Traffic congestion and the United States, A brief history

The United States saw large increases in both motorization and urbanization starting in the 1920’s.  This led to migration of the population from the sparsely populated rural areas and the densely packed cities into the outlying suburbs.

Sephia photo of street in the early 1900's, includes horse carraiges, and cars.

In years following, as the industrial economy replaced the agricultural economy, the population continued to move from rural locations into the more densely populated urban centers, or areas of increased density of human-created structures ands buildings.  Interestingly, at this time, motorized transportation was causing cities to expand.  Reason:  Motorized transportation could not support the population density that the existing mass transit systems could support. So the suburbs, or outlying areas, provided a compromise between population density and access to a wide variety of employment, goods and services that were available in the more densely populated urban centers. Further, suburban infrastructure could be built quickly, supporting a rapid transition from a rural/agricultural economy to an industrial/urban economy.

a futuristic city with skyscrappers, monorails, billboards, and flying cars.

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