The decision to build freeways instead of rail in the post-war years, along with the low-rise single-zoned suburbs it promoted, has been an absolute planning disaster.
But the mistake can be fixed, and freeways can be removed.
City Beautiful's Dave Amos @citybeautiful has an interesting look at some of America's endangered freeways, and how communities can get them removed:
#Caltrans folks are mostly very nice, but the extent to which they continue to widen #freeways is extraordinary, especially considering the effect #driving has on #climatechange, and the degree to which it overwhelms open space in the communities that they pass through. The area mentioned in this article has perfectly good Amtrak right through it, and I bet they could use a little more funding.
Where I live, they are really hankering to widen and straighten a highway through an ancient creek canyon that has a rich native riparian ecosystem, which only recently has had salmon restored.
And if we don't encourage people to return to offices, maybe we don't need that freeway space. Maybe people need to sit in traffic, I don't know. I just think this is misguided, trying to pile freeway lane on top of freeway lane until we are all asphalt and concrete. https://sfba.social/@crozilla/111241081693514496
Why #nighttime#heat can be so dangerous and why it’s getting worse
On average, nights are warming faster than days in most of the United States, a national climate assessment found.
By Rachel Ramirez, CNN, Jun 30, 2023
"Summers are getting hotter than ever, shattering all-time high temperature records, straining the energy grid and damaging critical infrastructure.
"#HeatWaves also are coming to include another increasingly dangerous element: overnight temperatures that don’t cool down enough to offer sufficient reprieve from stifling heat, particularly for people without access to #AirConditioning.
“'Most people don’t realize that hot nighttime temperatures have been outpacing daytime temperature increases across most populated regions worldwide in recent decades,' Columbia University’s Data Science Institute postdoctoral research scientist Kelton Minor told CNN.
“'We think it’s because as the days grow warmer, there is more moisture in the air that traps the heat,' the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health’s executive director, Lisa Patel, told CNN. 'During the day, that moisture reflects the heat, but at night, it traps the heat in.'
#Increasing nighttime heat is even more common in #cities because of the #UrbanHeatIsland effect, in which #metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.
"Places with a lot of #asphalt, #concrete, buildings and #freeways absorb more of the sun’s heat than areas with ample #parks, #rivers and #tree-lined streets. At night, when temperatures are supposed to cool down, the retained heat is released back into the air, said University of Washington climate and health expert Kristie Ebi.
"Areas with a lot of #GreenSpace – with grass and trees that reflect sunlight and create shade – are cooler on summer’s hottest days, she said.
“'Many cities put together #CoolingShelters, but people have to know where they are, how to get to them and what hours they operate,' Ebi told CNN, noting city officials must rethink #UrbanPlanning to consider #ClimateChange."