billion for the construction of 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System. The bill was originally designed for prompt evacuation and movement purposes in the event of a war in the United States and was the largest civil engineering project in human history at the time. This act now represents an immense political and financial commitment to a car and truck based land transportation society. It made travel easier and cost-effective, and greatly expedited the transfer of goods, people, information, and ideas. In addition to these factors, some other influencing issues with government involvement that allowed for such great automobility during this time were high tariffs on foreign products, the high availability of domestic petroleum, and low fuel prices. Negative Consequences There were some negative consequences associated with mass automobility as well. The emissions from cars left the country under a blanket of smog and led to some regulatory actions and standards from the government like the Clean Air Act in 1963 and 1970. Other safety legislation was passed to make cars more reliable and sounder after death rates were overwhelming and devastating. And, lastly, because owning an automobile and a home was a symbol of social status and wealth, the mass depopulation of inner cities of the white middle-class was accelerated by the movement which increased racial discrimination. See also Automobile dependency Cycling mobility History of the United States (1945–1964) References Featherstone, Mike. "Automobilities: An Introduction." Theory, Culture, and Society 21.4/5 (2004): 1-24. Rajan, Sudhir Chella. "The Enigma of Automobility: Democratic Politics and Pollution Control." Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996. Volti, Rudi. "A Century of Automobility." Technology and Culture. 4th ed. Vol. 37. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1996. 663–85. JSTOR. Web. 24 Feb. 2011. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3107094 . Walsh, Margaret. "Gender and the Automobile in the United States." Automobile In American Life and Society. University of Michigan, 2004. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Gender/Walsh/G_Overview1.htm . Road transportation in the United States