Car country : an environmental history / Christopher W. Wells ; foreword by William Cronon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wells, Christopher W.

Series:

Weyerhaeuser environmental book.

Weyerhaeuser environmental books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Automobiles--Environmental aspects--United States--History.

Automobiles.

Automobiles--Social aspects--United States--History.

Transportation, Automotive--United States--History.

Transportation, Automotive.

Urban transportation--United States--History.

Urban transportation.

City planning--United States--History.

City planning.

Land use--United States--History.

Land use.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (465 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

For most people in the United States, going almost anywhere begins with reaching for the car keys. This is true, Christopher Wells argues, because the United States is Car Country-a nation dominated by landscapes that are difficult, inconvenient, and often unsafe to navigate by those who are not sitting behind the wheel of a car.The prevalence of car-dependent landscapes seems perfectly natural to us today, but it is, in fact, a relatively new historical development. In Car Country, Wells rejects the idea that the nation's automotive status quo can be explained as a simple byproduct of an ardent love affair with the automobile. Instead, he takes readers on a tour of the evolving American landscape, charting the ways that transportation policies and land-use practices have combined to reshape nearly every element of the built environment around the easy movement of automobiles. Wells untangles the complicated relationships between automobiles and the environment, allowing readers to see the everyday world in a completely new way. The result is a history that is essential for understanding American transportation and land-use issues today.Watch the book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48LTKOxxrXQ

Contents:

Roads and reformers

Automotive pioneers

Building for traffic

Motor-age geography

Fueling the boom

The paths out of town

Suburban nation.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780295804477

0295804475

OCLC:

837527757