Pavement

Phoenix, Arizona skyline against the sunset.

Study: Pavement covers 40% of Phoenix

A new study reveals how ultrafine particles emitted by pavement worsen air quality.

April 28, 2026 - ASU News

Bird's eye view of white cars in parking lot.

Study: LA Could Get Rid of Almost Half its Pavement

Researchers say nearly half of the county’s paved surfaces could be redesigned to cool neighborhoods, manage stormwater, and improve public health.

February 19, 2026 - Los Angeles Times

Heat map of two different neighborhoods in Houston, Texas.

Study: Houston’s Vacant Lots Worsen Heat Island Effect

Paved lots and abandoned buildings can raise surrounding surface temperatures as much as 20 degrees, according to a new study.

October 8, 2025 - Texas A&M University

Close-up of elevated planter box in sidewalk with alternating grass and concrete patches.

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.

May 14, 2025 - Reasons to Be Cheerful

Trees in bloom with pink flowers on a residential street in Seattle, Washington.

Opinion: Housing Versus Trees Is a False Choice; Swap Pavement for Trees Instead

Seattle’s goal to cover 30 percent of the city with tree canopy by 2037 doesn’t need to be sacrificed in favor of density. There’s a better way.

February 26, 2025 - The Urbanist

A graph showing pavement conditions relative to undersewrved racial and ethnic populations, showing that pavement quality declines where more underserved populations live.

Study: U.S. Highway Pavement Conditions Worse in Underserved Communities

The Federal Highway Administration doesn’t analyze the condition of pavement on U.S. highways. If it did, it would find vast inequities depending on which communities live nearby highway infrastructure.

August 31, 2022 - U.S. Government Accountability Office

Asphalt

To Make Cities More Livable, Get Rid of Pavement

Paved surfaces take up close to a third of space in U.S. cities, polluting waterways and contributing to the urban heat island effect.

July 14, 2021 - Next City

Pothole Car

In Omaha, 'Reclaiming' Potholed Streets Means Unpaving Them

The euphemism refers to a cost-saving measure that's happening even in central districts, to the chagrin of residents. This reversion to gravel roads is one manifestation of a looming local infrastructure deficit.

March 12, 2017 - The New York Times

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.

March 27, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Santa Monica Pier Parking

They Paved Paradise, Put Up a Parking Lot …

"Big Asphalt" has compromised our health, safety, and welfare—but we can defeat it if we try.

March 20, 2015 - Better Cities & Towns

Traffic Jam in Bangkok

Land for Vehicles or People?

Automobile-oriented planning requires that cities devote signifiant amounts of space to roads and parking—under many conditions each vehicle requires more land than is devoted to housing per capita.

November 21, 2014 - Todd Litman

Hard Road Ahead

Michael J. Coren has a preview of an MIT report that lays out the economic and environmental benefits of stiffer pavement.

June 5, 2012 - Fast Co.Exist

Portland's Pavement Pulverizers

Grist looks at the volunteer group in Portland that legally removes unnecessary pavement from places around the city and replaces it with gardens and green space.

September 17, 2010 - Grist

De-Paving and Improving Urban Permeability

A new test program to de-pave the city of Baltimore is turning the soil formerly covered by city school playgrounds. The project is aimed at reducing runoff.

August 24, 2010 - The Balimore Sun

Depaving Rural American Roads-Literally

Rather than being part of a car liberation or permeable pavement movement, poorly maintained county roads are having their asphalt ground into gravel as a cost-cutting measure to avoid costly road reconstruction. Lack of funding is the cause.

July 19, 2010 - Wall Street Journal - U.S.

Is Concrete the New Asphalt?

As oil prices rise, so does the cost of asphalt. Concrete, historically more expensive, is now becoming a viable cost competitor. Because of its lighter shade, its also been shown to contribute less to climate change.

July 9, 2009 - The Infrastructurist

Activists 'Depave' Dead Parking Lot

This film from Streetsblog looks at a community effort in Portland to remove pavement from unused parking lots.

June 20, 2008 - Streetsblog L.A.

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.

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

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