Interstate 15 and California 60 Freeway Interchange

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Recommended: Evolution of transportation in the united states

We take them for granted when driving miles to the closest mall. We are unconscious of their usefulness when traveling to see a distant relative by car. We can't take a moment to stop and admire their beauty and usefulness; the architectural wonders that are highways and their interchanges; which have such a rich history embedded in the American suburbia of today. Let's go back to the early 1900's, when the automobile was starting to become a dominate part of the American life (Morton, 2014). Around this time; a shift began to occur towards private transportation over public by influencing policies in their favor (Nicolaides and Wiese, 2006). One of these polices was created by the Federal Aid Highway of 1925; the United States Highway System which basically expanded the highways across the United States connecting one another, creating new opportunities for growth in many areas (Weingroff, 1996). This had many effects on different factors of the American way of life; specifically suburbia (Morton, 2014). After the war, the private home that was a luxury a few years prior, was now becoming affordable for many thanks to low interest rates and flexible payments through the National Housing Act of 1934, created by the Federal Housing Administration (Fishman, 1987). Perfect example of a policy acting towards private over public was the Los Angles Master Plan of 1941, which pushed the direction of private automobiles and singles households: there being 1.16 million cars (2.4 people per car) and having 31 percent of the city land dedicated for single family homes, this was really solidifying the post suburbia lifestyle (Fishman, 1987). In Los Angeles alone around this time, 900 square miles were transformed to tract development homes ... ... middle of paper ... ... have key roles in their contribution to the development of the highway we know today. Works Cited "California Roads and Highways." California @ AARoads. AARoads, 14 Jan. 2012. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. "Field Guide to Interchanges." Kurumi. Kurumi, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. Fishman, Robert. Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia. New York: Basic, 1987. Print. Morton, Patricia. "." Introduction to Architecture and Urbanism: Suburbia. University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA. 06 February, 2014. Lecture. Nicolaides, Becky M., and Andrew Wiese. "Postwar Suburbs and the Construction of Race." The Suburb Reader. New York: Routledge, 2006. 321-48. Print. Weingroff, Richard F. "Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating the Interstate System." Public Roads. US Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration, Summer 1996. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

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