In an unusually systematic approach to the study of urban politics, this study compares three different models of political power to see which can best explain the development of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System in San Francisco and the attempts of Los Angeles to build a comparable system. Originally published in 1982. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"Smerk's account, thankfully, is not just another exercise in quantitative analysis. He makes his points with words and sentences, not numbers and charts. The result is a free-flowing narrative in which changes in federal policy over the years are shown to have occurred because people interacted within certain political frames of reference. . . . I highly recommend this book . . . " —Brian J. Cudahy, Business Horizons " . . . a solid history of an important component of modern public policy . . . ably integrated with scholarship on metropolitan development so that urbanists can learn much here." —Choice "This book is 'must' reading for anyone who has deep interests in transit issues specifically and transportation problems in general, but it is also for all those who are more than casually curious about the dynamics of urbanization." —Economic Geography " . . . a highly in-depth study of the impact of governmental policies on the mass transit industry over the last few decades and where it may soon be heading." —Railfan and Railroad Magazine " . . . a timely and important book." —Business History Review This important new book is the only available comprehensive survey and analysis of federal policies and programs for urban mass transit. It is a must book for anyone interested in the plight of our cities and the efforts being made to solve our transportation problems.

This title was first published in 2003. Suburbanizing the Masses examines how collective forms of transport have contributed to the spatial and social evolution of towns and cities in various countries since the mid nineteenth century. Divided into two sections, the volume develops first the classic tradition on transport and the city, public transport's 'impact' on urban development. The contextualisation of transport is one important factor in the historical debates surrounding urban development. As well as analysing the discourse employed by urban political and business elites in favour of public transport, these contributions show the degree to which practice often fell short of ideals. The second section tackles the professional paradigms of urban transport: the circulation of traffic in cities and the technological modes appropriate to its realization. In particular these contributions explore the paradigms held by professional planners and managers, and the political classes associated with them. From a variety of perspectives Suburbanizing the Masses demonstrates the continuing relevance of socio-historical inquiry on the relationship between public transport and urban development. By differentiating between the many roles of urban transport in the nineteenth century, it confirms that public transport was not directly linked to urban growth, and instead often had only a limited effect on the wider urban structure. Suburbanizing the Masses forces a reassessment of the received historiography that maintains cheap public transport was essential to the spectacular growth of cites in the nineteenth century.

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