--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Understanding Metro's history may…" description: "\"“Understanding Metro's history may illuminate today's debates. To conservatives who decry Metro's expense--around $10 billion in nominal dollars--this ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/zachary-m-schrag-94102_african-american_understanding-metro-s-history-may-illumi_1330642.jpg" --- # Understanding Metro's history may illuminate today's… ![“Understanding Metro's history may illuminate today's debates. To conservatives who decry Metro's expense--around $10 billion in nominal dollars--this book serves as a reminder that Metro was never intended to be the cheapest solution to any problem, and that it is the product of an age that did…” quote by Zachary M. Schrag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/zachary-m-schrag-94102_african-american_understanding-metro-s-history-may-illumi_1330642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/zachary-m-schrag-94102_african-american_understanding-metro-s-history-may-illumi_1330642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/zachary-m-schrag-94102_african-american_understanding-metro-s-history-may-illumi_1330642.jpg) > ““Understanding Metro's history may illuminate today's debates. To conservatives who decry Metro's expense--around $10 billion in nominal dollars--this book serves as a reminder that Metro was never intended to be the cheapest solution to any problem, and that it is the product of an age that did not always regard cheapness as an essential attribute of good government. To those who celebrate automobile commuting as the rational choice of free Americans, it replies that some Americans have made other choices, based on their understanding that building great cities is more important than minimizing average commuting time. This book may also answer radicals who believe that public funds should primarily--or exclusively--serve the poor, which in the context of transportation means providing bus and rail transit for the carless while leaving the middle class to drive. It suggests that Metro has done more for inner-city African Americans than is generally understood. And to those hostile to public mega-projects as a matter of principle, it responds that it may take a mega-project to kill a mega-project. Had activists merely opposed freeways, they might as well have been dismissed as cranks by politicians and technical experts alike. By championing rapid transit as an equally bold alternative, they won allies, and, ultimately, victory. Most important, this book recalls the belief of Great Society liberals that public investments should serve all classes and all races, rather than functioning as a last resort. These liberals believed, with Abraham Lincoln, that 'the legitimate object of government is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves--in their separate, and individual capacities.' This approach justifies the government's role in rail not as a means of distributing wealth, but as an agent for purchasing rapid transit--a good that people collectively want but cannot collectively buy through a market.”” Zachary M. Schrag ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The book argues Metro’s cost reflects broader societal values, not just cheapness, and highlights its role in equity and urban development. **In simple terms:** Metro’s expense is justified by its social and civic benefits. Key Takeaway Consider transit as public good, not just cost. Themes public policy urban planning equity transportation government role Mood analytical critical informed Type African american:1 African americans:1 History:1 Last resort:0 Learning:0 Middle class:1 Understanding Metro:1 Commuting Rational:0 Transit Good:1 Metro History:1 Suggests Metro:0 When to use this quote - city planning meetings - policy advocacy - community forums Key Concepts infrastructure social justice economic trade‑offs Questions to Reflect On - How can policymakers balance cost with equity? - What alternatives complement rapid transit? A Different Perspective Budget constraints may limit implementation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [African americans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-americans/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Last resort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-resort/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) ## Related quotes > [“Love is not coercion, and the state is only an agent of coercion. It has no other function and can work no other way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-mcdurmon/love-is-not-coercion-and-the-state-is-only-an-agent-of-coercion-it/) Joel McDurmon > [“Being ready for war is not the same as making war, or liking it, young human. 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