A hundred years ago, the roads and pavements outside buildings were seen as public spaces, where children played, vendors hawked their wares and neighbours got together. Horse-drawn carriages trundled down the roads, together with bicycles, push carts, and trams that ran on rails, hooked up to overhead cables.

Then came motor vehicles, which were faster and more powerful than the other vehicles of the time. Marketed as vehicles of freedom and robust enough to withstand America's rough streets, they were soon snapped up.