How cities are tearing down urban highways to reconnect neighborhoods, restore ecological corridors, and reimagine what these corridors can become.
essayI get lost in Madrid most easily underground. At street level the city is still negotiable—but in the tunnels everything becomes a geometry exercise with too many variables. Then the city quietly changed the rules.
essayIn 1966, bulldozers tore through Tremé's oak-lined streets to build a highway. Sixty years later, New Orleans is learning that some wounds require more than time to heal—they require removal.
essayIn 2017, Rochester became the first American city to voluntarily remove a functioning highway loop. The experiment in urban subtraction offers lessons for cities nationwide.
essayLong before other cities discovered highway removal, Portland tore down Harbor Drive to create a waterfront park. The 1974 decision launched a movement that continues reshaping American cities today.
Exploring the sweet spot of urban density—mid-rise buildings, gentle intensification, and housing forms that balance livability with sustainability.
The evolving relationship between cities and water—from flood control to drought resilience, from buried streams to daylit rivers.