DESIRE UNDER THE EL:

Cities rediscover allure of streetcars (Haya El Nasser, 1/09/07, USA TODAY)

The streetcars that rumbled and clanged through many American cities from the late 1800s until World War II helped shape neighborhoods. More than a half-century later, streetcars are coming back and reviving the same neighborhoods they helped create.

Several cities have resurrected the streetcar tradition and about three dozen others plan to -- from Tucson, and Birmingham, Ala., to Miami and Trenton, N.J.

This return to the past is less about satisfying a sense of nostalgia than about enticing developers and people to old industrial areas and faded neighborhoods. As cities experience a much-publicized urban renaissance, streetcars have become another draw for investment in housing, stores and restaurants.

Cities hope that streetcars can do in this century what they did in the last: Connect neighborhoods and provide a relatively cheap alternative to walking and driving.