Modern Mobility Aloft

“Like the elevated railroads before them, elevated highways have generally been viewed in negative terms by urban dwellers. Yet the elevated highway represents an important, if not altogether welcome, phase in the daunting challenges to reconcile the demands of accommodating motor vehicles to city fabric on a large scale. Amy Finstein’s beautifully researched and written book examines the seminal early stages of implementing this complex and costly infrastructure in Chicago, New York, and Boston during the first half of the twentieth century. Modern Mobility Aloft is an important analysis of the visionary schemes first devised to address the issue and the myriad factors involved in conceiving and implementing actual projects. Economic considerations, local politics, architectural design values, and changes in building and transportation technology are all addressed in a seamless, engaging narrative.”—Richard Longstreth, Professor of American Studies Emeritus, George Washington University

“In Modern Mobility Aloft, Finstein looks deeply at the historical intersection of civil engineering, technology, and urbanism and comes up with a major topic that no one has seen before. She is exactly right in her assertion that the elevated highway as a specific mode of technological response to the problem of automobile congestion has not been treated systematically. More importantly, she sees the connection between the elevated highway and elements of modernist urbanism and culture. Her extensive, original archival work and case studies of downtown congestion and early highway design point to a new integration of the history of technology and urban history.”—Robert Fishman, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning, Taubman College, University of Michigan

"This handsomely produced, well-written book is about how three cities—New York, Chicago, and Boston—used elevated roadways well into the 20th century to alleviate the growing crush of traffic on surface roadways. Finstein chronicles the reconciliation of competing interests of political, engineering, and architectural remedies in the solutions offered and in what was either not built, built and later rebuilt, or demolished. Notable is Finstein's attention to issues of architectural style in projects thought of as mere engineering.... Well-illustrated with charts, plans, and photos, and supported by lots of endnotes and bibliographic information, this is an important scholarly resource. Summing Up: Recommended."—Choice

"Modern Mobility Aloft focuses on the aesthetics of the structures, the design decisions that went into these highways, and their legacies.... [It is a] strong design-oriented history of elevated highways."—Technology and Culture

"Finstein develops a clear and detailed narrative of the history and design of the three elevated highway projects, and presents an impressive amount of information, including numerous images, collected through extensive archival research. This makes the book an enjoyable read…. [T]he book offers important and relevant insights for urban planning and design professionals."—Journal of Planning History

"[A] timely book.... Finstein offers an important addition to our understanding of the roots of America’s current transportation systems and of modern American cities.... One of the greatest strengths of Finstein’s work is the effective job she does of showing how a diffuse group of proponents viewed the elevated highways as the perfect solution to a range of issues faced in inter-war cities.... This book firmly and convincingly asserts that the period, the projects and the people who made them a reality influenced a great deal of the post-war world." —Urban History

"A welcome addition to the growing body of literature on the impact of automobiles on the American built environment that includes suburbanization and large-scale highway systems.... Modern Mobility Aloft effectively broadens and deepens our understanding of highways as built form."—Buildings & Landscapes