Highway Removal

Some of the most well-known highway removals in America -- like New York City's Miller Highway and San Francisco's Embarcadero Freeway -- have actually been unpredictable highway collapses brought on by structural deficiencies or natural disasters. It turns out there are good reasons for not rebuilding these urban highways once they become rubble: They drain the life from the neighborhoods around them, they suck wealth and value out of city, and they don't even move traffic that well during rush hour.

Now several cities are pursuing highway removals more intentionally, as a way to reclaim city space for housing, parks, and economic development. CNU has designated ten "Freeways without Futures" here in North America, and in this video, you'll hear about the benefits of tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle, the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx, the Skyway and Route 5 in Buffalo, and the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans.

Valencia has been creating bigger and bigger roads on it peripheries. Avenida Cortes de Valencia has a ridiculous amount of traffic lanes (14!) which has a very dehumanizing effect on the surrounding area. These big thoroughfares cut the city into pieces instead of joining neighborhoods together. The recently remodeled Gran Via Germanias acts like the Berlin Wall and separates the downtown area and Ruzafa. Fewer roads and slower traffic are better for the people and for the city.