The declining interest in driving and the increasing desire for walkable mixed-use neighborhoods has boosted land and property values in downtowns, where it’s difficult to integrate new construction into existing development. The success of these neighborhoods is causing an increasing number of cities to ponder the idea of taking down their innercity freeways. Milwaukee, Portland and San Francisco have all taken down innercity freeways, the U.S. Department of Transportation has funded freeway teardown studies in New Orleans, New York City and New Haven, and a dozen other cities are also considering demolitions. The Urban Land Institute, a national nonprofit representing the interests of developers, called a freeway teardown in Providence, Rhode Island, which freed up 40 acres of land for development, “the best economic development opportunity in the state.”

In this link national columnists Neil Peirce writes about the "freeway free" future discussions at the Rockefeller Foundation's conference in Bellagio, Italy.

Read Neil Peirce here.