The current path of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), at least the portion in Brooklyn Heights, was built out of compromise. Today, as the aging highway crumbles, New York City needs to decide if there’s a better way forward. The roads, parks, bridges, and housing he constructed that reshaped New York City and Long Island to serve the public resulted in the displacement of thousands of families, destruction of tight-knit neighborhoods, and overall were built at the expense of innumerable people and communities of color. The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) represents the paradox of famed highway builder Robert Moses’ legacy. Support for changing these highways-to invest in new transportation infrastructure that meets multiple community goals-is widespread.Īs debates at the federal level consider infrastructure as a cornerstone for recovery from COVID-19 and Americans are evaluating how to address systematic racism, where do urban highways and their legacy fit? Will we reinvest in and rebuild these structures, continue to support highway expansion, and solidify the physical barriers that separate and destroy? Or can we envision a reparative infrastructure program that reknits communities, addresses the damage these highways have caused, and increases access to opportunities for legacy residents? Media inquiries: Contact Ben Crowther. Straightforward solutions exist to deal with the volume of traffic they carry. Many are poorly maintained and have become liabilities instead of assets. The people who live around them know that they are problematic. The 15 highways featured in this report are prime for a transformation. But it also highlights the resilience of neighborhood residents, local government officials, and activists fighting to remove these blighting highways and reconnect their communities. With cities, citizens, and transportation officials all looking for alternatives to costly highway repair and expansion, these fifteen campaigns offer a roadmap to better health, equity, opportunity, and connectivity in every neighborhood, while reversing decades of decline and disinvestment.įreeways Without Futures 2021 tells the story of some of the worst highways in America the ones that have left a terrible legacy and incredible hurdles for the people who live around them. Communities across North America are facing a watershed moment in the history of our transportation infrastructure.
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