UC Irvine Institute of Transportation Studies

The dispersed, low-density land-use pattern that has come to be associated with Los Angeles has roots in two periods of economic growth during which critical choices were made. While many observers associate the sprawl of Los Angeles with the freeway building program following World War II, the pattern was quite well established prior to 1930. It can be traced to an early period of dispersed growth, from 1880 to 1910, when inter-urban street railways allowed residential decentralization. The pattern was reinforced during the boom of the nineteen twenties, when rapid growth was accompanied by dramatic shifts in travel patterns and industrial location, partly in response to the automobile. This paper examines changes during these periods in the context of a continuing preference for low density living, and reviews the planning policies and political decisions of the twenties, when a comprehensive highway program was adopted, but a regional rapid transit plan failed to gain acceptance.