In this review I will be focusing on the implications surrounding car ownership, and how the rise of it has had an impact on different dynamics. As highlighted by the Government Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2017, car ownership is on the rise globally. In the UK alone, there were 31.1 million cars on the roads in March 2017 which is 4.6% higher than the previous peak in 2015. Although the literature surrounding car ownership covers a wide range of topics, I will be directing this review on the reasons for the growth of car possession, as well as considering some of the social and environmental consequences too.
It has been asserted by Bates (1981) in his research that car ownership is directly related to household income, which infers that more affluent people have higher car ownership. This was further highlighted by data from the Government Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2015 which stated that following the recession of 2008-2009, licensed vehicle registration slowed down to an average of 170,000 new vehicles per year between 2007-2012. This was a massive reduction seeing as annual growth in licensed vehicle registration was 650,000 per year between 1994 and 2007. This reinforces the idea that car ownership is linked with affluence; as people became more financially stable again, car ownership increased. Thus, multiple data sets share the view that car ownership is linked to wealth.
It can be assessed that the increase in car ownership is a direct result of suburbanisation. Some such as Tana, Mei-Po Kwan and Yanwei Chai (2015) have highlighted in their journals that in recent years, suburbanisation in Western countries has had a significant impact on motorised travel and long-distance trips. They assessed that as there are typically less transport routes in the suburbs, it is assumed by most that car ownership is vital to ensure people are able to commute to the city for work. This is supported by Philip Gomm (2016) who stated that as there are more women in work in recent years, more cars are required for people to travel to work. Yet, this is not always apparent, as Adam Bee (2015) states that more than 80% of all vehicle trips taken are for non-work purposes, even though literature often focuses on car ownership for commuting purposes. He evaluates that although vehicles lower the spatial barriers to employment, if we focus on this, it overlooks how useful vehicles can be in home production. This idea is reinforced by data from a journal by Kain (1968) which shows that low-skill labour demand has shifted from manufacturing to the service and retail sectors, growing faster in the suburbs than in central cities. As a result, it can be suggested that the reasons for the increase in car ownership from different data sets are conflicting, and an argument surrounding whether or not it is mainly due to commuting purposes is still present.
The rising car ownership has lead to social consequences, assessed by Karen Lucas (2012) who talks about how low car ownership can lead to social exclusion, due to the fact that in an area where there are poor transport links, there is an inability to reach: employment, education, health services, etc. Therefore, she asserts that people who are unable to afford a car could be seen as being socially excluded in the sense of having missed opportunities that they could access if they owned a vehicle. Consequently, it could be inferred that transport has an important role to play in determining social outcomes for different sectors of modern society (Banister et al., 1981). Yet, these consequences don’t necessarily have to be negative, as it has been inferred by researchers such as Heba Soffar (2015) that vehicles are vital in modern society in order to transport goods and services across the country. Soffar argues that cars help people travel around with a great deal of freedom, and without them, people would not be able to access the same opportunities they do now. In summary, there is a disputing argument concerning whether or not increased car ownership leads to social exclusion or inclusion, as both sides of the argument seem valid in determining social outcomes.
As well as social consequences, there is a common view that the environment is greatly impacted by increased car ownership. As stated by Gemma Renton (2017), one of the most damaging impacts of increased motor vehicle use is the increased level of pollutants vehicles are releasing in to our atmosphere. Renton asserts that an average vehicle with a 3L engine releases over 10,000 pounds of pollutant (mainly carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere each year, which is damaging to the environment and all in order to meet the demand for new cars. This idea is reinforced by others such as Hopkins (2016), whose research has concluded that the increased greenhouse gas emissions are putting immense pressure on our planet, and therefore this discusses the urgency that is needed for us to transform to lower carbon mobility. Issues surrounding the damaging effect that vehicles are having on the environment is a collective view shared by a variety of sources, therefore it can be concluded that the rise in car ownership is directly having a destructive effect on the environment. Yet, some literature suggests that there is an attempt to sort this problem out: through the introduction of lower carbon mobility vehicles. As asserted by the Vehicle Licensing Statistics 2015, the amount of low carbon vehicles in 2015 was 34% higher than from one year before, and 91% more than two years previous to that. Thus, although the literature addresses that there is a problem associated with rising car ownership, other research suggests that there is something being done about the problem. Therefore, this raises a question of whether car ownership will become more sustainable in the future as the environmental impacts may be limited.
Conclusively, from the data gathered it can be established that car ownership is increasing in the UK, and this has become an environmental burden with some social implications too. The general consensus from the data is that this is becoming a problem for the environment, therefore methods to reduce the carbon footprint of vehicles on our roads are increasingly current and may change the impacts of car ownership in the future. There seems to be a contradictory argument surrounding whether or not the rise of car ownership is negative on society, therefore maybe further research in this field is required in order to come to a final outcome. Yet, overall, car ownership is certainly on the rise in the UK.
References
-Adam Bee, 2015: The effect of car ownership on Employment: Evidence from state insurance Rate Regulation
-Banister, D., Hall, P., 1981: ‘’Transport and public policy planning’’, Mansell, London
-D. Hopkins, J. Higham, 2016: low carbon mobility transitions, Goodfellow Publishers, Oxford
-Gemma Renton, 2017: ‘’The Environmental impact of driving your own vehicle article’’, Eco shuttle
-Heba Soffar, May 2015: The positive and negative effects of cars
-J. Bates, M. Roberts, S. Lowe, P. Richards, 1981: ‘’The factors affecting household car ownership’’, Gower Press, London
-Kain, John F.1968: ‘’Housing segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralisation’’ Quarterly Journal of Economics 82(2): 175-197
-Karen Lucas, February 2012: ‘’Transport and social exclusion: where are we now?’’
-Philip Gomm, Jan 2016: Rac foundation
-Tana, Mei-Po Kwan, Yanwei Chai, April 2015: Urban form, car ownership and activity space in inner suburbs: A comparison between Beijing (China) and Chicago (US)
-Vehicle licensing statistics: January-March 2017 report, gov.uk, June 2017
-Vehicle licensing statistics: 2015 report, gov.uk, November 2016
-W.A.V Clark, Jun L. Oraka, February 1983: ‘’Life cycle and housing adjustment as explanations of residential mobility’’