Thinking Big: Lessons from the Washington Metro January 30, 2008

New Metropolis Lecture Series @ Virginia Tech

Main Conference Room, 3rd floor.

Zachary Schrag, Assistant Professor of History at George Mason University.

What's involved: The lecture is free and open to the public and there is no need to register.

About the presentation:

When the Washington Metro began service in 1976, it was one of the first rapid transit systems opened in this country since the popularization of the automobile in the 1920s. Along with its cousins, San Francisco's BART and Atlanta's MARTA, it pioneered new technologies and uses. As the largest, and most heavily used, postwar system, the Washington Metro is perhaps the most ambitious effort ever made to offer Americans an alternative to the automobile. And, because Washington is the national capital, Metro is particularly visible, having attracted attention from neighborhood associations to the White House and Congress. In this presentation, Zachary M. Schrag will draw from his recent book, The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro, to argue that Metro is best understood as the concrete manifestation of liberal ideals of the 1960s and 1970s. Such ideals are now out of fashion, but, Schrag argues, understanding them can help us plan for new metropolitan development.

About the presenter:

Zachary M. Schrag is an assistant professor of history at George Mason University. His book, in its dissertation form, received the John Reps Prize in planning history. Schrag has published articles, essays, and reviews in scholarly and popular periodicals including AHA Perspectives, H-Net, the Journal of American History, the Journal of Economic History, the Journal of Planning History, the Journal of Urban Histor

Official Website: http://www.nvc.vt.edu/uap/courses/new_metropolis.html