Volume 2 – Issue 4
November 2020

Cameron Roberts, PhD; James Meadowcroft, PhD; David Layzell, PhD

This paper examines the experience of an earlier transition in land transport that saw the rapid adoption of the automobile. It focuses on three important questions:

• Why did Canadian mobility change during the first half of the twentieth century?
• How did cars emerge relatively quickly as the dominant mode of transportation?
• What lessons can we learn from this history to inform future sustainability transitions?

Cite this document:
Roberts, C, Meadowcroft, J, Layzell, DB. 2020. The Rise of the Automobile: Lessons from Historical Canadian Transportation Transitions. Transition Accelerator Reports Vol. 2, Iss. 4, Pg. 1-35. ISSN 2562-6264 English version of this document available at https://transitionaccelerator.ca