Urban Freeways

Map of proposed project area

Detroit Plans Freeway Removal To Spur Economic Development

City and state officials hope the proposal to turn part of I-375 into a walkable boulevard will help bring back businesses and economic vitality to the area.

March 20, 2022 - WDET

I-94 Freeway in Minneapolis

Why a 'Marginally Useful' Minneapolis Freeway Segment Should Be Removed

Two ramps that have minimal impact on traffic could make way for apartments, commercial spaces, or much-needed parks.

August 8, 2021 - Minneapolis St Paul Magazine

CityMap Deck Park

TxDOT Promises to Reverse Some of the Damage Caused by Urban Freeways in Dallas

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the early stages of planning for two projects that could leverage plans to rebuild two freeways in the city with plan to reconnect the neighborhoods they severed.

June 8, 2021 - The Dallas Morning News

Interstate 84

Undoing the Destructive Legacy of Hartford's Interstates

A new plan would spend an estimated $17 billion to remove a huge chunk of the Interstate Highway System's footprint in Hartford, Connecticut.

March 26, 2021 - The CT Mirror

CN Tower rises above Gardiner Expressway on Toronto Waterfront

Opinion: Build Housing, Not Expressways

As it rebuilds the Gardiner Expressway, Toronto could use the opportunity to create more real estate for affordable housing.

February 19, 2021 - Globe and Mail

Atlanta Skyline

The Deliberate Segregation of U.S. Cities, as Evidenced by Freeway Congestion

A thorough and damning indictment of 20th century land use and infrastructure planning, and its contemporary legacy of segregation and congestion.

August 15, 2019 - The New York Times Magazine

Interstate Freeways

Debating Freeway Expansion Projects Around Louisville

Several large freeway expansion projects are in various stages of planning and development in the Louisville region of Kentucky. Critics say the projects reflect an obsolete approach to planning and will hurt the state and the city.

June 18, 2019 - WDRB

New Orleans Freeway

Ten 'Freeways Without Futures'

The Congress for New Urbanism has once again released on if its signature efforts: the Freeways Without Futures report that assumes urban freeways were a mistake of 20th century planning and engineering and advocates for a new approach.

April 3, 2019 - Congress for the New Urbanism

Klyde Warren Park

Cities Turn to Highway Cap Parks for Economic Development

Some worry that, of the many reasons cities pursue cap parks, creating quality green space is low on the list.

April 12, 2018 - Stateline

Washington

A History of Female-Led Opposition to Urban Freeways in Spokane, Washington

Former Washington State Representative Margaret Hurley, aided by Margaret Leonard at the local level, saved the Logan neighborhood in Spokane from a freeway plan that would have razed 600 homes. Now the plan is reborn in another part of town.

January 4, 2018 - The Spokesman-Review

110 South

Opinion: Don't Forget the Benefits of Urban Freeways

After reading this recent opinion piece by Bill Fulton, some pro-transit and anti-highway advocates might be thinking, "Et tu, Bill Fulton?"

April 18, 2017 - Governing

Downtown Oakland

To Connect Oakland—Remove the I-980 Freeway

A grassroots, ambitious vision called Connect Oakland is gaining steam in the East Bay city. The key element of the plan's ambition: replacing the I-980 Freeway with an urban boulevard and new housing.

November 17, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Houston's downtown skyline

Defending Urban Freeways At All Costs Ignores the Potential of Cities

When freeways are dismantled, economic, and social benefits often follow. A mid-20th Century mechanistic view fails to understand such outcomes.

March 1, 2014 - Better! Cities & Towns

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