"Big Asphalt" has compromised our health, safety, and welfare—but we can defeat it if we try.
In America we have 2.5 million miles of paved roads, and an estimated 800 million parking spaces. Thanks to the "asphalt-industrial machine," which is like a Borg that exists to expand itself, we have the largest asphalt paving industry in the world, producing 400 million tons annually.
The paving promotes more driving, which in turn raises the demand for paving. In the last 100 years we paved a total area that is half the size of Pennsylvania, and this requires ongoing service and maintenance, which feeds the industry perpetually.
American industrial and professional sectors have evolved to serve the machine. Big players are the asphalt, aggregate, and ready-mix producers, and the paving contractors. These include Oldcastle Materials and The Koch Industries—not household names, because you don't drive to the big box store to buy asphalt. You drive and park on asphalt. Our retail industry, which used to serve neighborhoods and communities, now depends on asphalt. The biggest corporation in the world, Walmart, would not exist at anywhere near its current size without Big Asphalt.
The automobile and trucking industries also are built on pavement. The oil industry feeds the asphalt-industrial machine.
Transportation engineers have long been co-opted by the machine, as have transportation planners and Departments of Transportation (DOTs). These groups apply rules and standards that supposedly promote safety, but mostly serve Big Asphalt—which harms people in many ways:
FULL STORY: They paved paradise, put up a parking lot …
Top 5 Ways to Tell You're in 'Big Asphalt'
You are surrounded by parking lots and pavement so vast you can see the curvature of the Earth.
Activists 'Depave' Dead Parking Lot
This film from Streetsblog looks at a community effort in Portland to remove pavement from unused parking lots.
Grassroots Dutch Movement Replaces Pavement With Green Space
Neighbors engage in a practice known as “tegelwippen,” picking up paving stones and replacing them with permeable surfaces, often with the support of local governments.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
King County Supportive Housing Program Offers Hope for Unhoused Residents
The county is taking a ‘Housing First’ approach that prioritizes getting people into housing, then offering wraparound supportive services.
Researchers Use AI to Get Clearer Picture of US Housing
Analysts are using artificial intelligence to supercharge their research by allowing them to comb through data faster. Though these AI tools can be error prone, they save time and housing researchers are optimistic about the future.
Making Shared Micromobility More Inclusive
Cities and shared mobility system operators can do more to include people with disabilities in planning and operations, per a new report.
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.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie