Freeway revolts!

We present theory and evidence highlighting the disamenity effects of freeways on city centers and the structure of cities. In our model, disamenity effects from land use exclusion, negative externalities, or barriers between neighborhoods dominate access benefits in downtown neighborhoods compared with outlying areas, where access benefits are greater. These margins are especially relevant for understanding the nationwide freeway revolts that spread after 1955, setting central-city residents concerned about quality of life against regional planners who saw expanding transportation networks as key to urban growth. We confirm several predictions of the model using panel data on U.S. cities and neighborhoods, 1950–2010. To address the endogenous allocation of highways to cities and neighborhoods, we use planned-route and historical-route instrumental variables. We also present evidence that the revolts and subsequent policy responses in the 1960s pushed freeway construction to initially less educated, lower income, and more black neighborhoods. Finally, we plan to use a calibrated city structure model to quantify the effects of freeways, via amenity and commuting cost channels, on both central neighborhod and citywide outcomes.