This is one of those brain benders that can make total sense (no road equals no cars equals no traffic) and none at all (no road equals cars diverted equals more traffic). Thankfully, our friends at Infrastructurist did some reporting to see how these experiments have actually panned out in a few places, complete with before and after pictures like the ones above, from Seoul.They look at roads eliminated in Portland, Oregon, Seoul, and San Francisco, and guess what? In all instances, the outcome was pretty great. Of course, they add that "this evidence doesn't suggest that all road expansions are unnecessary, or that all highways should be removed. ... But the lesson is clear: If a major road is making a city a less livable...everyone benefits when politicians have the vision and guts to tear it down."Amen!
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