Freeway removal
Encyclopedia
Freeway removal is a public policy
of urban planning
designed to create mixed-use urban areas with a concentration of residential, commercial, and other land uses. Also known as activity centre
s, cities have begun removing existing or incomplete infrastructure to create parks, waterfront
s, and boulevards
. In the redevelopment of city landscapes, some cities remove freeways from urban landscapes in an effort to minimize blight and create better land use
and smart growth
. Freeway removal is an attempt to create transit-oriented development
cities that are both walkable
and bicycle-friendly
.
is to replace elevated highways with boulevards
to restore neighborhoods affected by highway construction. In some regions, freeway removal has been proposed but these plans have not yet been completed or funded. There are political battles, in many cases, between citizens' groups who are proponents of freeway removal proposals and governments supporting the vested interests that want to keep the freeways.
To increase land usage, the demolition of freeways is often a part of the discussion for both city and state’s governmental strategies. Cities planning redevelopment of certain neighborhoods such as Washington, D.C.
’s Whitehurst Freeway in the neighborhood of Georgetown
, were set for demolition but were frozen so the city may do an environmental impact study. Other cities such as Nashville, Tennessee
, whose government is planning to demolish the downtown loop where three major interstates converge I-65, I-40, and I-24, are planning replace these areas with parks, boulevards, and mixed-use communities that will reconnect their cores with adjacent neighborhoods.
in Europe—is an urban planning technique which promotes high residential density with mixed land uses based around an efficient public transport system. Typically, cities redevelop neighborhoods to concentrate growth in the center of the city with the goal of better land usage to support a high concentration of jobs and residents. Smart growth
principles and incentives generate residential, retail, and recreational development. The purpose is to transform deteriorating, low-density commercial corridors into mixed-use corridors, focused around transit-oriented development
. Cities have implemented plans to use intensification corridors functioning as boulevards
aimed at being transit supportive and pedestrian friendly, and providing a focus for higher density mixed-use development. The success of transit oriented development along these corridors with subsequent increase in transit ridership has been well documented in neighborhoods such as Ballston and Rosslyn in Arlington County, Virginia
. Other cities, such as Portland Oregon, have implemented freeway removal policies to create intensification corridors. Much of this began in the freeway and expressway revolts
of the 1960s and 1970s.
. Cities such as Harbor Drive
in Portland, Oregon
and Park East Freeway—which was replaced with McKinley Boulevard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
—were successful freeway removal projects that reduced traffic, created economic development and allowed for the creation of new neighborhoods and commercial districts. These cities have experienced economic and environment success and become models for alternative urban planning.
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
of urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
designed to create mixed-use urban areas with a concentration of residential, commercial, and other land uses. Also known as activity centre
Activity centre
Activity centre is a term used in urban planning and design for a mixed-use urban area where there is a concentration of commercial and other land uses...
s, cities have begun removing existing or incomplete infrastructure to create parks, waterfront
Waterfront
-In music:*Waterfront , a 1980s British pop duo*Waterfront Records, an Australian record label*"Waterfront" , by Simple Minds*Waterfront Blues Festival, in Portland, Oregon-In film and television:*Waterfront , directed by William A...
s, and boulevards
Boulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
. In the redevelopment of city landscapes, some cities remove freeways from urban landscapes in an effort to minimize blight and create better land use
Land use
Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...
and smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
. Freeway removal is an attempt to create transit-oriented development
Transit-oriented development
A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...
cities that are both walkable
Walkability
Walkability is a measure of how friendly an area is to walking. Walkability has many health, environmental, and economic benefits. Factors influencing walkability include the presence or absence and quality of footpaths, sidewalks or other pedestrian right-of-ways, traffic and road conditions,...
and bicycle-friendly
Bicycle-friendly
The term bicycle-friendly describes policies and practices which may help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic...
.
Urban design
In some cities, strategies were implemented or planned for freeway removal policies to tear down highways that cut through neighborhoods. These freeways created blight that minimized use of land space and reduced the quality of life for city residents. The alternative that some cities have chosen for urban designUrban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
is to replace elevated highways with boulevards
Boulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
to restore neighborhoods affected by highway construction. In some regions, freeway removal has been proposed but these plans have not yet been completed or funded. There are political battles, in many cases, between citizens' groups who are proponents of freeway removal proposals and governments supporting the vested interests that want to keep the freeways.
To increase land usage, the demolition of freeways is often a part of the discussion for both city and state’s governmental strategies. Cities planning redevelopment of certain neighborhoods such as Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
’s Whitehurst Freeway in the neighborhood of Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
, were set for demolition but were frozen so the city may do an environmental impact study. Other cities such as Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, whose government is planning to demolish the downtown loop where three major interstates converge I-65, I-40, and I-24, are planning replace these areas with parks, boulevards, and mixed-use communities that will reconnect their cores with adjacent neighborhoods.
Urban intensification
To counteract urban sprawl, some cities have made redevelopment plans around urban intensification. Urban intensification—also known as Compact CitiesCompact City
The Compact City or city of short distances is an urban planning and urban design concept, which promotes relatively high residential density with mixed land uses. It is based on an efficient public transport system and has an urban layout which – according to its advocates – encourages walking and...
in Europe—is an urban planning technique which promotes high residential density with mixed land uses based around an efficient public transport system. Typically, cities redevelop neighborhoods to concentrate growth in the center of the city with the goal of better land usage to support a high concentration of jobs and residents. Smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
principles and incentives generate residential, retail, and recreational development. The purpose is to transform deteriorating, low-density commercial corridors into mixed-use corridors, focused around transit-oriented development
Transit-oriented development
A transit-oriented development is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership...
. Cities have implemented plans to use intensification corridors functioning as boulevards
Boulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
aimed at being transit supportive and pedestrian friendly, and providing a focus for higher density mixed-use development. The success of transit oriented development along these corridors with subsequent increase in transit ridership has been well documented in neighborhoods such as Ballston and Rosslyn in Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County, Virginia
Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...
. Other cities, such as Portland Oregon, have implemented freeway removal policies to create intensification corridors. Much of this began in the freeway and expressway revolts
Freeway and expressway revolts
Many freeway revolts took place in developed countries during the 1960s and 1970s, in response to plans for the construction of new freeways, a significant number of which were abandoned or significantly scaled back due to widespread public opposition; especially of those whose neighborhoods would...
of the 1960s and 1970s.
Boulevards and urban design
Some cities have removed freeways and replaced them with boulevardsBoulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
. Cities such as Harbor Drive
Harbor Drive
Harbor Drive is the name of a street in Portland, Oregon, which was formerly a freeway that carried U.S. Route 99W along the western shore of the Willamette River in the downtown area...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Park East Freeway—which was replaced with McKinley Boulevard in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
—were successful freeway removal projects that reduced traffic, created economic development and allowed for the creation of new neighborhoods and commercial districts. These cities have experienced economic and environment success and become models for alternative urban planning.
Projects
Many other cities have plans or are discussing the removal of freeways in their policies for redevelopment such as:- Whitehurst Freeway in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, - Cleveland Memorial ShorewayCleveland Memorial ShorewayThe Cleveland Memorial Shoreway is a limited-access freeway in Cleveland, Ohio. It closely follows the shore of Lake Erie and connects the east and west sides of Cleveland via the Main Avenue Bridge. The Shoreway carries State Route 2 along its length, and also carries U.S. 6, U.S. 20 and I-90...
in Cleveland, OH, - Bonaventure Expressway in Montreal, Quebec, and
- Metropolitan Expressway in Tokyo, Japan.