We haven t provided many economic incentives for mass transit. The result of all this is that many people live outside the cities. The American love affair with the automobile began at the turn of the century. American cities are increasingly designed for automobiles, not people. If you compare a younger city like Los Angeles to an older city like Chicago, there are dramatic differences in the ways the two are laid out.
European cities are much older, and it s very difficult to redesign a city once it s been built.
American cities, which came along much later, were built largely for the automobile. Cities in the western United States, especially, did not have to be located near a port or a rail center, they just had to be located near a freeway. So there are many centers to Los Angeles, for instance. Dallas is the same way. European cities and American cities actually look different because of these historical factors generally.