Santiago Caltrava designed the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, which is all you need to hear to understand the Texas-sized ambition of the project. Evaluating the bridge's success, five years after its opening, is more complicated than that.
"It's been five years since the first cars rushed across the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge [in Dallas], but if you're hoping for a verdict on its success or failure, the only possible response is that the jury is still out," writes Mark Lamster.
According to Lamster, the design of the bridge has produced a split decision. Critiques of the bridge begin to emerge for its lack of pedestrian and bike infrastructure ("representative of that endemic Dallas tendency to privilege object over context," writes Lamster) and its lack of an aesthetic connection to West Dallas.
Finally, Lamster speculates that the most lasting story about the Hunt Hill Bridge's legacy is yet to be written:
Five years in, the bridge stands above all as a metaphor, a giant arched portal to another Dallas, one that the city has yet to realize. And the greatest unresolved question of all is not so much what will happen across the bridge, but what will happen under it with the unfulfilled landscape that lies between the Trinity levees.
FULL STORY: The great white hoop: Five years of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge
Dallas' Margaret McDermott Bridge Finally Open to Pedestrians and Cyclists
Overdue and over budget, infrastructure for pedestrian and people on bikes is finally available on the Margaret McDermott Bridge in Dallas.
As Cables on Dallas' Margaret McDermott Bridge Fail, State and City Play Blame Game
Santiago Calatrava has run into trouble over the maintenance of his bridge projects in the past—this time it looks like it's not his fault.
Meet the New Calatrava-Designed Bridge Under Construction in Downtown Dallas
Everything you wanted to know about the Margaret McDermott Bridge, under construction in Downtown Dallas.
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