THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM AT 50

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

the biggest impact of the interstate system, historians and some critics say, it that it has created a nation in which a car is necessary and public transportation is often dismissed as an undesirable alternative to driving, and an economy that is dependent on oil. And even with rising gas prices, the mentality that drove the interstate boom is hard for many people to shake, say critics of sprawling development.

"It's still part of the vision of how we build things in this country," Brown-Stevens said. "It's somewhat nostalgic of big cars and open roads. For some people, it's hard to imagine any other way."

The future of America isn't public transportation.Nothing has done more to destroy the old industrial city than the interstate highway system.