The author of this article offers a few ideas on how to better use our 46,000 miles of highway. From the integration of rail lines to the development of electricity distribution grids, the interstate has more potential than it seems.
"Say we reimagine the interstate system so that it becomes not just a route for cars and trucks but an intermodal-transportation-and-energy corridor. That should be incentive enough to rethink the nature of development around highway interchanges. Anyone who has done any long-distance driving harbors deep ambivalence about these provisional places. Yes, they're specifically designed to allow you to get off the highway, gas up, use the restroom, grab a?burger, and continue onward with the fewest possible complications. Some of these interchanges have grown into what Joel Garreau called "edge cities"-dense, traffic-clogged jumbles of shopping centers, of-fices, and hotels. These asphalt landscapes now represent planning ideas so discredited that even commercial developers don't much care for them."
FULL STORY: Rethinking the Interstate
Disconnecting Communities: Measuring the Social Impacts of Freeways
Research from 50 major U.S. cities shows social connections are weakest in neighborhoods where highways are present.
Highway Removal Slowed by Outdated Policy, Lack of Committed Funding
Resistance from state transportation departments and precarious funding sources mean highway removal projects are few and far between, despite their benefits.
Freedom to Move: Investing in Transportation Choices for a Clean, Prosperous, and Just Future
This Union of Concerned Scientists study examines why and how to improve resource-efficient travel options to achieve diverse goals. It estimates that more efficient transport could save up to $201 billion in energy and $128 billion in health costs.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
Opinion: California’s SB 79 Would Improve Housing Affordability and Transit Access
A proposed bill would legalize transit-oriented development statewide.
Record Temperatures Prompt Push for Environmental Justice Bills
Nevada legislators are proposing laws that would mandate heat mitigation measures to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat.
Downtown Pittsburgh Set to Gain 1,300 New Housing Units
Pittsburgh’s office buildings, many of which date back to the early 20th century, are prime candidates for conversion to housing.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service