The Interstate Highway System

by J. Gerlach

Rather than condemning the planning and development of the Interstate Highway System, J. Gerlach's Simple History series continues to objectively look at the historical events, military concerns, and governmental priorities that led to its development. Gerlach investigates the opportunity costs and the citizen groups who fought construction and changes to their neighborhoods throughout the last one hundred years. Given the interstates' ability to divide neighborhoods, make poor citizens poorer, and induce demand -- the more highways you build, the more people use them, and the slower everyone moves -- Gerlach also embraces the American romanticism with driving on the interstates and how it relates to his own history.

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Nina]

i love love love these little books. they pack smooch in so little in an easy digestible way. Crazy to think it all started so long ago but i mean i guess duh, people have been traveling on roads for a while now. Interesting to hear the back and forth between the federal and states as to how the roads will be paid for and created. I still don't understand the numbering system at all, reading that was mind boggling. Lots of influence during the cold war making sure military could use/travel on the roads. Mentioned people protesting roads as they would go through cities or neighborhoods and we all know who gets the short end of that stick. Bridges and tunnels are amazing to me, don't understand how they are made/hold up. And today with all the traffic, looking to update and improve the current conditions of the roads as they are have aged, will take lots of money and time and no one has started that project yet. and how Americans are SO set and molded into being individuals, every man for themselves, freedom freedom freedom that they don't even want to carpool, steps were taken to try and people refuse and want to be alone lol. ay yi yi