Modifying the I‑375 Redesign: Responding to Community Concern
The I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project in downtown Detroit is on pause to address concerns about its scale and reparative efforts.
The I-375 Reconnecting Communities Project in downtown Detroit is on pause to address concerns about its scale and reparative efforts.
Philly's Chinatown has been divided by a sunken highway for the past three decades which has resulted in social and economic disconnects in its community. Despite this challenge, community leaders have gained public support for a change and have been granted funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program to reshape the transportation infrastructure for more beneficial use. The project will emphasize community input throughout the planning process.
Detroit's I-375 has received initial funding towards replacing the freeway with a boulevard to provide safer transportation and increased community support. The I-375 has had historical impacts on downtown Detroit with its construction in the 1950s and 1960s resulting in demolishing predominantly black communities. This proposal led by the State of Michigan and the City of Detroit aims to repair the community, but some have concerns if DEI issues will be effectively addressed.
The Jackson Square Redevelopment Initiative is a community led project to develop an abandoned piece of land with affordable housing and community resources in a minority and income impacted neighborhood in Boston, MA. The land Jackson Square resides on was demolished for an interstate that was never built in the 1970s. Today, the project is one of the largest , and most successful, community driven developments in the country.
High-speed railway is now gaining more and more popularity around the world but USA seems to fall behind China and Europe in this revolution. Lots of reasons like governmental structure and economic funding accounts for this lap. However, California maybe the first in USA to build a mature high-speed railway. This railway will not only bring convenience to people's outing, but also greatly reduce the pollution, alleviating air quality issue in CA, but behind the construction process, the road to the railway is not easy.
Big dig, or the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T) is a mega-project in Boston, Massachusetts and it’s considered one of the biggest civil engineering projects in USA. It consist of several project tasks, including the depression of Boston’s Central Artery (I-93) and the construction of a 3rd tunnel to Logan Airport under the Boston Harbor. It mainly aims to alleviate the pressure of I-93 traffic.
Syracuse's 1.4-mile stretch of the I-81, which is raised above the city and cuts through downtown, is posed for a new transition. While once displacing disadvantaged communities, officials have drafted plans to tear down the crumbling interstate and create a street-level grid to repair broken communities and create a revitalized urban core. The project is currently paused due to lawsuits from local groups questioning the impacts of such a decision and if it will really improve the area or cause more generational impacts.
In recent years, D.C. has added extensive bike paths to increase cycling safety and cycling options to allow children to bike to school to increase physical activity. Lack of physical activity is a concern in the D.C. school area that serves underrepresented communities whose students may not be able to participate in extracurricular sports. The addition of bike paths can help decrease air pollution and offer a chance to decrease child health inequities in the community.
Rochester, NY is surrounded by an Inner Loop of highway. This loop is not level with the surrounding buildings and streets. A portion of this loop was replaced with infill development to encourage downtown investment and connection between the two communities surrounding it. Actions taken after the initial removal were met with mixed interests.