Description
Book SynopsisA brilliant analysis of the troubled history and uncertain future of mass transit
Trade ReviewJones ultimately attributes mass motorization to consumer preferences—for single- family home ownership, suburban living, and sun belt metropolises where low-density development and dispersed employment made automobiles essential.Vol. 96.2 September 2009
-- Thomas G. Andrews * University of Colorado Denver *
David Jones does a great job of dispelling myths that many of us hold about the advent of the automobile and the decline of public transit in the United States.
* publictransport.about.com *
Jones documents well the politics of postwar efforts by big city mayors to obtain federal aid for rail systems. . . . He provides good evidence for transit's very limited potential to solve the pressing problems of congestion, energy use, and global warming. . . . Highly recommended.March 2009
-- D. Brand * formerly, Harvard University *
In this sweeping history of urban transportation modernization and post-modernization in the United States, David Jones debunks popular explanations for the decline of mass transit and the rise of mass motorization. . . . offers a solid foundation for debating alternative theses that seek to account for technological change.Vol. 50 July 2009
-- Gregory Thompson * Technology and Culture *
This is a valuable and topical book which brings transport issues to the fore in American domestic and foreign policy. 43 2009
-- Margaret Walsh * University of Nottingham *
Table of ContentsContents
List of Tables
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Part 1. U.S. Motorization in International Context
1. Motorization in the United States and Other Industrial Nations
Part 2. U.S. Motorization in Historical Context
2. Transit's American History, 1880–1929
3. The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Pivotal Epoch in U.S. Transportation History
4. World War II and Its Immediate Aftermath: The End of the Streetcar Era and the Beginnings of the Freeway Era
5. The Interstate and Pervasive Motorization, 1956–80
6. Transit's Conversion to Public Ownership
7. U.S. Motorization since the OPEC Embargo
8. The Competitive Difficulties of the U.S. Automakers
Part 3. Evolving Challenges in an Evolved Environment
9. The Changing Valance of U.S. Motorization
10. The Road to Sustainable Motorization
11. Motorization and Sustainability: History and Prospect
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index
