Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City Book

A well-researched account of how forces redefined the street, its uses and its users in the early part of the 20th Century. Norton documents how the "Motor Age" was not inevitable but actually a concerted effort on the part of automobile manufacturers and enthusiasts to upend ancient pedestrian rights in favor of car domination. A valuable reminder that the paradigm in which we find ourselves is not "natural" or "by happenstance"; once we realize that, we then have the power to be able to change it. Norton repeats himself a bit within and between chapters, but that's strictly because he's writing as an academic and thoroughly and painstakingly making and proving his points. Introduction alone is a must-read for everyone.