Hamburg’s urban planners in the 1950s and 1960s looked to Los Angeles’ urban planning as a major model and even flew to California countless times to exchange ideas and, in particular, to learn about car-friendly urban planning, as Los Angeles had already implemented it at that time. One result of this was the dismantling of the tram system described here, but also, particularly in Hammerbrook, the viaducts and the East-West Street in the city center. However, many planned "atrocities" were actually prevented by citizen initiatives! For example, the Osterbek and Goldbek Canals were to be converted into an urban highway with a tunnel under the Inner Alster. No joke!