Title:
Asphalt Nation
Subtitle:
How the Automobile Took over America and How We Can Take It back
Author:
Jane Holtz Kay
Publisher:
Crown Publishers, 1997
ISBN
0-517-58702-5

I recall recently (May, 2000, or so) searching for something watchable on television, and, in my usually fruitless attempt, coming across some sort of "civic dialog" type program. The talking heads in this case included a gentleman who felt called upon to deliver himself of his opinion on the entire problem of urban sprawl. He produced a particularly irritating smirk on his face and propounded,

"I think the people who worry about urban sprawl are just uncomfortable with the American dream. The American dream is to be able to own your own home!"

With so much wisdom to be found on our airwaves, is it a wonder that our cities are choked in smog, and that we spend more than 10% of our waking hours stuck in rush hour traffic?

I didn't pay any further attention to this program, but urban sprawl and public transportation are subjects that are of immediate concern to the citizens of Salt Lake City, where I live. I've gotten into discussions on these subjects in the past, and decided I'd have to do some reading.

Many people assume that the automobile is a quintessential example of the success of capitalism and American individualism. People own and maintain their own vehicle. They buy their own gasoline, The roads on which they drive are built and maintained using money collected at the pump and from vehicle registration fees. But in reality, the automobile is one of the most heavily subsidized means of transportation in existence.

Asphalt Nation presents the issues in three sections. The first section is devoted to the true cost of automobile ownership. This ranges from the real cost of road construction, subsidized at as much as 80%, to the social cost of spending ever increasing time rushing from one on- the- road errand to the next. Kay's style is comfortable and conversational, interleavening her narrative with hard numbers and references. The picture that emerges is unbelievably bleak, but Kay takes pains to substantiate her points with thorough chapter notes.

The second section is a history lesson. Much of the country used to be easily accessible by rail. What happened to that? Kay illustrates how the automobile industry used political influence to start the USAn road building projects, while the rail industry was left to flounder. Reading this history is a frightening illustration of how popular choices can lead to serious problems with no terribly good public policy alternatives.

The final section is supposed to be a guide to taking the country back from the automobile. This should be the most difficult section to write, and Kay doesn't attempt to present a blue-print. Every place in the country has its own unique auto related problems, and no one solution is likely to fit them all. Kay presents the gamut, ranging from cities rebuilding their light rail infrastructure, to citizens opposing sprawl generating development.

Asphalt Nation is easy to read, but it isn't a comfortable book. It presents serious problems, shows how we got into this situation, and attempts to offer some hope by listing some of the solutions that people have devised to solve those problems. Whether you live in the city, in the burbs, or on a secluded country lane, this is probably a book you'll want to be familiar with the next time your city planning commission hears a proposal for that nifty mall just outside of town.