Slate tale of 'Unbuilt Highways' resonates here
The online Slate magazine is running a fascinating article on the "Unbuilt Highways" that have left lasting marks on major cities in the United States and abroad.
Baltimore is not among the cities named in the article -- which include New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington and Seoul -- but it easily could have been included. There are certainly few other cities where roads that were planned but not built have had greater community impacts. You can look to the "Highway to Nowhere" as a visible reminder of the scars left on West Baltimore, while Fells Point and Canton stand are historical monuments to that which might have been lost had highway foes not rallied to their defense.
Comments
A good example of what Baltimore was saved from when the activists (including a young Barbara Mikulski) stopped the highway from going through Fells Point and Canton is evident in Philadelphia. The waterfront in Philly is bifurcated from the rest of the city by I-95, and the result is not a good thing.
Posted by: Hal Laurent | December 23, 2010 7:36 PM
Mike --
This topic is of increasing national attention, probably because so many of the elevated interstates are reaching the critical decision point: major rehab vs. tear-down. We did an interview earlier this week w/ Christian Science Monitor on the demolition of the "Highway to Nowhere."
Its time for a national plan to overcome these urban disasters. Cities can't do it on their own.
jamie
Posted by: Jamie Kendrick | December 24, 2010 4:00 PM