ABSTRACT
We live in an era of mass expectations of ever increasing individual mobility. Growth of personal mobility has accompanied industrialization. Two hundred years ago, only a minority ventured more than a few miles from their place of birth and only the better-off regularly travelled any distance. Then came the successive developments of the steam engine, the internal combustion engine and the gas turbine, together with the corresponding rail, road and aviation infrastructure. Now we currently travel annually on average about 7000 miles a year in Britain, even before international air travel is taken into account. These technological innovations have made possible faster travel speeds and thereby greater distances, and have democratized both everyday and long-distance travel.
