Urban Planning

Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts exploring the long-term effects the COVID-19 crisis will have on the American city. Once we get through this, cities as we know them will be changed forever. 

American cities are caught in a cycle that goes something like this: Expand roads to mitigate gridlock, which encourages more people to drive, which produces more congestion, which is addressed by expanding roads, which encourages more people to drive and on it goes. According to a new report, the continual expansion of roads only treats a symptom — congestion — and not the disease — sprawl.

But what if we’re focusing on the wrong thing?

Near Northside residents’ perception of safety and the quality of streets and sidewalks are assessed in a pair of new reports from the Kinder Institute. The findings show subpar infrastructure and fears of crime and cars are endangering many in the neighborhood.