Freeways are disconnected, unwalkable, and have limited access; they are the antithesis of "urban." So we should probably use a different term to describe them, argues Alex McKeag.
"In entering the jurisdiction of cities, did the highways themselves somehow change, evolving to fit the urban context?" asks McKeag. "There is nothing inherently different between a freeway in a city and one outside of a city. Nothing. And attaching the word 'urban' implies a compatibility with the city that simply doesn’t exist."
"Therefore, if by using the term 'urban freeway' we are either legitimizing the freeway as something that belongs in an urban context (somehow positively connoting it is connected and accessible) or suggesting it is a distinctive 'thing' that exists and we need to accept it, then the term needs to change. Remember, freeways don’t belong in cities."
Read the full story: HIGHWAYS TO BOULEVARDS BLOG: The Language of Urban Freeways
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello