How Inner City Highways Bankrupt Downtowns And How We Rebuild
About this episode
Patrick Kennedy discusses the economic impacts of inner city highways and the potential benefits of their removal.
When planner Patrick Kennedy started asking why prime land near downtown Dallas was filled with parking lots and boarded‑up buildings, the trail led straight to an elevated freeway: I‑345. He explains how making a hard economic case for removal—showing that taking the highway out could deliver the highest return on investment with minimal traffic impacts—grew into the Atlas of Inner City Highway Impacts, a data‑driven look at 142 U.S. cities. Kennedy details how inner‑city highways consume acres of valuable land, depress nearby property values, and either clog up all day in thriving metros or cut through struggling ones at full speed, while federal funding formulas and induced demand keep pushing us toward more lanes. Additional Show Notes Patrick Kennedy (LinkedIn) The Human Ecosystem (Site) Atlas of Inner-City Highway Impacts (PDF) "Adding Up What Urban Highways Really Cost", by Benjamin Schneider (Article) Chuck Marohn (Substack) This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
People in this episode
Host: Chuck Marohn
Guest: Patrick Kennedy
Topics covered
- urban planning
- highway impacts
- economic development
- property values
- infrastructure
- city revitalization
Keywords
- inner city highways
- urban development
- economic case
- property value
- traffic impacts
- federal funding
- land use
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Strong Towns
Books & works: Atlas of Inner-City Highway Impacts
Places: Dallas
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- Why Infrastructure Maintenance Might Be The Real Megaproject
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