Changing lanes: visions and histories of urban freeways PDF
Preview Changing lanes: visions and histories of urban freeways
Changing Lanes Urban and Industrial Environments Series editor: Robert Gottlieb, Henry R. Luce Professor of Urban and En- vironmental Policy, Occidental College For a complete list of books published in this series, please see the back of the book. Changing Lanes Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways Joseph F. C. DiMento and Cliff Ellis The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and re- trieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales pro- motional use. For information, please email [email protected] or write to Spe- cial Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. This book was set in Sabon by the MIT Press. Printed on recycled paper and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data DiMento, Joseph F. Changing lanes : visions and histories of urban freeways / Joseph F. C. DiMento and Cliff Ellis. p. cm. — (Urban and industrial environments) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-01858-6 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Express highways—United States—History. 2. Express highways—Government poli- cy—United States—History. I. Ellis, Cliff, 1951– II. Title. HE355.3.E94D56 2013 388.1'220973091732—dc23 2012022866 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Preface vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi 1 Urban Freeways and America’s Changing Cities 1 2 The 1930s: Forays into the Urban Realm 23 3 Urban Freeways and National Policy, 1939–1945 45 4 Postwar Urban Freeways: Scaling Up for a City on Wheels, 1946–1956 73 5 Changing Visions and Regulations for Highway Planning 103 6 Urban Freeway Tales: Three Cities among Dozens 143 7 Conclusion and Epilogue: Urban Highways and the American City 209 Notes 231 Bibliography 283 Index 347 Preface When we began writing this book, we found it motivating to discuss our concepts with a widely varied spectrum of potential readers. Somewhat surprisingly, we found nearly everyone with whom we spoke expressed more than a passing interest in the subject matter and seemed to find the topic of urban highway development in the United States intriguing and engaging. At least one reason for their interest became readily apparent: Almost without exception, each person had a tale to tell about how a particular urban highway had affected his or her life or the lives of people they knew or cared for. Some people had praise for the highways they frequented. They en- joyed the ability to travel from one place to another rapidly and effi- ciently (except, they would usually add, during rush hour). Their lives had, they believed, not been negatively affected in any way. The majority, however, had a different story to tell, one that often involved some de- gree of frustration, anger, and loss or, at minimum, curiosity about the choices made by highway developers who had put “that highway/on or off ramp/overpass/bridge right near/over/around/through my city/town/ community.” Many with whom we spoke had questions that, to their knowledge, had never even been addressed, let alone satisfactorily answered: Why did they put the road through my parents’ house . . . my cousin’s store . . . my sister’s kids’ playground . . . the middle of our city? Why was it built through the poor part of town . . . or the place in our town where those great old houses were? Why did they choose those specific loca- tions? Why are the roads so gigantic? Why didn’t they put the highway somewhere else? How did they arrive at those decisions? For that matter, who are “they”? This volume does not purport to provide specific answers to the questions posed by those people. It does, however, aim to present a viii Preface comprehensive analysis of the varying contexts in which urban highway decisions were made over the years, the shifting understandings, per- spectives, and methodologies that underpinned those decisions, and the changing social, economic, and legal structures that informed, abetted, or constrained the decision-making process. In so doing, we aspire to en- able our readers to develop a broad-based, generalized understanding of a complex topic—one that has had a tremendously important role to play in shaping communities, and lives, across our nation. Acknowledgments This work would not have come together without the contributions of many generous colleagues. Indispensable were the research, editing, and organizing skills of Dr. Suzanne Levesque, whose professionalism in each area is distinguished. For research assistance and contributions, we wish to thank the Onon- daga Historical Association and research librarians on the main campus and at the Law School of UCI, with special mention of Jeremy Hufton. Jennifer Folz of Clemson University performed admirably as a research assistant during the final phases of the project. Gregg Tripoli and Dennis Connors at OHA were immensely generous with valuable historical insights and encouragement, as were Ms. Karen Cooney and former OHA Archivist Mike Flanagan. Portions of this study were produced as part of a doctoral disserta- tion, completed in 1990, in the Department of City and Regional Plan- ning at the University of California at Berkeley. The support and critical commentary of Roger Montgomery, Judith Innes, Paul Groth, and Chris- tine Rosen were crucial for the completion of this research. Judith Innes deserves special thanks for her many years of encouragement and wise counsel. Access to the exceptional resources contained in the Institute of Trans- portation Studies Library at UC-Berkeley was also crucial. Invaluable as- sistance was provided by Elizabeth Byrne and the staff of Berkeley’s Envi- ronmental Design Library. The section on Norman Bel Geddes was based on research conducted at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Kathy Edwards and Gypsey Teague of the Gunnin Archi- tecture Library at Clemson University also provided valuable assistance in locating important books and articles. Over the years Dr. Drusilla van Hengel and Mr. Dean Hestermann did critical primary research work that is background to the I-105 case study.
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