Josh Stephens reviews Big Roads by Earl Swift, which profiles Thomas MacDonald and Frank Turner, the civil engineers who made the Interstate Highway System a reality.
Recently chosen as a Top 10 Urban Planning Book of 2012 by Planetizen, Earl Swift's The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways explains that the Interstate Highway System didn't just magically appear after Eisenhower proposed it.
Stephens writes:
"Though the Interstate Highway System bears Eisenhower's name and is generally credited to him, Swift gives credit to the forgotten engineers who envisioned a national road system while Ike was scarcely out of Basic Training."
Stephens says the book takes a fairly neutral tone to the project, explaining all sides of the story, including how the new highways divided cities along racial lines:
"All told, the government committed 750,000 eminent domain takings in the construction of the interstates."
FULL STORY: Reclaiming the Interstates from Ike
How Federal Funds Can Benefit Freeway Removal Projects
The recently passed infrastructure bill dedicates $1 billion to freeway removal and capping, but the sum is only a 'first step' toward redressing the injustices perpetuated by urban highway projects.
Removing Urban Highways Can Improve Neighborhoods Blighted by Decades of Racist Policies
More money from the infrastructure bill now moving through Congress should go toward dismantling racist infrastructure in the United States, according to this article.
When Infrastructure Investments Go Wrong
The United States has a near perfect track record of building the infrastructure it thinks it needs. But the country and its various state and local governments, don't always get the vision right.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions