Introduction

Our second policy topic is transportation. Transportation is inherently spatial, and of critical importance in Urban Geography. Because cities are characterized by segregated land uses, transportation is how we overcome the friction of distance and travel between those spatially separated land uses. How do we get from home to work and back? How do we get to shopping areas, to visit friends and relatives? To church or the doctor? How about school? Thinking more broadly, how do get from city to city? From downtown to the suburbs, or between suburbs. These latter answers likely involve highways. Our focus of this module is on highways and the long-lasting spatial implications of the Interstate Highway System.

Readings

We’ll start with a short overview of the interstate highway system. Then we’ll turn to an article that focuses on the implications of the highway system: How Interstate Highways Gutted Communities – and Reinforced Segregation. Finally, we’ll turn to a local example of the fight against freeways — this occurred in Shaker Heights: The Clark Freeway Fight Offered a Lesson on What it Takes to Protect a Neighborhood.