‘Freeways Without Futures’ Spotlights Freeway Removal Efforts | Planetizen News

2022-09-09 20:38:58 By : Ms. Janice Hem

Around the country, cities and states are starting to listen to decades-old demands to remove freeways that have displaced and fractured communities.

quiggyt4 / The Buffalo Skyway, Buffalo, New York

Writing in the Congress for New Urbanism’s (CNU) Public Square, Lauren Mayer reports on some of the freeways most nominated for CNU’s next biannual Freeways Without Futures report, which “highlights the efforts of local campaign organizers and activists seeking to revitalize their communities by dismantling the city highways that burden them with the significant health hazards of vehicle exhaust, a loss of local businesses and services, and streets that are hostile to pedestrians.”

So far, nominees include several major freeways in New York State, including I-81 in Syracuse, Buffalo’s Route 5 and Skyway, and the Inner Loop in Rochester. In New Orleans, a decade-long fight to remove the Claiborne Expressway is inching forward as the city’s mayor and local U.S. representative became part of a “growing consensus” that restoring Claiborne Avenue is “the right course of action for the Tremé neighborhood.”

Across the northern border, efforts to tear down Toronto’s Gardiner Expressway are bearing fruit. After one portion was removed in 1999, the city removed more ramps in 2021 as part of the  Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan, which “will realign the expressway and help transform the area to improve transportation corridors and provide more efficient public transit and new public facilities.”

FULL STORY: News on the most nominated ‘Freeways Without Futures’

Tuesday, September 6, 2022 in CNU Public Square

A new program seeks to make restitution for the damage inflicted on Black communities by highway construction and urban renewal.

January 2, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

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.

The case for freeway in urban areas isn't as unequivocal as it might seem. Plans to undo the damage of the legacies of past freeway planning need to ensure an inclusive future.

July 14, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

The Federal Transit Administration issued a scathing review of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s performance last week, ordering major changes at the Boston area’s transportation agency.

South Bend commits to infill development by pre-approving a suite of residential development options.

The California Legislature this week approved a historic package of bills, including a bill that allows affordable housing on commercially zoned properties and another that removes parking requirements near transit.

September 1, 2022 - San Francisco Chronicle

A lack of access to public transit, scarcer law enforcement, and reduced access to nearby medical care contribute to more risky behavior and more deadly crashes on rural roads.

5 hours ago - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Are policy changes enough to address the housing problems we face?

6 hours ago - Shelterforce Magazine

Around the country, cities and states are starting to listen to decades-old demands to remove freeways that have displaced and fractured communities.

7 hours ago - CNU Public Square

County of San Diego- Office of Sustainability & Environmental Justice

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Chaddick Institute at DePaul University

Sun City Center Community Association, Inc

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.

This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.

Planning: The professional practice and academic study of the future of built and natural environments — from the smallest towns to the largest cities and everything in between.

Copyright Planetizen, Inc. © 2000 - 2022. All rights reserved.