Thread by @ChittiMarco

Let me engage in the "EU-vs-US-at-the-same-scale" comparison in a slightly different manner, hopefully more informative about the different trajectories car-dominated planning took in the postwar years

Because the problem is not only how many freeways the US built, but how 🧵

A premise: Italy engaged in one of the most extensive freeway building program in Europe starting from the 1950s. The 1955 so-called "Romita Plan" for the development of a nation-wide motorway network actually slightly predates the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956

The single main difference is maybe less in the quantity and rapidity of the development, but how it was developed: the Italian one, was essentially intended as an intercity network that barely brushed past cities quite far from the core. A few examples >>

Florence vs Hartford, similarly sized metro areas (800k)
In Florence, the A1 ring is on avg. 5-7 km from the city center. In Hartford is actually through the city center

Milan and Boston, similar in population. In Milan, the "Tangenziale Est" is at most 5km from then Duomo. In Boston, I93 run at 150m from the Faneuil Hall

Turin and Providence, both having a metro population around 1.5 million. Average distance of Turin's Tangenziale from the Center: 8-9 km. Providence...well, you know: right in the middle.

Final example: Rome vs Philly (Philly metro is larger though, 5 vs 4 million). The G.R.A. ring motorway in Rome is between 7-11 km from the center. In Philly the freeway cross through the center.

The rational for the development of Italian motorways was mainly for intercity traffic. Rings and "tangenziali" (i.e. tangential roads, a common feature in Italy), actually came later as by-passes/ connections between freeways terminating at the edge of the then built-up area

Of course the size of those infrastructure is also quite different on both sides of the continent. But it is how they relate to the city that really makes the difference, not only the fact that the US has more of them or larger ones

That said, the history is a bit more complex, as there are forms of grade separated double-carriageways arterials/urban fast roads in Italy that are sort of mini or light urban freeway, see for example the uncomplete "tangenziale Est" and the "Circovallazione Interna" of Rome.