Answers For Traffic Congestion

The Smithsonian takes a look at transit planning in Atlanta and Los Angeles. A new simulation program will be available to planners soon.

1 minute read

March 28, 2001, 7:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Viewed merely as a physical flow, a traffic jam seems as simple as water moving more slowly through a constriction—a problem that appears easy to fix. But even adding a lane to a highway, for reasons no one quite understands, sometimes creates new tie-ups. For decades, the behavior of heavy traffic has stymied a think tank's worth of highway engineers, city planners, fluid dynamicists and social scientists."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Sunday, April 1, 2001 in Smithsonian Magazine

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