REDUCING URBAN BLIGHT: A RECONNAISSANCE OF CURRENT HIGHWAY EXPERIENCES

An exploratory study of highway improvements and the mitigation of adjacent urban blight in central business districts, undertaken as background for a more extensive study mandated by Congress in 1978, is described. Some 73 cities had undertaken or were undertaking a total of 80 highway-related projects to mitigate blight, but only material from 36 projects was complete enough to analyze further. The majority of the cited causes of blight stem from characteristics of the area where the highway is located rather than from characteristics of the highway itself. A wide variety of measures to overcome blight have been implemented or proposed, including (a) coordination of highway projects with urban renewal plans and the construction of community facilities, (b) construction of expressways and parking facilities, and (c) transportation system management measures, automobile-restricted zones, and construction of pedestrian or bicycle facilities. Specific cause-effect relations could not be determined, but causes of blight and associated mitigative measures are identified. The extensive use of highway projects in combination with urban renewal measures suggests that institutional and procedural problems are significant issues. The results of the preliminary analysis have provided a basis for a more detailed field analysis of eight case-study cities, which will be incorporated in a report to Congress that is due in November 1980. (Author)

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1980/747/747-010.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=REDUCING+URBAN+BLIGHT%3A+A+RECONNAISSANCE+OF+CURRENT+HIGHWAY+EXPERIENCES&author=A.+Politano&author=F.+Mills&publication_year=1980
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Transportation and Land Development. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Politano, Arthur
  • Mills, Florence
• Conference:
  • 59th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1980-1-21 to 1980-1-25
• Publication Date: 1980

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 49-54
• Monograph Title: Economic and social aspects of transportation
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 747
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bikeways; Central business districts; Coordination; Highways; Improvements; Pedestrian areas; Transportation system management; Urban development; Urban renewal; Walkways
• Old TRIS Terms: Blight
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Society; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00319384
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309030560
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 27 1980 12:00AM