Journey-to-Work in the Bay Area, 1958

A key criticism of conservationists and environmentalists in the Bay Area focused on the massive uptick in traffic that resulted in smog obscuring the views that many residents enjoyed. Here is a snapshot of where people were commuting from in order to visually understand the traffic flow between suburban homes and suburban offices.

About the Visualization

A persistent environmental critique of the Bay Area was the region’s growing traffic problems, which not only caused heavy congestion but promoted smog that obscured the Valley’s prized views. In 1958, the Santa Clara County Planning Commission reported on journey-to-work problems on the San Francisco Peninsula.

The visualization begins to confirm the argument—mine and others—that there existed an imbalance between the places people lived and the places people worked. These places were defined by city policies. Specifically, the visualization reflects a heavy concentration of commuters leaving San Jose for other parts of the Bay Area for their jobs.

Citation

Jason A. Heppler, “Journey-to-Work in the Bay Area, 1958,” Machines in the Valley, (2021): https://machinesinthevalley.org/visualizations/traffic/.

Data Sources

Source code: Github | Last updated: 2024-10-30