorian Cities, Routledge Publishing, Oxon, United Kingdom, pp. 337-353

Mukerji, C 2013, ‘Cartography, Entrepeneurialism, and Power in the Reign of Louis XIV’, in P Smith & P Findlen (eds), Merchants and Marvels: Commerce, Science and Art in Early Modern Europe, Taylor and Frances Publishing, Hoboken, USA, pp. 248-276

Nichols, D 2015, ‘Lecture 3A: Transport and its impact on cities’, Urban History: ABPL20034, Tuesday 17th March 2015, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne, Parkville