Transportation in a Superpower Country

You may ask what makes a country a superpower. There are many scholarly definitions, but the general answer is always the same: a superpower is a country that has a growing economy and keeps progressing in technologies. These countries are an exemplary model for other growing countries. A country like this will influence the thinking and actions of other countries for the betterment of their own nation. Today, the United States is a superpower. Tomorrow, another country will take the title. The United States also has many cities with a mediocre transportation system. Not only do these cities have transportation systems that do not reach the suburbs, but they might also be very limited in accessibility. By limited accessibility, I mean that equity is not present in the system and very few people have access to it. Another way in which transportation is detaining the United States from progressing is that other countries are now competitors in the transportation system.

First, we must begin by looking at the accessibility of transportation in the United States and specifically in the city of Atlanta. Atlanta is one of the most active cities in America, and it also contains the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. When thinking about the airport in Atlanta, foreigners and out-of-state people might think that Atlanta’s transportation system must be incredible. However, the opposite is true. The city’s well-known Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) system is, perhaps, the worst transportation system in any city of America. Not only does it not extend to the suburban communities, but there is very little accessibility. The system’s layout is in the shape of a plus sign. There system only meets at one intersection. My first impression when riding MARTA was that very few people were using it relative to population density. Another important observation is that the vast majority of the people taking MARTA were minorities, mainly African Americans. There were very few business people. Only the populace living within a mile of the stations is able to use MARTA without the use of another mode of transportation. The horrendous transportation system is slowly declining Atlanta’s progress.

As a contrast, Spain is the leading country in light-rail transportation. In fact, six of the eight largest light-rail companies in the world are located in Spain. Until the 1980s, Spain used the transportation systems in the United States as a model. Now, Spain has advanced much further than the United States in transit system development. Of course, other countries are also progressing, but Spain is the leading country. It is expected that by 2020, the United States will no longer be a superpower. Growing countries such as Brazil, India, Russia, and China have a great possibility of surpassing the United States transportation system.

Although the United States is a country superpower, its transportation system is not close to that of Spain. Instead, it is slowly declining and worsening. In a superpower country, it is expected that there is an exemplary transportation system. This statement was true before the 1980s; however, with an economic depression omnipresent, the already ordinary transportation systems are dying. So how can we better the transit system in America, and in what ways should be imitate Spain’s system?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City. Thirteen, 08 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Sept. 2011 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/reports/beyond-the-motor- city/video/939/>