IS CHARLOTTE, NC, “CAR TOWN” USA?
Starting Sunday, July 22nd, the Charlotte Observer carried a 5-part series entitled “CAR TOWN: How 100 years with the automobile have shaped Charlotte’s destiny,” which explores the impacts of motor vehicles on this North Carolina city. The first article starts “Charlotte and the automobile have been together for more than 100 years now. So who’s driving whom? Here’s a hint: In the Queen City, the car is king. “Since 1900, when Osmond Barringer startled the horses by driving his steam-powered ‘locomobile’ down Charlotte’s dirt streets, the car has helped mold the city in its own image. It has fueled Charlotte’s rapid suburbanization and the equally rapid loss of countryside. It remains a major factor in what’s built and where it’s located. And it has given rise to a lifestyle in which the car has gone from an amenity to a member of the family…” The series includes the following articles, as well as numerous sidebars and several travel diaries: Sunday: Vehicles transformed our region
