Car, Driver, Landscape

By: Peter Bain

I’m interested in the future of transportation and visual expressions of car and pedestrian travel. Historical records of public transit alternatives are now seen through a hazy nostalgia.

Public transportation was widely used in the early twentieth century, when privately-owned services were dominant. This notice, in the October 1906 issue of Electrical World, documents that business interest in public transit, using the leading technology of the time, was envisioned for a rural Mississippi town. The nearby land-grant college, now Mississippi State University, was a probable destination.
Public transportation was widely used in the early twentieth century, when privately-owned services were dominant. This notice, in the October 1906 issue of Electrical World, documents that business interest in public transit, using the leading technology of the time, was envisioned for a rural Mississippi town. The nearby land-grant college, now Mississippi State University, was a probable destination.

The vista of the skyscraper viewed from the parkway, or the convenience of the zero-turn radius lawnmower, are evidence of our attachment to the automobile and its ability to physically shape our culture and mold expectations.

These high-rise office towers are a familiar landmark along Atlanta's I-285 beltway, known as the Perimeter. The "King and Queen" buildings express a vision of automobile-scaled architecture, their reflective-glass walls rising from the greenery of a planned development. The problem of Atlanta's traffic congestion, and the role of commuter destinations such as these, is not immediately visible from this idyllic perspective.
These high-rise office towers are a familiar landmark along Atlanta’s I-285 beltway, known as the Perimeter. The “King and Queen” buildings express a vision of automobile-scaled architecture, their reflective-glass walls rising from the greenery of a planned development. The problem of Atlanta’s traffic congestion, and the role of commuter destinations such as these, is not immediately visible from this idyllic perspective.
The lawnmower is heading fast-forward into the future. The development of the highly maneuverable, zero-turn riding mower builds on our experience of the automobile, even including cruise control. We drive to our suburban home, and then can drive to maintain the lawn, with even better cornering than our cars. Where are we headed?
The lawnmower is heading fast-forward into the future. The development of the highly maneuverable, zero-turn riding mower builds on our experience of the automobile, even including cruise control. We drive to our suburban home, and then can drive to maintain the lawn, with even better cornering than our cars. Where are we headed?

I found roadway intersections that are perilous for pedestrians to cross and dystopian cartoons of couch-potato-like riders. These images can propel fears of enforced automobility. Yet surviving archways remind us of our pedestrian past, while existing sidewalks enable coexistence between walkers and drivers. There are contemporary voices calling for multiple transportation modes in the future.

This image from the computer-animated science fiction film WALL-E shows future humans traveling by personal rapid transit. Unfortunately they appear worse off than today's transit riders, their obesity explained by a spaceship generations removed from Earth and by freedom from having to walk anywhere. Not everyone can travel without assistance, but for shorter distances those able to walk or bicycle should have healthy options. Advocates of driverless cars propose a more efficient transportation system, since vehicles could conceivably be shared between trips.
This image from the computer-animated science fiction film WALL-E shows future humans traveling by personal rapid transit. Unfortunately they appear worse off than today’s transit riders, their obesity explained by a spaceship generations removed from Earth and by freedom from having to walk anywhere. Not everyone can travel without assistance, but for shorter distances those able to walk or bicycle should have healthy options. Advocates of driverless cars propose a more efficient transportation system, since vehicles could conceivably be shared between trips.
Access to and from this divided highway creates a forbidding intersection for pedestrians at one of the main entrances to Mississippi State University. There are signal request buttons, but to reach the traffic islands pedestrians must first venture across right-turn lanes without stop signs. The arrow indicates one of four pushbuttons. Concepts for making this intersection more pedestrian-friendly have been developed, but there are no immediate plans to change the situation.
Access to and from this divided highway creates a forbidding intersection for pedestrians at one of the main entrances to Mississippi State University. There are signal request buttons, but to reach the traffic islands pedestrians must first venture across right-turn lanes without stop signs. The arrow indicates one of four pushbuttons. Concepts for making this intersection more pedestrian-friendly have been developed, but there are no immediate plans to change the situation.

After DesignInquiry in Vinalhaven I traveled to New York City and experienced two benchmarks of present automotive culture. The first was an exhibition of work by Syd Mead, illustrator and conceptual designer of futuristic vehicles for both Detroit and Hollywood. The second was a visit to the Manhattan showroom of Tesla Motors; the upstart California manufacturer of electric cars and contender to represent American innovation. Both clearly showed that how we transport ourselves is steered by emotional and aesthetic drives as much as by wheels or legs.