Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars

New York Daily News columnist and former New York Department of Transportation chief engineer "Gridlock Sam" debuts with this lighthearted but comprehensive history of Americans' ten-mile average trip to work, shopping, school, and recreation. While Schwartz isn't antiautomobile, he does predict the further decline of the use of private cars, as the linked trends, in the United States and globally, toward walkable cities and shared transportation (trains, carpools, Uber, etc.) continue to increase. Schwartz weaves his experiences in a folksy, effective manner and is unapologetic about his Brooklyn bias. His major themes include "active transportation" (using muscle power), multimodal transportation solutions, accessibility, and the use of intelligent systems to plan traffic routes, while discussing transportation regulations such as the Model Municipal Traffic Ordinance of 1927 in an entertaining way. Historical sections highlight the heroes and villains of U.S. traffic planning as well as key roadways such as the first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway, which connects Los Angeles and Pasadena.