The Planning Dilemma

The Planning Dilemma:    

            As indicated in Chapter 1, the United States is, for better or worse, tightly bound to the motor vehicle. Until the early or middle 1960s, the attitude of the public and their elected representatives toward highways, and particularly freeways, was highly favorable. Even today, such attitudes generally prevail toward highway investments in rural areas, although some critics blame the automobile for such problems as the removal of land from productive use, its failure or that of alternative transportation schemes to provide for the movement of rural residents, particularly the poor, and the overcrowding and despoiling of recreational and scenic areas. But a possibly large segment of the population and many social scientists and politicians charge the motor vehicle and the freeways and streets that serve it with primary responsibility for such urban problems as air and noise pollution, urban sprawl, displacement of the poor and minorities from their homes, and the detoriation of the central city and close-in residential areas. Thus, where a few years ago highway agencies proceeded with their urban programs with little interference and with a feeling of certainty, they now operate in an atmosphere of confusion, uncertainty and distrust. This situation is not peculiar to transportation, for agencies charged with other public responsibilities also are being subjected to strong criticism.