Highways
Streetsblog’s Best and Worst of 2023 Transportation
While American roads didn’t get much safer by the numbers, new policies indicate a shift toward a more sustainable transportation future.
Opinion: California Must Walk the Walk on Transportation Emissions
While state leaders tout their climate goals at COP28, residents back home continue to fight highway expansion projects that induce traffic and increase emissions.
The Nation’s Most Wasteful Highway Projects
The 2023 Highway Boondoggles report is here.
New Highways Are Still Tearing Communities Apart
Residents of a historic Black South Carolina town are being displaced by a road widening project.
‘Divided by Design’ Underscores Inequities in Transportation Policy
The report calls for a wholesale overhaul of U.S. transportation policy to redress the damages caused by decades of auto-centric development.
Survey: Americans Don’t Support Road Expansions
U.S. transportation policy, which still heavily centers automobile infrastructure, is increasingly out of step with the majority opinion, according to a new survey from Transportation for America.
The Limitations of ‘Reconnecting Communities’
The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.
Federal Government Awards Over $1 Billion to Nine ‘Mega’ Projects
The funding comes from a discretionary grant program aimed at supporting infrastructure projects too massive or complex for traditional funding mechanisms.
Republican States Challenge Highway Emissions Plan
A federal proposal that would require states to monitor and set targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, praised by Democrats, is being called “unworkable” by many Republican states.
Colorado DOT Defends Highway Maintenance
While the department has canceled some road expansion projects, the agency has no plans to remove highways, calling them the “bread and butter” of the state’s transportation network.
Op-Ed: Michigan Needs a New Transportation Strategy
One writer calls on the state to stop expanding roads and channel funding to projects that support Michigan’s sustainability goals.
Boise’s New Planning Director Warns Against 'Dysfunctional Highways'
On the heels of his stint as Atlanta’s planning director, Tim Keane says Boise should avoid following in the path of American cities that have let highway expansion and sprawl go unchecked for decades.
Residents Call for Highway Removal in Seattle Neighborhood
As more planners begin to question the value of urban freeways, communities that have long borne the negative impacts of highway construction are fighting back with data.
Top Republicans Encourage Governors to Ignore FHWA Guidance
Senators McConnell and Capito reject the administration's efforts to steer federal funds to infrastructure projects that prioritize road maintenance and transit and pedestrian improvements over new road construction.
How Policymakers Are Grappling With the Racist Legacy of Urban Freeways
In Michigan, the state's Department of Transportation is looking for ways to mitigate the damage caused by decades of urban renewal policies and reconnect neighborhoods cut off from amenities and opportunities by highway projects.
Snowstorm That Stranded Thousands Prompts Questions About Auto-Centric Development
After thousands of motorists spent over a day on a snowbound Virginia highway, experts are warning that auto-centric sprawl will worsen the impacts of extreme weather events.
Seattle Neighborhood Calls for Highway Removal
South Park becomes the latest community to call for the removal of a highway segment that has cut off the neighborhood from local amenities for decades.
Contentious Houston Freeway Widening Project Inches Forward
Federal officials have given TxDOT the go-ahead to resume work on a small portion of a controversial interstate widening project in downtown Houston.
Freeway Expansions Continue to Threaten Black and Brown Communities
Despite calls to center equity in infrastructure projects, highway construction and expansion still disproportionately impacts communities of color, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
Proposed Toronto Highways Raise Environmental Concerns
Opponents of two new planned highways in greater Toronto argue the construction of new roads is 'short-sighted at best' and would threaten the region's greenbelt areas.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
