How highways wrecked American cities

Summary

The video explores the impact of highway construction in U.S. cities after World War II, highlighting how highways disrupted urban neighborhoods, particularly those with minority residents. Spearheaded by auto industry interests, the highways were designed to promote car travel and connect cities. However, their construction demolished communities and altered urban life. Wealthier neighborhoods often avoided highway routes due to organized protests, while poorer areas faced destruction. The Federal Highway Act of 1956, influenced by Eisenhower's experiences, further pushed this vision, shaping American cities and transportation systems around the car.

Takeaways

• 🚗 Highways have become integral to American cities, but their construction after World War 2 caused significant disruption.
• 🛣️ Highways revolutionized transportation, especially for goods, but they also isolated and demolished urban neighborhoods.
• 🌆 The rise of highways encouraged suburbanization, enabling wealthier citizens to leave cities and increased air pollution and traffic noise.
• 🚙 Urban life was redesigned around cars, with 85% of Americans driving to work daily.
• 🏢 The auto industry, particularly General Motors, heavily influenced highway design, promoting a vision that cut through cities.
• 📜 The Federal Highway Act of 1956 funded the national highway system, with 90% of the funding coming from the federal government.
• 🚧 Highways were often built through minority neighborhoods, displacing residents under the guise of removing 'blight.'
• ⚖️ Wealthier neighborhoods successfully resisted highway construction, unlike poorer, minority neighborhoods that lacked political influence.
• 🏙️ Highways helped white Americans move to suburbs, leaving cities and returning only for work.
• 🛤️ Eisenhower's support for highways was influenced by his experiences in Germany during World War 2 and a cross-country road trip in 1919, where poor roads delayed travel.

Q & A

Why were highways disruptive to American cities?

Highways demolished and isolated entire neighborhoods, increased air pollution and traffic noise, and redesigned urban life around cars, leading to 85% of Americans driving to work daily.

What role did the National Highway Users Conference play in highway construction?

The National Highway Users Conference, formed by auto interests like General Motors and AAA, lobbied for taxes that funded highway construction, pushing for designs that supported more cars and less congestion.

What was the significance of the 'Futurama' exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair?

The 'Futurama' exhibit presented a vision of highways running through cities, connecting them while reducing congestion, which influenced the future design of the national highway system.

What was the 'Yellow Book' and its role in highway construction?

The 'Yellow Book,' created by the Department of Commerce in 1955, outlined the routes of the interstates funded under the 1956 Federal Highway Act, including highways cutting through the downtowns of many cities.

Why were urban planners not involved in early highway planning?

Urban planners were largely excluded from highway planning because the profession was still emerging, and at the time, there was little value placed on preserving neighborhoods or maintaining urban integrity.

Why did local municipalities support building highways through cities?

Local municipalities were eager to build highways because 90% of the funding came from the federal government, with only 10% from the states, making it financially attractive.

How did highways contribute to racial segregation in American cities?

Highways facilitated white flight to suburbs and targeted demolitions of African American neighborhoods, labeling them as 'blight,' which led to the displacement of minority residents.

What happened to neighborhoods like Black Bottom and Paradise Valley in Detroit?

These once-thriving African American neighborhoods were demolished to make way for highways, and today, much of the area is empty, highlighting the lasting impact of urban highway construction.

How did wealthy neighborhoods avoid highway construction?

Wealthy neighborhoods, like northwest DC and Greenwich Village in Manhattan, avoided highway construction by organizing and protesting, something poorer neighborhoods lacked the political capital to do.

Why was Eisenhower such a strong supporter of highways?

Eisenhower’s support for highways was influenced by his time in Germany during WWII, where he saw the importance of efficient road systems, and by a 1919 road trip across the US that took 62 days due to poor road conditions.