Highways radically reshaped American cities: They destroyed dense downtown neighborhoods, divided many Black communities and increased car dependence.
Now, some cities are looking to take them out. nyti.ms/2RPyf27
Midcentury highway projects often targeted Black neighborhoods, destroying cultural and economic centers and bringing decades of environmental harm. nyti.ms/2RPyf27
Some cities have committed to replacing stretches of interstate with more connected, walkable neighborhoods. Others are facing pressure from local residents to address the pollution, noise and safety hazards brought by the mega-roads.
The growing movement has been energized by support from the Biden administration, which has made addressing racial justice and climate change, major themes in the debate over highway removal, central to its agenda.
Rochester, New York, recently filled in a nearly-mile-long stretch of its sunken Inner Loop highway, and is now looking to remove more of it. “You now have people living somewhere that was just road before,” said Shawn Dunwoody, a local artist and community organizer.
If rebuilding cities is done right, highway removal projects could make life better for local residents as well as the planet. But reconnecting neighborhoods is more complicated than breaking them apart. nytimes.com/interactive/20…
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