Asphalt nation : how the automobile took over America, and how we can take it back /

Abstract

The mess. Asphalt Nation is essential reading for everyone interested in the history of our relationship with the car, and in the prospect of returning to a world of human mobility.Today our world revolves around the car - as a nation, we spend eight billion hours a year stuck in traffic. In Asphalt Nation, Jane Holtz Kay effectively calls for a revolution to reverse our automobile-dependency. Citing successful efforts in places from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, Kay shows us that radical change is not impossible by any means. She demonstrates that there are economic, political, architectural, and personal solutions that can steer us out of.Includes bibliographical references (p. 393-403) and index.The Late Motor Age: A Defining Decade -- Pt. I. Car Glut: A Nation in Lifelock. 1. Bumper to Bumper. 2. The Geography of Inequity. 3. The Landscape of the Exit Ramp. 4. The Road to Environmental Ruin. 5. Harm to Health and Breath. 6. The Cost of the Car Culture -- Pt. II. Car Tracks: The Machine That Made the Land. 7. Model T, Model City. 8. From Front Porch to Front Seat. 9. Driving Through the Depression. 10. The Asphalt Exodus. 11. Braking the Juggernaut. 12. The Three-Car Culture -- Pt. III. Car Free: From Dead End to Exit. 13. None for the Road. 14. Zoning for Life. 15. Putting Transit on Track. 16. The Centering of America. 17. The De-Paving of America. 18. Righting the Price.The mess. Asphalt Nation is essential reading for everyone interested in the history of our relationship with the car, and in the prospect of returning to a world of human mobility.Today our world revolves around the car - as a nation, we spend eight billion hours a year stuck in traffic. In Asphalt Nation, Jane Holtz Kay effectively calls for a revolution to reverse our automobile-dependency. Citing successful efforts in places from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Oregon, Kay shows us that radical change is not impossible by any means. She demonstrates that there are economic, political, architectural, and personal solutions that can steer us out of