Manual gasoline pump (“Eiserne Jungfrau”)

Automobile travel can be considered a large technical system that includes infrastructure such as streets and petrol stations.

In order to serve growing amounts of automobile traffic the first manual gasoline pumps were installed in the 1920s. They were often located on sidewalk in front of stores and hotels. When the gasoline pumps were taken out of service in 1970, the automobile had already long since become a common means of transport and symbolised freedom and individuality.

Automobiles with internal combustion engines use large amounts of gasoline. All attempts to develop more efficient automobiles came to naught due to the rapid motorisation of the world. Today there are more than a billion automobiles on the planet; by 2050 the number could reach 10 billion. This would exceed the capacity of the planet Earth. The future of the Anthropocene requires a new conception of mobility.