Transportation Drives City Growth

The ability to transport people, goods and supplies drove the growth of many population centers around the world. Cities such as London developed on rivers, others including New York grew up around a deep water port.

My contribution to this event was shot at the end of a recently completed pedestrian pier extending into San Francisco Bay with a panoramic view of San Francisco. At least three types of transportation are depicted.

First, walking. A former breakwater for San Francisco's Downtown Ferry Terminal, Pier 14 is now a 637-foot public pedestrian pier. The $2.3 million project has been described as the most expensive stretch of sidewalk in the country.

Second, water. A passenger ferry moves toward the ferry terminal with its historic clock tower, small sailboats enjoy an uncrowded weekday on the bay and, in the distance beyond the Bay Bridge, large container ships wait to unload their cargos at the Port of Oakland — forth largest in the U.S.

Third, vehicle. A few cars can be seen driving down the Embarcadero at the food of Pier 14. Many more vehicles cross the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge every day.

Earthquakes have had a major impact on transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Ferry Building, built in 1903, was damaged in the 1906 earthquake and fire that destroyed much of the city. A double-deck freeway along the Embarcadero was damaged in a 1989 quake. It was eventually demolished to be replaced with a tree lined boulevard. The San Francisco, Oakland Bay Bridge was also damaged in the '89 Loma Prieta Earthquake—the east span on the oposite side of Yerba Buena Island is being replaced.

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USA-Canada / USA-California

Lat: 37° 47' 40" N
Long: 123° 24' 23.5" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT - 350D
Canon EFS 10-22mm lens at 10mm (16mm w/1.6 conversion)
Nodal Ninja SPH-1 Spherical Head
Tiltall tripod
Apple QTVRAS and Adobe Photoshop CS2 software