Transport and Urban Development in the USA

Transport and Urban Development in the USA

Constant developmental changes have been occurring in the USA since the 1950s and the 1960s. Significant cities and roads have been constructed. Various road projects have been implemented, while others have been opposed. This study explicitly focuses on the development of Boston, Massachusetts.

Inner Belt Crisis and alternative Project

The inner belt highway was a planned road that would have stretch six lanes and would have provided limited access of the highway services to the citizens of Boston. However, it was just a plan which was never implemented. This was due to various crises that occurred, which are commonly referred to as the “inner belt Crisis.” Various issues prevented the actualization of the plan. Business owners were not keen to relocate their businesses due to having identified with the area, there was noise which would mean building the high highway would cause even more noise levels, many residents of the communities opposed the plan as they thought the having the highway cut through their community would fragment their society and most residents would have to be relocated which they did not support. Cambridge officials offered an alternative route, which would be a three-track Grand Junction Branch road.

Comparison between Urban Renewal and Anti-highway Movements

The urban renewal, which occurred between the 1950s and 1960s, was a countrywide scheme that enabled the cities to re-innovate their towns. The main goal was to establish the towns that been rendered economically viable as they had lost significant parts of the middle-status residents to suburbs. The movement was about the clearing of the various poor housing and the establishment of higher-class housing. Unlike the highway movement, this scheme was the whole hearty supported. The Urban renewal movement led to the rise of the antihighway movement as there would be a significant distortion of the various economic setup and business of the middle-income families.

West End Transformation

West End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. To its south, is surrounded by the Cambridge street, the West is Charles River and to the Northwest is the Washington Street. In the 1950s, there was a transformation that occurred in the area.  During this demolishment and rebuilding, significant changes occurred, there was a more open space created through the abolishment of the close-packed neighborhoods. There was the setting up of high-class residential housing and the building of medical facilities. Finally, previous brick apartments and houses were replaced with superblocks, which were aligned with luxury high rises.

Use of Urban Renewal consequences by the Anti-highway Movement

The was a significant relocation of people done during the process of urban renewal. Individuals were practically moved to unfavorable settlements. Additionally, there was a significant distortion of the previous community set; the building of the cities led to the encroachment of the total of the society set up. Moreover, various businesses were affected through the razzing up of different neighborhoods in the community to create a space to build their different cities. Some of these examples were applied by the urban renewal movement to outline the multiple outcomes of city transformation. This led to the stopping of the inner belt high construction.

The creativeness of the West Corridor Project alternatives

The Southwest corridor was a scheme developed to build an eight-lane high through the city of Boston from the Southwest direction of the town. It was to be a link between the city and the Interstate. However, this project did not go through; instead, there was the development of The Southwest corridor Light Rail project as an alternative. The main creativeness of this project is that the level of traffic would be significantly reduced, and there would be a 30-minute linkup between the interstate and the downtown port.

Role of Participatory democracy in West Corridor construction

Participatory democracy is a policy that emphasizes that there should be the participation of all people in the constituencies towards making important decisions that lead to the development of their residential community. This theory was much used towards the building of the Southwest corridor as it created an opportunity for the members of the community to give their meaningful thoughts and contributions. This information was later used to make policies that guided the implementation and development of the Southwest corridor. Moreover, there would be a broader perspective presented to the various ideas presented, and they enabled the build the corridor in a manner that would not inconvenience any individual in the community.

Impact of Vision 2030 on Participatory democracy

One of the original visions of the 2030 project vision is to have a better innovation of digital technologies. This will aid in reducing social inequalities through the effective communication methods developed. Rapid technological growth will assist in the vast development of fast, reliable, and effective communication mediums. This will enable the creation of a relationship between the citizens and the government through effective communication.

Moreover, there will be more openness and a profound transformation of society. Through the many shits in power expected to occur in the different ranches of the government, there is an expected alteration of citizen participation in major decisions. There will be a trust development between these political systems and the citizens, which ensures a closer relation and boost participatory democracy. Through the development of the computing and mobile fields, there is an expected outcome of the growth in social media use in citizens. This will lead to more dialogues among the citizens and the establishment of various movements, which will promote the participation of individuals participatory right.

Overview and opinion on Anti-highway Movement

In conclusion, the antihighway movement has established both a positive and a negative image in my mind. Construction of such a highway would mean the significant relocation of people from their original habitat. Moreover, there would be a complete distortion of the various business activities and encroachment to communities. As such, the lack of establishment of the high had some of these pros. However, constriction of the road would have led to the significant growth of industries. This would have promoted the level of economic development in Boston and fueled major innovations around the city. In my perspective, the antihighway movement should not have been established. This implies that I fully support the development of the inner belt highway despite the various effects it would have had on people. This is because, in time, these effects would have been mitigated, and there would be an enormous economic growth in the city.