End Highway Expansion - Top Content

Book: Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town, by Charles Marohn

"Why Does the U.S. Destroy Its Cities for Highways?" (Video)

What would you do if you created your forever home, and then the government decided to run a highway right through your living room?

"We Keep Losing The Battle Against Traffic. Is This Inevitable?" (Video)

Traffic sucks... the solution might not be what you think though.

"Just Say No"

If you want to be a Strong Town, your community must redirect its energy to things that will make it financially better off and more prosperous.

"#NoNewRoads Gains Traction in DC"

Until America gets its infrastructure priorities straight, the last thing we need is to pump more spending into a broken system. 2019 felt like a breakthrough year for our call for #NoNewRoads, one in which we had more influential allies and receptive ears on this point than ever before.

"A Better Use of Federal Infrastructure Spending" (Podcast)

Federal politicians are paving the way for a massive infrastructure spending bill meant to stimulate the economy. Two engineering professors talk about why that approach hasn’t worked in the past, and whyrealeconomic stimulus must include #NoNewRoads.

"Still Pursuing Classic Approaches. Still Going Nowhere."

While new transportation funding is needed, more money without significant reform is worse than no funding at all. We need to continue to oppose all of these funding efforts until serious reform is on the table.

"2 Reasons Why the American Approach to Congestion is Totally Wrong"

Congestion isn’t a problem and road expansion isn’t a solution.

"5 Reasons Why We Should End Highway Expansion"

We have to end highway expansion and focus on projects that actually build wealth in our cities. If you’re not convinced, then read on.

"Why Urban Freeway Expansion Is Futile"

The models used by highway engineers to analyze traffic congestion are woefully inaccurate and result in the creation of lanes and roads we don't need.

How to Remove a Highway

This video by City Beautiful profiles some highways that have been filled in during recent years. City Beautiful also points out how certain factors make it easier to take down highways and turn them into more productive, right-sized roadways. 

"The Traffic Model Deceit: How Highway Agencies Manipulate Data To Justify Wasteful Expansion"

This article exposes how the current traffic modeling system, manipulated by a self-interested highway-industrial complex, justifies endless highway expansion regardless of actual benefits. It argues for radical transparency in the modeling process, emphasizing the need for peer review and public scrutiny. The piece calls for broader metrics of success beyond just moving more cars, advocating for urban planning that fosters better cities without wider highways.

"Megan Kimble: The Toll Urban Highways Take and the People Fighting Back"

Megan Kimble, journalist and author of “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways,” joins the Strong Towns Podcast to talk about highway expansion in Texas and the groups fighting to stop it.

"The Phantom Freeway that Won't Stop Haunting Alabama"

For decades, Alabamians were haunted by an idea, forced to embrace the alleged benefits of a road they might not live to see. Now, a several-hundred-million-dollar, 1.3-mile-long monument to the tenacity of Shelby and a handful of political actors rots where forests once dominated.

"America *Must* End Highway Expansions Before It's Too Late"

Until we have a credible plan for maintaining our existing transportation infrastructure, we must stop building more roads and bridges. Period.

The Traffic Model Deceit: How Highway Agencies Manipulate Data To Justify Wasteful Expansion

For decades, state and federal highway agencies have justified massive projects with traffic forecast models. But a closer look reveals a troubling pattern of exaggeration, manipulation and outright falsification in these models.

"Is Your City Stopping Highway Expansion? This Press Template Can Help."

And whatever you do, don’t repeat Canada’s mistake.