ABSTRACT
This chapter describes transport today, touching on history, trends and causes. It deals with the movement of people and freight by land, water and air. Effective transport brought advantage to numerous peoples: the Phoenicians, Romans, Mongols, Venetians, Incas, Dutch, British and Americans, among others. The barriers of distance were overcome where feasible by use of inland waterways, including canals, but mechanized rail transport made the real difference in accelerating the scope and volume of transport. Rail transport began to give way to road transport in the first part of the 20th century, although the main expansion in the use of road vehicles has occurred since 1945. Motorized transport has facilitated and even stimulated just about everything regarded as progress. Considering all places—not just urban regions in richer countries—the main factor in car ownership, and thus in urban travel, is personal or household income.
