Today marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, among the most pivotal moments of the most pivotal event of the 20th century. The beach landing at Normandy may not have had a direct impact on the nature of U.S. cities, except insofar as no American life was the same that day forth. But in the spirit of looking back on that era we turn our attention to something with very clear relevance to the character of our metro areas: the Autobahn.
Germany's impressive road network partly inspired the Interstate Highway System that changed the shape of American cities (for better and worse). It also might have hastened Hitler's rise to power.
