Overview

The story of the interplay between finance, freeways, and urban form in the twentieth century and their enduring impact on American cities and neighborhoods in the twenty-first. American cities are distinct from almost all others in the degree to which freeways and freeway travel dominate urban landscapes. In The Drive for Dollars, Brian D. Taylor, Eric A. Morris, and Jeffrey R. Brown tell the largely misunderstood story of how freeways became the centerpiece of US urban transportation systems, and the crucial, though usually overlooked, role of fiscal politics in bringing freeways about. The authors chronicle how the ways that we both raise and spend transportation revenue have shaped our transportation system and the lives of those who use it, from the era before the automobile to the present day. They focus on how the development of one revolutionary type of road--the freeway--was inextricably intertwined with money. With the nation's transportation finance system at a crossroads today, this book sheds light on how we can best fund and plan transportation in the future. The authors draw on these lessons to offer ways forward to pay for transportation more equitably, provide travelers with better mobility, and increase environmental sustainability and urban livability.

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Brian D. Taylor is professor of urban planning and public policy in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UCLA. He studies travel behavior and transportation equity, finance, history, and politics. His recent research examines the role of public finance in shaping transportation systems and travel outcomes, the socioeconomic dimensions of travel behavior, the effects of traffic congestion on regional economies and housing production, and public transit use and finance prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jeffrey R. Brown is professor and chairperson in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Florida State University. His interest in transportation dates to his childhood in Southern California, where an early fascination with the extensive local freeway system grew into a curiosity about cars, trains, buses, and planes and how their use shaped cities and affected the lives of city residents. Eric A. Morris is professor of city and regional planning at Clemson University, where in addition to transportation history, he studies the links between transportation and geography and activity patterns, happiness, and quality of life. He attended Harvard for his undergraduate work, and after a decade writing for television programs in Los Angeles received an MA and a PhD in urban planning from UCLA. While a doctoral student, he wrote a column on transportation and urbanization for the New York Times's Freakonomics blog. Incredibly curious about the world around him, Derek Dysart has always been a voracious reader. On childhood trips to the library, his mother would have to set limits on the amount of books he could check out (much to his dismay). He came to the world of spoken audio first via college radio, and later through hosting an interview podcast. After enjoying a career in software, his love for storytelling and connecting learners to information made audiobooks a natural fit. When not narrating audiobooks or attending his kids' activities, Derek can be found hiking, camping, or enjoying the great outdoors.

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