States and cities received over $3 billion in grant funding aimed at redressing the damage caused by freeways.
The Biden administration announced over $3.3 billion in Reconnecting Communities grants in cities including Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, Houston, Jacksonville, and other cities.
As Daniel C. Vock explains in Route Fifty, the grants will pay for freeway caps, trails, commuter rail stations, and flood management infrastructure. “All told, the Department of Transportation awarded 132 grants, including 52 for construction. The rest were to help communities with planning.”
According to Vock, “The mix of projects, though, shows the Biden administration is focusing on fine-tuning existing infrastructure, rather than funding more drastic changes that some advocates had hoped for when the programs were created. Community activists in places like New Orleans and Tulsa initially pushed to remove highways that devastated their neighborhoods, but the administration has largely avoided those kinds of proposals,” promoting freeway caps and other less drastic changes. However, some projects are tied to highway expansions, such as an underpass project in St. George, Utah.
Portland Advocates Call on Feds to Oppose Freeway Expansion
The Oregon DOT is requesting a federal grant to fund a controversial freeway expansion through the Rose Quarter.
Reconnecting Communities Grant Round Offers $600M for Highway Mitigation Projects
The program is part of the 2021 infrastructure law and calls for improving access in communities disadvantaged by freeways.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research