Highways
Basics
Wider Highways Don’t Solve Congestion. So Why Are We Still Knocking Down Homes for Them?
Highway expansion projects certainly qualify as projects for public use. But do they deliver a public benefit that justifies taking private property?
May 2, 2024
The Biggest Wins — And Disappointments — From the ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Grants
"Until we overhaul our transportation system to redirect the majority of funding into community-oriented infrastructure investments, we will keep failing to meet our equity, climate, and maintenance goals."
March 22, 2024
Letter from Minneapolis: The Legacy of Highway Construction
Highways were convenient tools to rid the cities of perceived social ills, a mindset deeply embedded in white supremacy. Here's how it played out in two neighborhoods.
March 12, 2024
Can This Tiny Owl Defeat One of America’s Biggest Highway Projects?
This less-than-pint-sized bird plays a massive role in keeping the Sonoran desert in balance. Now, it could tackle its most fierce opponent yet: the American highway lobby.
January 8, 2024
Highway Boondoggles 2023: Habitat Devastation in the Hoosier State
Plans for a new 54-mile highway in southern Indiana threaten thousands of acres of forests, farmland and wildlife habitat. So why is Indiana forging ahead anyway?
November 30, 2023
Highway Boondoggles 2023: Is the BQE the Queen of All Boondoggles?
New York City is set to squander a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix a polluting and outdated highway.
November 29, 2023
Is Detroit ‘Reconnecting Communities,’ or Missing an Opportunity?
Detroit won a $100-million federal grant to study replacing a highway with a boulevard. Some say the plan doesn't go far enough.
November 3, 2023
The I-35 Expansion in Austin, Texas Shows Why States Should Never Control Their Own Environmental Review Process
A little-known loophole in federal law allows states like Texas to rubber-stamp their own environmental reviews — even when the projects they're reviewing are harmful highway boondoggles.
October 30, 2023
White Roads Through Black Bedrooms: How Urban Freeways Cemented Spatial Inequalities
Urban freeways are having a moment of serious reconsideration.
October 19, 2023
Who Gets Peace and Quiet?: Urban Noise in the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 stay-at-home advisories of 2020, the world quieted. As a community noise researcher, I felt the changes acutely.
October 18, 2023
