Turn of 20

American History 20th Century Life at the turn of the 20th century changed in a variety of ways, especially when one considers the ramifications of those changes in urban environments. Developments in the creation of public spaces, mass transportation, and technology helped to distinguish this era from the declining decades of the 19th century. These differences and similarities are best seen when one examines their effect on the wealthy, middle and working classes of people.

Overall, it becomes apparent that the consequences of these developments in different areas of life in urban environments helped to create the basis for modernity or modern living. In many ways, one of the most noticeable aspects of modernity that was created in cities at the turn of the 20th century pertained to mass transportation. The railway system was largely perfected in the 19th century, and helped to bridge the eastern and western portion of the United States.

At the turn of the 20th century, developments in mass transportation then focused on that in urban environments. For the most part, such mass transportation helped to provide a common ground for all three of the aforementioned classes of people. Buses (referred to initially as omnibuses) (1) helped to provide a common way of transportation for all people, as did the railway system. Regardless of a person's class, if he or she desired to travel from Manhattan to upstate, he or she could simply purchase a ticket on a train (2).

These forms of public transportation helped to provide the basis for modernity in cities because buses and trains still constitute the principle means of public transportation in contemporary society. The creation of public spaces had a similarly equitable effect on the different classes of people to inhabit an urban environment, and helped to pave the way for modern usages and conceptions of public spaces as well.

Whereas there were some parts of cities that were reserved for residences and which were largely stratified according to whether or not someone was of the upper, middle or working class, public spaces could help to balance out such territorial concerns. For instance, in New York City train stations functioned as public spaces due to the fact that they provided a degree of parity in how people traveled.

Other public spaces such as restaurants and cafes truly emerged in the early part of the 20th century in the U.S., which was influenced in this regard by the popularity of cafe culture in Europe. Additionally, the creation of public spaces such as parks and Central Park in particular solidified this concept as one of the ones that is central to modernity and modern urban practices. New forms of technology helped to influence modern practices, especially those that became pervasive at the turn of the 20th century.

Perhaps the most prominent of these was related to the creation of the automobile. Virtually all technology goes through phases in which it is initially considered a luxury before time passes and it becomes more widespread and specialized. This was certainly the case with private motor cars or motor trucks (3) as they were initially known. First they were merely toys for the wealthy which.