ABSTRACT
As the circumferential highways have largely completed the relatively simple task of laying a carpet through areas of suburbia and beyond, there has been increased pressure to complete the final phase of the federal highway program -- the linking of such rims to center cities. The timing had been unfortunate for the highway planners, for in the interim period, the likelihood of a noncontroversial selection of metropolitan rights-of-way has evaporated. The period coincided with the evolution of potential opposition groups which quickly learned about the acquisition of power. Simultaneously, there has been open skepticism about the value of such highways in contrast to mass transit systems, especially when the highway 69proponents appear to constitute a conspiracy by cement, tire and automobile manufacturers. The controversies have extended to New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Nashville and Washington, D.C., and indeed to every other major urban center. Although these cases differ in detail, the common pattern is clear enough to permit general discussion.
