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

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’

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25,% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

North Texas Transit Leaders Tout Benefits of TOD for Growing Region
At a summit focused on transit-oriented development, policymakers discussed how North Texas’ expanded light rail system can serve as a tool for economic growth.

Using Old Oil and Gas Wells for Green Energy Storage
Penn State researchers have found that repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells for geothermal-assisted compressed-air energy storage can boost efficiency, reduce environmental risks, and support clean energy and job transitions.

Santa Barbara Could Build Housing on County Land
County supervisors moved forward a proposal to build workforce housing on two county-owned parcels.

San Mateo Formally Opposes Freeway Project
The city council will send a letter to Caltrans urging the agency to reconsider a plan to expand the 101 through the city of San Mateo.

A Bronx Community Fights to Have its Voice Heard
After organizing and giving input for decades, the community around the Kingsbridge Armory might actually see it redeveloped — and they want to continue to have a say in how it goes.
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