ABSTRACT
Nowhere has the effect of population size been more dramatic than along the American highway. Two generations ago most roads were poor, service stations were few and their facilities were inferior, and it was hard to find a decent, simple meal or a good place to spend the night. A generation later motels had sprung up, as had great chains of service stations with clean rest rooms, and a vast number of spots where a hurried traveler could get a quick meal that, while it might fall far short of gourmet quality, at least wasn't poisonous. Most of this was the effect of population growth. The number of cars on the road had simply increased to the point where all these amenities had become economically feasible.
