User:Whiskers8000/Interstate Highway System

I think most areas are well developed, with the impact and reception area being the least covered. The article is written neutrally. Most claims have citations. There are some which are missing citations. There seem to be quite a few citations from newspapers, which isn't necessarily an issue, but it is slightly concerning. Especially because most newspapers are not completely neutral, so this puts into question some of the claims being made.

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Following the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, passenger rail declined sharply as did freight rail for a short time, but the trucking industry expanded dramatically and the cost of shipping and travel fell sharply.[100]^{[citation needed]} Suburbanization became possible, with the rapid growth of larger, sprawling, and more car dependent housing than was available in central cities, enabling racial segregation by white flight.[101][102][103] A sense of isolationism developed in suburbs, with suburbanites wanting to keep urban areas disconnected from the suburbs. Tourism dramatically expanded, creating a demand for more service stations, motels, restaurants and visitor attractions. The interstate system was the basis for urban expansion in the Sun Belt, and many urban areas in the region are thus very car-dependent. The highways may have contributed to increased economic productivity in, and thereby increased migration to, the Sun Belt.[104] In rural areas, towns and small cities off the grid lost out as shoppers followed the interstate and new factories were located near them.[105]

The system had a profound effect on interstate shipping. The Interstate Highway System was being constructed at the same time as the intermodal shipping container made its debut. These containers could be placed on trailers behind trucks and shipped across the country with ease. A new road network and shipping containers that could be easily moved from ship to train to truck, meant that overseas manufacturers and domestic startups could get their products to market quicker than ever, allowing for accelerated economic growth.[106] Forty years after its construction, the Interstate Highway system returned on investment, making $6 for every $1 spent on the project.[107]

The system had a particularly strong effect in Southern states, where major highways were inadequate^{[citation needed]}. The new system facilitated the relocation of heavy manufacturing to the South and spurred the development of Southern-based corporations like Walmart (in Arkansas) and FedEx (in Tennessee).[106]

The Interstate Highway System also dramatically affected American culture, contributing to cars becoming more central to the American identity. Before, driving was considered an excursion that required some amount of skill and could have some chance of unpredictability. With the standardization of signs, road widths and rules, these unpredictabilities became a thing of the past. Justin Fox wrote, "By making road more reliable and by making Americans more reliant on them, they took away most of the adventure and romance associated with driving."[106]

The Interstate Highway System has been criticized for contributing to the decline of some cities that were divided by Interstates, and for displacing minority neighborhoods in urban centers.[108] Between 1957 and 1977, the Interstate System alone displaced over 475,000 households and one million people across the country.[109] Highways have also been criticized for increasing racial segregation by creating physical barriers between neighborhoods,[110] and for overall reductions in available housing and population in neighborhoods affected by highway construction.[111] Not only have the interstates created a physical barrier, but they also are a continued issue in Other critics have blamed the Interstate Highway System for the decline of public transportation in the United States since the 1950s, of which minorities and low-income residents are 3 to 6 times more likely to use.[112] The interstate system has also contributed to continued resistance against new public transportation.

The Interstate Highway System had a negative impact on minority groups, especially in urban areas. Even though the government used eminent domain to obtain land for the Interstates, it was still economical to build where land was cheapest. This cheap land was often located in predominately minority areas. Not only were minority neighborhoods destroyed, but in some cities the Interstates were used to divide white and minority neighborhoods. These practices were common in cities both in the North and South, including Nashville, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, and many other cities. The division and destruction of neighborhoods led to the limitation of employment and other opportunities, which deteriorated the economic fabric of neighborhoods. Neighborhoods bordering Interstates have a much higher level of particulate air pollution and are more likely to be chosen for polluting industrial facilities.