Highways dividing the downtown, parking garages almost every block, and monotonous housing projects. It seems like urban planners in the 1960s either had no idea what they were doing or were deliberately destroying the city.
Hard to believe, but they were trying to save it.
Prior to 1940s, New Haven used to be a shopping destination, drawing people from all over the state. It changed with the rise of the car: New Haven’s narrow, 18th century streets couldn’t handle the influx and the city became a congested, unappealing place. People and businesses were moving into the spacious suburbs, which significantly hurt New Haven’s economy and further worsened its image.
Urban planners believed that adapting New Haven to the needs of the car will help reinvent it for the new reality.
As we now know, that approach doesn’t work: wider roads don’t ease congestion, parking lots don’t create community and isolated housing projects don’t make streets safe.
…And yet now, years later, despite all the physical divides, it’s nice to see some signs of rejuvenation, at least downtown :)
📖 Saving American Cities by Lizabeth Cohen