"With the post-1945 emergence of America from the Great Depression and World War II, the automobile moved the nation forward into the modern age. The pioneering efforts of Henry Ford to mass-produce the automobile and offer affordable prices for average Americans created a new product called 'personal travel' and a host of new business opportunities. . . the construction of the vast interstate highway system was largely concentrated in the years 1958-72. The multi-lane highway network greatly increased the productivity of truck drivers, shortened the duration of personal trips, and increased safety."-Source: Robert J. Gordon, economist, The Rise and Fall of American Growth: The U.S. Standard of Living Since the Civil War, 2016The rise of highways, as described in the excerpt, most directly contributed to which of the following characteristics of United States society during the period?

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