Walking along the Providence River is a favorite pastime of many Brown University students. Gazing out from the Pedestrian Bridge, they can easily imagine that the city has always been like this. However, as recently as 15 years ago, the waterfront looked entirely different. Highway I-195, which connects I-95 to the city, used to loom over the river in the heart of the Jewelry District, making a walk by the water dark and unpleasant. This stretch of highway has since been relocated south of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, opening up waterfront areas on both sides of the Providence River. While this change may appear to be entirely beneficial, it has some problematic implications as well. Communities that were ravaged to build these highways are not being prioritized in the redevelopment process, and the areas previously occupied by highways are being rapidly gentrified. The practice of moving a highway isn’t unique to Providence; in cities across New England, governments are choosing to relocate swaths of highways in order to reconnect neighborhoods and open up previously unusable land. While these projects can have positive impacts, it is essential to consider the ways in which their consequences have haunted displaced communities for decades.
To understand the current landscape of highways in American cities, one must return to the era in which these roads were built. In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act into law, authorizing $25 billion in federal funds to be dispersed for the construction of 41,000 miles of highway across the United States and ultimately creating the Interstate Highway System. Highways were built at an incredible pace, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast. Mostly unacknowledged in this story of American infrastructure triumph, however, are the neighborhoods that were bulldozed to make room for these new high-speed connectors. In the name of urban renewal and ridding cities of urban blight, highways were routed directly through multi-ethnic neighborhoods that were deemed undesirable. Entire communities were forcibly displaced so that freeways, designed to enable wealthy suburbanites to speed into city centers, could be built. The select neighborhoods that managed to escape such destruction were cut off from the rest of the city, making them less safe and less connected.
Today, some city officials are seeking to correct past wrongs by moving or removing highways that once destroyed entire communities. In New Haven, Connecticut, a project called Downtown Crossing is getting rid of a highway spur that displaced almost 900 households and 350 businesses. In an effort to amend previous harms to local residents and the local economy, this project will reconnect two neighborhoods, upgrade pedestrian and bicycle lanes, create new public plazas, reclaim 10 acres of undeveloped land, and improve the city’s stormwater management systems. Across the country, cities such as Rochester, New York; Flint, Michigan; and New Orleans, Louisiana are reimagining their highways to create more walkable neighborhoods, reduce air and noise pollution, and reclaim developable land. These projects have been rather successful with their goals. Still, the utilization of recovered land has disappointed many residents who would prefer to see community spaces prioritized over luxury buildings. This is a textbook example of gentrification, with land previously occupied by diverse communities being sold to developers who are building expensive apartments and office spaces to attract wealthier residents. While it is commendable that cities are trying to make up for past mistakes, they must be careful not to create new problems that further damage the character and culture of the city.
The abundance of land made available by highway removal has led to a scramble in property buying and a construction boom for primarily high-end developers. Of course, this varies by city, with some municipalities prioritizing public amenities such as parks and bike lanes. Nonetheless, the benefits seem to be accruing mostly for the wealthy and powerful. In Providence, much of the reclaimed land has been purchased by universities, including Brown, or developed into luxury apartments, hotels, and office buildings. This practice makes sense, as universities are often looking to expand their campuses and developers are looking for lucrative, safe investment opportunities. Cities tend to be interested in generating new jobs, expanding their tax base, and becoming more attractive places to live and work. Yet given the disproportionate impact that the initial construction of these highways had on lower-income, primarily non-white communities, city officials should seek to include those individuals in their revitalization effort.
There are several solutions that would more fully address the harm that highway construction has done to marginalized communities. One such solution would be to build more affordable public housing. The neighborhoods bulldozed by highway construction were often vibrant communities with distinct cultures. Their destruction brought about an abrupt end to these cultural ecosystems, but building housing that would be within the price range of former residents would begin to repair the damage. Another option for city officials to consider would be to prioritize community spaces such as parks, gardens, museums, and other public amenities. Unfortunately, they have not done so thus far. While New Haven’s Downtown Crossing has indicated its commitment to prioritizing rebuilding communities damaged by highway construction, including commissioning a public art installation on Union Avenue, far more can be done to include the voices of former residents in promoting sustainable, community-based development.
Highway building and removal is cyclical. Even as some cities move or remove their highways with a mixed focus on giving back to the communities that were most harmed, other cities continue to widen and build highways in areas that are disproportionately occupied by people of color. In North Charleston, South Carolina, a new $3 billion highway project will sweep aside dozens of homes occupied primarily by Black and brown individuals. This disheartening but unsurprising development epitomizes the importance of this issue: Highways that destroy communities are not just a thing of the past. As land reclamation efforts seek to repair damage, those who have been most affected must be centered in redevelopment efforts. Highways have revolutionized the American experience, but they have also destroyed communities and livelihoods. As Brown students continue to occupy areas that are part of this history, such as the Jewelry District in Providence, we must critically examine who previously utilized these spaces and question how they are being redeveloped in the present, for better and for worse.