The Crush of Cars

The contribution of the motor vehicle to the growing lack of space in our urban areas hardly needs to be documented. The space required for its movement, parking, upkeep, and eventual disposal is enormous. Enormous, also, is the price we pay in injury, death, and environmental damage for the undeniable convenience, pleasure, and profit it provides. Only recently have we become really aware that the crush of cars in our cities is more than just a traffic-slowing nuisance. It has reached the point where people are expressing vociferous objections to the building of new roads and expressways, where cities are prohibiting cars from certain downtown streets and turning the space into attractive shopping malls for pedestrians, and where cities such as Chicago are threatening to raze existing downtown parking facilities to discourage cars from coming into the most congested areas. If use of cars is prohibited or discouraged, an alternative