Design and Architecture
Bridges and Walls: The Future of Freeways
Los Angeles has fallen out of love with freeways. Or has it? Freeways were once liberating bridges between communities. Now they are polluting, rush-hour parking lots that form walls within LA.
By Frances Anderton • • 28m ListenBumper to bumper traffic on the westbound Santa Monica Freeway in 1970, four years after its opening. Courtesy of the Photo Collection, Los Angeles Public Library.
In this episode
4 storiesThe health impact of living near freeways
Studies have shown that living near freeways can lead to all sorts of negative health outcomes, from asthma and heart attacks to pre-term births and even autism. There’s actually a phrase used to describe freeway-adjacent housing: black lung lofts.
Read the story6 minFreeways used to symbolize freedom. Not anymore.
Freeways were originally conceived as part of a vision for a better tomorrow.
Read the story9 minA new freeway proposed for the High Desert
With all the complaints about traffic jams and the push for multimodal transit alternatives, you might think we’ve gotten past the era of building new freeways in Southern California.
Read the story8 minWhat will freeways look like in the future?
Is the High Desert Corridor the last gasp for freeways? Or will they always be part of our lives?
Read the story5 min
