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Silicon Valley Circuits - Longreads

longreads.com · 407 words · saved by 1 readers

"Route 85 in California now inspires dread. Some of us remember when it was a vision of the future."

Hua Hsu grew up in Cupertino when Apple was just another company in an anonymous office park—which is to say, before Highway 85 transformed the southern reaches of Silicon Valley. Now, he uses the artery’s arrival to chart the development of the region, his family, and himself. With the stories of so many highways being ones of displacement and inequality (see: New York, Chicago, Oakland), it’s a treat to read one that feels more like a memoir of possibility. For teenagers, suburban commute times were not of great concern. More time in traffic meant more time to gossip or flirt, daydream…

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