WCPN reporter interviews a commuter who is annoyed by a plan to make her commute longer - but it becomes clear that the suburbanite's faster commute is at the expense of an urban neighborhood.
The commuter takes the West Shoreway each day from her home in the nearby suburb of Lakewood into Cleveland. "When she learned that the city plans to convert this freeway into a slower, tree-lined boulevard, she was not amused."
"Bob Brown, Cleveland's city planner, says this is not the traditional highway project. "The traditional highway project is obviously speeding things up, adding more capacity, but often ignoring the character of neighborhoods," he says. Now, taking down freeways has gone mainstream."
"For many cities, Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood represents the ideal because it's dense and wealthy.
The uber-planner Robert Moses, famous for the freeways he built in New York, wanted to stick a 10-lane freeway there.
But Moses' freeway plan never got built, and today urban planners have come full circle. Now that most cities are far less industrial, planners like Cleveland's Brown remain focused on sustainability and about being able to walk places."
FULL STORY: The End Of The Road: Saying Goodbye To Freeways
Cleveland To Build First Protected Downtown Bike Lane
The city is taking steps to build out a more comprehensive bike lane network to connect downtown destinations.
Defunct Streetcar Bridge Could Become Cleveland’s ‘Low Line’
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Proposed Bill Would Outlaw Nearly Half of Cleveland's Airbnbs
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Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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.
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Smith Gee Studio
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NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service