The Trolley Problem: The Demise of the Streetcar in New Haven

Abstract

The replacement of trolley systems by buses, a process which fundamentally reshaped America's urban landscape, has long been viewed as inevitable. However, in this paper, I look beyond arguments of financial necessity to show that, in New Haven, Connecticut, a massive engineering and publicity campaign coordinated between business, government, and media was necessary to overcome structural factors favorable to the trolley and accomplish its seemingly inevitable removal.