Highway revolts (also freeway revolts, expressway revolts, or road protests) are organized protests against the planning or construction of highways, freeways, expressways, and other civil engineering projects which prioritize motor vehicle traffic over pedestrian movement or other considerations.
Many freeway revolts took place in developed countries during the 1960s and 1970s, in response to plans for the construction of new freeways, as advocated for by the highway lobby. A significant number of these highways were abandoned or significantly scaled back due to widespread public opposition, especially of those whose neighborhoods would be disrupted or displaced by the proposed freeways, and due to various other negative effects that freeways are considered to have. Freeway revolts have gained renewed interest in the 21st century, with activists pushing to bury highways underground[1] or remove freeways from cities to repair the damage to neighborhoods displaced by highway construction in the 20th century.
- ^ Moore, Martha T. (April 2, 2018). "More Cities Are Banishing Highways Underground — And Building Parks on Top". Stateline. Retrieved September 29, 2022.