The Top Ten Influences on the American Metropolis of the Past 50 Years

Robert Fishman, influential urban historian, conducted a survey at the end of the last millennium of members of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH) to compile a list of the top ten influences on America cities over the past 50 years. The list (on the far left) begins with the 1956 Interstate Highway Act and ends with the urban riots of the 1960s. On the column to the right, the Society’s predicts the biggest influences on cities in the coming 50 years. They predict growing polarization, the internet and the decline of the post-war suburbs will be among the major influences on cities in the new millennium. The report was written in 1999. Nearly ten years into this new age, how accurate have their predictions been? What is missing from the list? How has 9/11 influenced urban life? Read the full report here