Streetcar Suburbs May Not Actually Support Streetcars

It is often assumed that streetcars were ripped out as part of a conspiracy to replace them with buses and automobiles, but Freemark argues that the densities of streetcar suburbs were really too low to support that kind of transit in the first place.

He writes, "Unlike inner-city districts with their medium and high-rise buildings, streetcar suburbs are characterized by low densities, little neighborhood retail within walking distance, and very few accessible jobs, three significant factors that make them difficult to adapt to transit. In other words, while they may have been built with streetcars in mind, they transitioned to the automobile age naturally."