Cities around the world are demolishing their existing urban freeways, which were built during the era of urban sprawl. These highways were initially designed to connect suburbs with downtown areas, with the goal of facilitating car-centric transportation. However, in the 21st century, an increasing number of cities are choosing to remove these highways and replace them with boulevards, connected streets, public transit options, neighborhoods, and green spaces. In contrast, Pakistan’s city development authorities are constructing more urban highways, referred to as signal-free corridors locally. This raises the question of whether Pakistan possesses unique insights or is failing to learn from global experiences.
For instance, in Rochester, an urban freeway was removed by city authorities and replaced with a regular grid street, creating space for additional housing and commercial buildings. Similarly, in Milwaukee, the removal of an elevated urban highway and its replacement with a street grid generated $1 billion in new downtown investments. In Seoul, an urban highway was transformed into a waterway, providing a recreational space in the heart of the city and reducing the urban temperature by 3.6°C. Surprisingly, in all these cases, the feared increase in traffic after highway removal did not materialize. Instead, traffic conditions actually improved in the areas where highways were removed.
This phenomenon can be explained by the concept of induced demand, which suggests that building more and larger roads, and making driving easier, attracts more cars. Essentially, constructing urban freeways encourages and incentivizes car usage as the primary mode of transportation, leading to increased traffic congestion. On the other hand, removing freeways and promoting public transit, walking, and cycling as primary modes of commute can reduce dependency on cars and alleviate traffic congestion.
Initially, the concept of induced demand surprised urban planners and transportation engineers. It revealed that increasing the size of roads actually leads to more traffic, rather than less. Since then, planning and engineering courses have started incorporating this concept in schools and colleges to enhance the understanding of transportation planners. City planners are now leveraging this knowledge to rectify past mistakes and reclaim spaces occupied by urban freeways for public use.
Cities are undergoing a reimagination of their purpose. Instead of solely serving commuters and cars from suburbs, cities are being transformed into hubs of commerce, economic activity, homes, and places for recreation and tourism. The focus is shifting from facilitating quick and convenient driving in and out of city centers to creating more livable spaces where homes, shopping areas, and offices are within close proximity.
Cities that have experimented with removing urban freeways and replacing them with low-traffic city streets have observed an increase in pedestrian activity. This, in turn, has attracted further investment in commerce and residences. Research on mobility has demonstrated that shops in pedestrian areas tend to experience higher sales as walking activity increases the likelihood of spontaneous shopping encounters. Consequently, the economic benefits of removing urban freeways have become more evident, leading to a growing number of cities adopting this approach.
In addition to the advantages of removing urban freeways, there are also compelling disadvantages associated with having highways running through cities. Areas with urban freeways tend to be hotter than those without highways. Moreover, communities with urban freeways often experience lower air quality due to increased car pollution from exhaust and tire smoke. Several studies conducted over the past two decades have revealed that car-dependent communities have lower IQ levels among students and teenagers compared to those that prioritize walking, cycling, and other outdoor activities. Urban freeways have also been criticized for their role in social segregation, as they often separate higher and lower income groups, exacerbating social inequality within cities.
The movement for the removal of urban freeways is primarily driven by communities that bear the brunt of the adverse effects caused by these highways. It is an opportunity for communities in Pakistan to learn from global experiences and adopt alternative approaches.
The proliferation of urban freeways, known as signal-free corridors in Pakistan, has created challenges in otherwise vibrant Pakistani cities, leaving people unable to safely cross the roads. Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, notorious for its car dependency, witnesses fatal traffic accidents on a weekly basis, with non-fatal serious accidents occurring almost daily. The annual traffic death toll in Islamabad alone consistently exceeds 100 deaths, with numbers rising each year.
Lahore, another major car-dependent city in Pakistan, was once renowned for its walkable areas and green spaces. However, it is now recognized as one of the most polluted cities in the world, with cars contributing significantly to pollution levels. Lahore has also fallen victim to induced demand. By converting patches of boulevards into urban freeways, the city has created a situation where increasing numbers of junctions and roads need to be converted into freeways as well, leading to bigger traffic jams at each subsequent junction.
It seems that Pakistani transportation planners have yet to realize what the rest of the world discovered two decades ago — that building more roads leads to more traffic. The solution lies in prioritizing the expansion of the planned public transportation network and transforming communities and towns into walkable and cyclable spaces. Instead of continuing to invest in roads, which only contribute to more traffic and create mental health, social, and environmental issues, Pakistan needs to embrace alternative approaches.
There is hope that younger Pakistani city planners will break away from the traditional ideas of previous generations and create thriving, healthy cities once again — the kind of cities that were once celebrated worldwide.