As a result, our air is cleaner — in Los Angeles, pollution is at levels not seen in decades — and car crashes are down, although police departments are worried that drivers are going too fast. Even the Earth is vibrating less, according to seismologists.

Our empty streets and freeways tug at conflicting feelings. An ease of movement was never part of the deal of life in these cities, especially in places designed around the automobile, like Los Angeles and Houston. Now, the chance to move so freely has provoked a sense of marvel, reorienting our relationship to the cities in which we live. But that is leavened by a feeling of disorientation and an understanding that we are living in unprecedented times, with so many falling sick.

Over the course of several hours in America’s major cities we documented what fewer cars on the roadways looks like at rush hour.