ABSTRACT
Nowhere did the ambiguities of Adams’ ‘balanced’ approach to the Regional Plan show up more strongly than in the development of the transportation element. Adams must surely have appreciated that the private motor vehicle and public transportation were competitive, not complementary, for many kinds of trips, especially the journey to work. Yet the nature of that compe tition and the necessity for the Plan to take a position on whether rubber or rail was to be emphasized was barely acknowledged. In his prospectus to the Plan Adams had cautioned the staff to ‘avoid putting forward concrete proposals that conflict with the proposals of public authorities who have the power to carry them into effect.’1 Since public authorities had been estab lished to plan for both rail and highways, Adams ultimately incorporated the programs, somewhat modified, of both groups in the Plan.
