"The government trailed what the consumer wanted for years.
It took decades before the interstate system was constructed. Long after most Americans had a car."
Mostly true. The big government backing of cars did not really emerge with full force until the 1950s. Which is also approximately when autocentric urban zoning and design started to proliferate.
Even before that, government decisions before that may have made all the difference - like segregating traffic on roads when it previously hadn't been, and not charging vehicles to park on the streets. American cities even before the car often had much wider streets and less dense layouts compared to Europe or Asia which made it easier to insert cars into these cities.
There was also at times mass frustration over the ills of city living - ills which technologies like sanitation, modern medicine and soundproof windowpanes can resolve. Then there are the more political ones which cities are still struggling with, like education.
It took decades before the interstate system was constructed. Long after most Americans had a car."
Mostly true. The big government backing of cars did not really emerge with full force until the 1950s. Which is also approximately when autocentric urban zoning and design started to proliferate.
Even before that, government decisions before that may have made all the difference - like segregating traffic on roads when it previously hadn't been, and not charging vehicles to park on the streets. American cities even before the car often had much wider streets and less dense layouts compared to Europe or Asia which made it easier to insert cars into these cities.
There was also at times mass frustration over the ills of city living - ills which technologies like sanitation, modern medicine and soundproof windowpanes can resolve. Then there are the more political ones which cities are still struggling with, like education.