Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007. === Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-136). === The United States Interstate Highway System transformed the nation's cities and countryside, accelerating suburbanization and leading to u...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Napolitan, Francesca
Other Authors: P. Christopher Zegras.
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40128
id ndltd-MIT-oai-dspace.mit.edu-1721.1-40128
record_format oai_dc
spelling ndltd-MIT-oai-dspace.mit.edu-1721.1-401282019-05-02T15:48:02Z Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States Napolitan, Francesca P. Christopher Zegras. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-136). The United States Interstate Highway System transformed the nation's cities and countryside, accelerating suburbanization and leading to unprecedented levels of motorized mobility. While the interstate highways brought undeniable benefits, they also imparted social, environmental and aesthetic costs. Growing opposition to the paving of cities in the name of improved mobility resulted in a "freeway revolt" movement. Much of the original interstate infrastructure built in the 1950s and 1960s is reaching or is past the end of its useful life - requiring large investments for rehabilitation. At the same time, the freeway revolt has evolved into a more widespread movement, underlined by values such as sustainability. Thus, the vigorous debate over the future of urban highways and mobility continues. This thesis examines this future from the perspective of a fairly recent phenomenon: urban freeway removal. By examining three different cases where urban freeway removal was a seriously considered option - two where the freeway was removed and replaced with a lower capacity at-grade boulevard (Park East Freeway, Milwaukee and Central Freeway, San Francisco) and one where the freeway ultimately was not removed (Whitehurst Freeway, Washington D.C.) this thesis works toward a theory of highway removal. (cont.) The analysis suggests that freeway removal will only take place when: (1) the one precondition is met: the condition of the freeway must be such, that there is concern over its integrity and structural safety, (2) a window of opportunity exists; the window may the precondition itself or another event that enables a freeway removal alternative to gain serious consideration and legitimacy, (3) the value of mobility must be lower than other objectives such as economic development, quality of life, etc., and (4) those in power must value other benefits more than they value the benefits associated with freeway infrastructure for the alternative of freeway removal to be selected over other alternatives. by Francesca Napolitan. M.C.P. 2008-02-04T20:49:20Z 2008-02-04T20:49:20Z 2007 2007 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40128 187304066 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 136 p. application/pdf n-us--- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
collection NDLTD
language English
format Others
sources NDLTD
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Napolitan, Francesca
Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
description Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2007. === Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-136). === The United States Interstate Highway System transformed the nation's cities and countryside, accelerating suburbanization and leading to unprecedented levels of motorized mobility. While the interstate highways brought undeniable benefits, they also imparted social, environmental and aesthetic costs. Growing opposition to the paving of cities in the name of improved mobility resulted in a "freeway revolt" movement. Much of the original interstate infrastructure built in the 1950s and 1960s is reaching or is past the end of its useful life - requiring large investments for rehabilitation. At the same time, the freeway revolt has evolved into a more widespread movement, underlined by values such as sustainability. Thus, the vigorous debate over the future of urban highways and mobility continues. This thesis examines this future from the perspective of a fairly recent phenomenon: urban freeway removal. By examining three different cases where urban freeway removal was a seriously considered option - two where the freeway was removed and replaced with a lower capacity at-grade boulevard (Park East Freeway, Milwaukee and Central Freeway, San Francisco) and one where the freeway ultimately was not removed (Whitehurst Freeway, Washington D.C.) this thesis works toward a theory of highway removal. === (cont.) The analysis suggests that freeway removal will only take place when: (1) the one precondition is met: the condition of the freeway must be such, that there is concern over its integrity and structural safety, (2) a window of opportunity exists; the window may the precondition itself or another event that enables a freeway removal alternative to gain serious consideration and legitimacy, (3) the value of mobility must be lower than other objectives such as economic development, quality of life, etc., and (4) those in power must value other benefits more than they value the benefits associated with freeway infrastructure for the alternative of freeway removal to be selected over other alternatives. === by Francesca Napolitan. === M.C.P.
author2 P. Christopher Zegras.
author_facet P. Christopher Zegras.
Napolitan, Francesca
author Napolitan, Francesca
author_sort Napolitan, Francesca
title Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
title_short Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
title_full Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
title_fullStr Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the United States
title_sort shifting urban priorities : the removal of inner city freeways in the united states
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology
publishDate 2008
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40128
work_keys_str_mv AT napolitanfrancesca shiftingurbanprioritiestheremovalofinnercityfreewaysintheunitedstates
_version_ 1719028353160183808