| Popis: |
Freeways in the U.S. are enormously consequential. Research on them finds they have contributed significantly to economic efficiency and growth, improved goods movement, and increased traffic safety. In metropolitan areas they connect center cities with suburban living favored by many. On the other hand, the economic benefits of additional freeway investment are diminishing and they generate substantial emissions and noise, to the detriment of public health. These negative effects are especially problematic in cities, where freeways disproportionately cut through poor, Black, and Latino neighborhoods. The state of metropolitan transportation planning in the U.S. today is not so different from a century ago. The geopolitics of transportation finance remain firmly established at all levels of government. The emphasis on flashy transportation capital investments over operations and maintenance spending shows little sign of abating. The transportation policy challenges today are many. The balance between federal and local control has swung back toward the latter, to the detriment of, for example, effective goods movement planning. The inequities inherent in transportation decision-making are myriad and need to be more comprehensive addressed. Public participation is often not representative and tends to stop all manner of projects. Looking ahead, electric vehicles are likely to substantially reduce emissions, benefitting both the climate and public health. Post-pandemic working and shopping from home are fundamentally changing travel patterns. Less likely are the imminent arrival of automated vehicles and whether we will even summon the political will to finally tame congestion in metropolitan areas. But whatever the future holds for transportation, we will have to reckon with urban freeways for decades to come. |
