Autophobia: Love and Hate in the Automobile Age. Brian Ladd

When asked to review Autophobia, my initial reaction was this: Do we really need another book on the history of automobility? I will evade that question here by simply saying that this highly engaging book does make important contributions, providing fresh perspectives on the storied history of the motorcar. Though it is not particularly data-driven, in the sense of deploying graphs and tables to support arguments and conclusions, Autophobia does take us methodically through the past century or so, giving equal time to autophilia and autophobia. The choice of Autophobia for the lead title is thus a bit of a mystery.

Brian Ladd, a historian, opens the book by describing the auto alternately as “dream machine” and the “scourge of civilization.” He seeks to help us understand the worlds the automobile has had such a critical role in shaping—with consumer culture, urban form, and individual and collective behavior constituting the book's chief thematic guideposts. For the most part, the book is organized chronologically, though Ladd's stated intent is to not present us with a strictly chronological history. Among the highlights are 1950s American auto culture; automobility's relationships with eroticism, aggression, and violence; the role of the auto in shaping historical and contemporary metropolitan landscapes; issues of race and class; the freeway revolts, mainly of the 1960s and beyond; the recent emergence of car-free zones, especially in Europe; and the enduring character of basic pro-and antiautomobile arguments.

Ladd writes about most of these topics thoughtfully, carefully, and in some depth, drawing on a wide range of literature from diverse academic and popular sources. Virtually all points of view and all versions of auto history seem to be covered. Indeed, auto hater and auto lover alike can easily find reinforcement for their views in Autophobia’s pages. An enduring theme is the continual predictions of the demise of the automobile, from the days of early resistance, which took such forms as wires strung across rural roadways, to contemporary conceptions of peak oil. Late in his story, when at last it seems that he is becoming more ardent advocate than impartial arbiter by absolving General Motors of almost all responsibility for its allegedly conspiratorial mid-century role in dismantling public transportation systems in America, Ladd goes on to conclude the section titled “Who Framed Judge Doom?” by shifting into a very nuanced and enlightening discussion of the famed GM episode.

This is a rather America-centric book. To be fair, given America's exceptional relationship with the car, this is almost to be expected. Western Europe does gets its share of attention, as does Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. But other countries suffer from a dearth of coverage. China and India's remarkable recent growth in automobility is addressed, but rather briefly, while Russia and Eastern Europe are short-shrifted. Africa, South America, and the Middle East (beyond its role as petroleum source) are almost entirely absent, even from the parts of the book that are looking toward the future.

Though U.S. coverage is quite thorough, there are omissions. Much more might have been included about the synergies among automobility and government policies favoring home ownership and disinvestment in poor and minority urban neighborhoods. Nothing is said about the success with which environmental interest groups have used such legislation as the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act to stop or alter highway projects. Nor is there mention of the awkwardly named Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and its progeny, which from 1991 onward redirected some transportation funds to non-highway projects such as bicycle and pedestrian paths, acquisition of scenic easements, and preservation of historic sites. While urban sprawl is a central theme, parts of the long-running debate about sprawl are not even obliquely referenced; for example, the landmark 1974 study, The Costs of Sprawl (Real Estate Research Corporation, 1974), and the debates and further work it generated, are not even noted. Nor are such contemporary planning approaches as “smart growth” and the New Urbanism addressed. Climate change and carbon concerns also are largely neglected. On the other hand, Ladd gives important contrarian viewpoints about sprawl and climate concerns their due, including the work of architectural historian Robert Bruegmann and the Cato Institute's Randal O'Toole. Unfortunately, the book's publication date slightly pre-dates the ascendance of Tea Party politics, which in its very colorful ways has significantly influenced auto-related policymaking at all levels of government. With respect to NIMBYism, Ladd does us a service in sorting out the complex intersections of pure obstructionism with the potential for helping engage us in important and larger debates about urban morphology and social and environmental justice.

Though it does include a good many photographs—many taken by the author—and poignant cartoons of all vintages, Autophobia is not graced with any maps or graphical illustrations. This is not a great shortcoming, though it would be helpful, particularly for teaching purposes, to perhaps have some maps, data-rich tables, and/or illustrations depicting automobility's effects on urban form.

The omissions are probably due in part to a deliberate effort to keep the book engaging and short. They do not make Ladd's well-crafted history any less worth reading. While many parts of the story will be quite familiar to planners, geographers, and other academicians, Autophobia does present us with a rich and compelling narrative. Particularly provocative parts of the book that may inspire spirited classroom discussions include Ladd's explorations of auto dependence, mobility and accessibility, and place and placelessness. Specific concepts that may be a bit more familiar to transportation planners than to the book's broader readership are thoroughly explained; among them are “path dependence,” wherein early actions that reshape cities to accommodate cars constrain later actions; “induced traffic,” which is the increased congestion so often produced by new highway capacity that was meant to alleviate congestion; and the “enforced mobility” that sprawl engenders.

Autophobia is an enjoyable yet substantive and thought-provoking book that will appeal to rather diverse audiences. It should serve well as a text for graduate and upper-level undergraduate courses in planning, geography, urban studies, and history.