Ending the "Auto-Industrial Society"

The woes of the automobile industry--and the prospects for a federal bailout--must be seen in terms of the need to transform not just the industry, but our entire automobile-oriented society, writes Emma Rothschild.

1 minute read

February 12, 2009, 11:00 AM PST

By Michael Dudley

"The automobile industry has been one of the losers in the new American economy...But the auto-industrial society, with its distinctive organization of American space, cities, highways, social entitlement, and energy use, has continued to flourish.

[A] bailout that includes no more than a commitment to fuel efficiency, or to electric vehicles, without increasing investment in public transportation and in the substitution of information for transportation, would be a denial of the Obama administration's commitments to respond to climate change...An enduring bailout, or a new deal for Detroit, would be different. It would be an investment in ending the auto-industrial society of the late twentieth century."

FULL STORY: Can We Transform the Auto-Industrial Society?

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 in New York Review of Books

Transportation United States

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.