Berkeley Planning Journal

This paper explores how the automobile has indirectly led to dramatic changes in patterns of accessibility to retail and service activity within metropolitan regions. The automo­ bile instigated a greater articulation of the hierarchy of transportation facilities, as reflected in a greater differentia­ tion between the local and the regional systems. At the same time, the automobile instigated a collapse in the retail hierarchy, by encouraging the growth of community and regional centers at the expense of local shops and the cen­ tral busmess district. The result has been a cycle of depend­ ence, in which suburban communities are designed for the automobile, leaving residents little choice but to drive. Ac­ cess to retail activity is now dependent on the automobile but vulnerable to increasing levels of congestion that are driven by dependence on the automobile.