A new Senate bill includes $10 billion for cities that are considering removing urban freeways that could undo damage these projects inflicted on vulnerable communities decades ago.
Critics say these urban highway projects, often including sections of elevated roadways, were forced upon neighborhoods that lacked political clout during construction of the Interstate Highway System. Many of these roadway projects razed swaths of downtowns and waterfronts often inhabited by minority and low-income people.
The bill provides $10 billion to potentially alter or remove these roadways. It would also help pay for plans to redevelop strips of land reclaimed from their removal.
The concept was demonstrated when San Francisco’s Embarcadero Freeway was removed in 1991 after heavy damage resulting from a 1989 earthquake. That project freed 100 acres of waterfront property for development. Another more recent example is in Rochester, New York, where a segment of a sunken expressway that encircles the city’s downtown was removed, and the city is now considering removal of the rest of the loop.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Oct 6, 2021
Intl. Code Council publishes EV and building codes resource
Assists communities in setting policies for electric vehicle charging requirements.
Codes and Standards | Oct 5, 2021
Feds award $1 billion to renovate health centers
Funds will modernize existing infrastructure and cover other COVID-19-related capital needs.
Codes and Standards | Oct 4, 2021
Boston City Council approves mandate for major emissions cuts for large buildings
Applies to buildings 20,000 sf or larger—about 4% of city’s buildings.
Codes and Standards | Oct 4, 2021
HPD Collaborative and Green Seal to align standards
Will result in expanded options for manufacturers to enhance sustainability reporting and certifications.
Codes and Standards | Sep 30, 2021
U.S. has a deficit of 5 million homes
Builders unable to keep pace with demand.
Codes and Standards | Sep 29, 2021
Mass Timber group study will compare structural round timber to glulam products and steel
Will compare costs, capabilities, and carbon impacts of structural materials.
Codes and Standards | Sep 28, 2021
Massachusetts creates Commission on Clean Heat
First-of-its kind body to set targets for buildings to reduce emissions from heating fuels.
Codes and Standards | Sep 27, 2021
Commercial real estate industry faces SEC climate disclosure regulations
Risks associated with climate change would have to be revealed.
Codes and Standards | Sep 22, 2021
Group proposes Carbon Use Intensity metric for new buildings
Plan would track embedded carbon on projects.
Codes and Standards | Sep 22, 2021
Illinois’s sweeping climate bill includes statewide stretch code, building electrification measures
Aims for zero-emissions power sector by 2045.