What was unique to the U5. was not it's cities or skyscrapers but its suburban sprawl, the number of its commuters and the proportion of its homeowners Low density living over time across regional, class and ethnic lines was so powerful that it came to be regarded as natural and inevitable (something that the government could not reverse) Decentralization was taking place in which people were moving to more suitable locations The many ways in which government can affect where people live: Federal Tax codes encourages businesses to abandon old structures by permitting greater tax benefits for new construction than for the improvement of existing buildings Gov't subsidizes an acceleration in the rate at which economic activity is dispersed to new locations Various highway laws promoted roads, trucks, and private motorcars as means of transportation. in addition to cheap fuel costs and mass produced cars transportation costs were significantly lower and therefore stimulated deconcentration