'Freeway fighters' want to remove urban highways and reclaim cities for people, not cars

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published June 26, 2025 at 10:49 AM CDT

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

Interstates 10 and 110 stand next to the Los Angeles Convention Center, bottom left, in Los Angeles. (Damian Dovarganes)

America’s Interstate Highway System cut through the hearts of many downtowns when it was built in the 1950s and 1960s, leaving a legacy of inequality and urban impoverishment.

Today, a new generation of “freeway fighters” wants to reclaim that land for transit and walkable neighborhoods.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with Megan Kimble, author of “City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America’s Highways.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.