Re: Re: There will be Blood

Nope; suburbanisation predates high levels of motor car ownership and predates the urban decay of the latter half of the 20th century. In many cities (Dublin included) suburbanisation was initially facilitated by mass public transport systems. London is a prime example which grew huge suburbs as a result of it’s extensive train system more than half a century before car ownership became feasible for the general public. The sort of decay we associate with the 70’s was caused by many factors but it’s hardly a coincidence that the areas which were “re-engineered” in the 50s and 60s to facilitate traffic in Dublin are the ones which suffered the worst decay. The UK cities which succeeded in bringing motorways into their centres were the ones which suffered the most extreme decay; the same thing happened in cities in the US which did the ultimate to reshape cities to support the movement of motorcars – for example LA and Boston.