Remove Interstates from US cities - cities are for people not for cars!
Remove Interstates from US cities - cities are for people not for cars!
The Issue
On June 26, 1956, the US president Dwight Eisenhower signed The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The plan was good, connecting the US cities. What was the bad thing however, is that the Interstate highways were put right thorough the city with little to no regard for the existing city grid tissue. Highways were used for planned demolitions. They were put right thorough the neighborhoods with a majority being black people, people of color and other minorities like the poor. The Interstates not only demolished neighborhoods, but also isolated them. Since no one's going to cross an 8 lane highway, there's no way to go over it.
The highways also gave traffic noise and pollution a way in. They gave a way out for rich taxpayers. They supported unhealthy urban and suburban sprawl with car centric suburbs. The suburbs made the American cities bankrupt due to the fact that they're spread out so lots of infrastructure while their income can't cover the maintenance. When the traffic gets so bad that the highway is congested, the cities expand them despite evidence that widening highways doesn't improve congestion. In short, while the highway gets widened, people are excited with new empty lanes while the areas near the highway become car centric suburban neighborhoods with detached, single family homes who use the new lanes. So we're in the same place as before, but with more lanes, millions wasted and more congestion. That's called induced demand.
Find out how highways ruined American cities here.
The Interstate highways need to be removed from cities, put around them, while the empty space where the highways used to be need to be incorporated into the existing city grid tissue. Build walkable, mixed use high density buildings with commercial and offices at the ground level and apartments above. Build the streets with protected bike lanes and bike paths, good sidewalks with trees and greenery public transit. Build parks too. Expand public transit, sidewalks and protected bike lanes and bike paths so people don't have to drive.
The Issue
On June 26, 1956, the US president Dwight Eisenhower signed The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The plan was good, connecting the US cities. What was the bad thing however, is that the Interstate highways were put right thorough the city with little to no regard for the existing city grid tissue. Highways were used for planned demolitions. They were put right thorough the neighborhoods with a majority being black people, people of color and other minorities like the poor. The Interstates not only demolished neighborhoods, but also isolated them. Since no one's going to cross an 8 lane highway, there's no way to go over it.
The highways also gave traffic noise and pollution a way in. They gave a way out for rich taxpayers. They supported unhealthy urban and suburban sprawl with car centric suburbs. The suburbs made the American cities bankrupt due to the fact that they're spread out so lots of infrastructure while their income can't cover the maintenance. When the traffic gets so bad that the highway is congested, the cities expand them despite evidence that widening highways doesn't improve congestion. In short, while the highway gets widened, people are excited with new empty lanes while the areas near the highway become car centric suburban neighborhoods with detached, single family homes who use the new lanes. So we're in the same place as before, but with more lanes, millions wasted and more congestion. That's called induced demand.
Find out how highways ruined American cities here.
The Interstate highways need to be removed from cities, put around them, while the empty space where the highways used to be need to be incorporated into the existing city grid tissue. Build walkable, mixed use high density buildings with commercial and offices at the ground level and apartments above. Build the streets with protected bike lanes and bike paths, good sidewalks with trees and greenery public transit. Build parks too. Expand public transit, sidewalks and protected bike lanes and bike paths so people don't have to drive.
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Petition created on April 11, 2023