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Visualizing the Footprint of Highways in American Cities

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Footprint of Highways in American Cities

Visualizing the Footprint of Highways in American Cities

Driving on the open road is a defining feature of the American experience, made possible by coast-to-coast highways. It defined a generation of life and ingrained the automobile into the urban fabric of American cities, for better and worse.

Today’s animations show how highways reshaped the downtown cores of six American cities and created new patterns of urban life. But first, some background information on the creation of the interstate system.

The Interstate Highway System

The U.S. Interstate System was created on June 29, 1956, when Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. It would eventually run 46,876 miles, cost $521 billion and take 36 years to complete.

Map of the US Interstate System

From San Diego to Bangor, the interstate highway system connected Americans and opened up the country to commerce and geographic mobility like never before, but for all its benefits, this new transportation network ripped through established patterns of urban and town life, creating a new era of urban development.

The Legacy of Highways: The Suburbs and Inner Cities

The vast geography of continental America helped to entrench personal mobility and freedom into American society. Highways and automobiles accelerated this lifestyle and even changed the shape of entire cities.

According to Prof. Nathaniel Baum-Snow of the University of Toronto, between 1950 and 1990, the population of central cities in the U.S. declined by 17% despite a population growth of 72% in larger metropolitan areas during the same period. Baum-Snow posits that, had the interstate highway system not been built, central cities’ populations would have increased 8%.

Firms followed the workers to the suburbs, but the highways system also created additional benefits for these firms. Cross-country road access freed manufacturing from ports and downtown rail hubs, while allowing economies to operate across larger distances, altering the dynamics of typical urban economies.

Faced with this new reality, inner cities struggled in years to come.

Inner Cities

The introduction of highways created an increase in the supply of land for development through faster commutes to outlying areas. In 1950, half of all jobs were located in central cities. By 1990, less than one-third of urban jobs were located in the core of American cities.

“Not TV or illegal drugs but the automobile has been the chief destroyer of American communities.” Jane Jacobs, Author The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Benefits of new development accrued to the outer areas while the construction of the highways in inner cities displaced largely low-income communities, segregated neighborhoods, increased the amount of air and noise pollution, devalued surrounding properties, and removed access to jobs for those without a car, further concentrating poverty.

Before and After: Six American Cities

A bird’s eye view of six American cities reveals what was and what is now. By overlaying existing highways over the neighborhoods they replaced, it becomes clear how much interstate construction drastically altered America’s urban landscape.

Oakland
Public opposition to the construction of I-980 was so strong that developers abandoned the project in 1971, only to complete it over a decade later.

Miami Highway
The I-95 carved through Miami’s largely black Overtown neighborhood. The construction of a single highway cloverleaf resulted in 20 square blocks being demolished, displacing over 10,000 people in that community.

Providence Highway
The I-95 comprised unconnected segments between 1957 and 1965 through the densest urban areas in a deliberate effort to prevent premature suburbanization and to revitalize the downtown core.

Cincinnati Highway
The I-71 cuts downtown Cincinnati off from its waterfront and a massive freeway interchange forced the destruction of dozens of blocks west of downtown.

Detroit highway construction
Freeway construction transformed Detroit between 1951 and 2010. Previously, its downtown had been surrounded by a high-density street grid. Today, it’s totally encircled by freeways.

Rochester Highway
Rochester is one of many cities opting to undertake freeway removal projects.

As the dotted line above shows, the “moat” surrounding downtown is slowly being removed. The city used reclaimed land from the Inner Loop freeway to construct three mixed-use developments that include below-market-rate units.

The Future of Urban Living: Do Highways Matter?

A new era of living is reconsidering the impacts of these highways on urban centers. As property values rise and existing housing stock is pressured, there are growing concerns over the environmental impacts of suburban life. As a result, urban planners and residents are looking to revitalize city cores and re-purpose land occupied by burdensome slabs of highway concrete.

Since 1987, there have been more than 20 urban highway segments removed from downtown cores, neighborhoods and waterfronts, mostly in North America. The pace of removals has picked up significantly and an additional 10 highways are now planned for removal in the United States.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, American cities have seen their traffic plummet. Rush-hour trips into cities are taking nearly half the time while some are not even commuting at all.

While this situation is likely temporary, it is offering a moment for reflection of how cities operate and whether the car should be at the center of urban planning.

*Hat tip to Shane Hampton, whose 60 Years of Urban Change compilation served as inspiration for this article. Visit that page for many more examples of highway impact on cities.

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Money

Where People Borrow Money From, by Country Income Level

These graphics shed light on which people borrow money from financial institutions, and which rely on friends and family for monetary help.

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Shareable borrow money

When making the decision to borrow money, do you turn to friends and family for financial help, or do you go to a financial institution like a bank or credit card company?

On a country-to-country basis, this choice often depends on a mix of various factors, including the availability of financial services, financial literacy, and the cultural approach to the very concept of lending itself.

In these graphics, Richie Lionell sheds some light on where people borrow money from, using the 2021 Global Findex Database published by the World Bank.

Borrowing From Financial Institutions

To compare borrowing practices across both location and income level, the dataset features survey results from respondents aged 15+ and groups countries by region except for high-income countries, which are grouped together.

borrow money from financial institutions

In 2021, most individuals in high income economies borrowed money from formal financial institutions.

CountryRegionBorrowed from a financial institution
CanadaHigh income81.01%
IsraelHigh income79.52%
IcelandHigh income73.36%
Hong Kong SAR, ChinaHigh income70.01%
Korea, Rep.High income68.64%
NorwayHigh income66.82%
United StatesHigh income66.21%
Taiwan, ChinaHigh income61.95%
SwitzerlandHigh income61.40%
JapanHigh income61.19%
New ZealandHigh income60.38%
AustraliaHigh income57.29%
AustriaHigh income56.52%
ItalyHigh income55.01%
United KingdomHigh income54.98%
GermanyHigh income54.68%
IrelandHigh income54.11%
DenmarkHigh income53.16%
FinlandHigh income52.98%
SpainHigh income51.92%
SwedenHigh income48.69%
BelgiumHigh income47.98%
FranceHigh income44.37%
SingaporeHigh income42.82%
SloveniaHigh income42.36%
UruguayHigh income42.01%
BrazilLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)40.75%
ChinaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)39.19%
MaltaHigh income38.95%
TürkiyeEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)37.84%
NetherlandsHigh income34.45%
Slovak RepublicHigh income34.41%
MongoliaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)34.39%
UkraineEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)34.13%
EstoniaHigh income33.64%
CroatiaHigh income33.03%
Saudi ArabiaHigh income32.38%
PolandHigh income31.92%
Czech RepublicHigh income31.33%
CyprusHigh income31.25%
CambodiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)30.89%
ArgentinaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)30.81%
PortugalHigh income30.44%
KazakhstanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)29.76%
Russian FederationEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)29.75%
ThailandEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)28.26%
BulgariaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)26.36%
ArmeniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)26.17%
Iran, Islamic Rep.Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income)25.11%
ChileHigh income24.20%
GeorgiaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)23.89%
EcuadorLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)23.23%
LatviaHigh income22.74%
United Arab EmiratesHigh income22.46%
KenyaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)22.18%
North MacedoniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)22.10%
PeruLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)21.95%
Dominican RepublicLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)21.65%
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)21.30%
Sri LankaSouth Asia21.29%
NamibiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)20.97%
SerbiaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)20.65%
GreeceHigh income20.11%
MauritiusSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)20.09%
BoliviaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)19.30%
RomaniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)19.14%
HungaryHigh income18.93%
UgandaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)18.62%
South AfricaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)18.22%
ColombiaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)18.10%
Kyrgyz RepublicEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)17.73%
KosovoEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)17.61%
Costa RicaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)17.46%
PhilippinesEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)17.45%
LiberiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)15.42%
BangladeshSouth Asia14.22%
NepalSouth Asia14.11%
MalaysiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)13.48%
AlbaniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)13.39%
MoldovaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)13.18%
IndonesiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)12.86%
TajikistanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)12.43%
ParaguayLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)12.39%
NicaraguaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)12.19%
JamaicaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)12.04%
LithuaniaHigh income11.95%
IndiaSouth Asia11.79%
MaliSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)10.99%
El SalvadorLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)10.56%
PanamaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)10.39%
HondurasLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)10.32%
MozambiqueSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)10.27%
SenegalSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)9.98%
TunisiaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)9.89%
JordanMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)9.86%
Lao PDREast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)9.15%
Venezuela, RBLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)8.83%
BeninSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)8.21%
MalawiSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)7.99%
UzbekistanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)7.50%
TogoSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)7.42%
GhanaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)7.40%
Egypt, Arab Rep.Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income)7.30%
MyanmarEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)7.06%
CameroonSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.99%
ZambiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.76%
Burkina FasoSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.66%
NigeriaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.40%
Congo, Rep.Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.19%
GuineaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)6.11%
GabonSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)5.48%
MoroccoMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)4.99%
West Bank and GazaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)4.94%
TanzaniaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)4.45%
Sierra LeoneSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)4.29%
Cote d'IvoireSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)4.10%
AlgeriaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)3.80%
IraqMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)3.64%
PakistanSouth Asia3.51%
LebanonMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)3.31%
ZimbabweSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)2.89%
South SudanSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)2.48%
AfghanistanSouth Asia2.05%

With 81% of respondents borrowing from financial institutions, Canada tops this list. Meanwhile, Israel (80%), Iceland (73%), Hong Kong (70%), and South Korea (69%) are not far behind.

This is not surprising for richer nations, as financial services in these countries are more available and accessible. This, coupled with higher financial literacy, including a general understanding of interest rates and credit-building opportunities, contribute to the popularity of financial institutions.

Also, it’s worth noting that some countries have cultural practices that factor in. For example, 61% of respondents in Japan used formal financial institutions, which are a more socially acceptable option than asking to borrow money from friends and family (just 6% of people in Japan).

Borrowing from Friends and Family

In contrast, more individuals in lower income economies approached family and friends in order to borrow money.

Countries leading in borrowing money from family and friends

Afghanistan tops this list with 60% of respondents relying on friends and family, compared to only 2% borrowing money from formal financial institutions.

CountryRegionBorrowed from family or friends
AfghanistanSouth Asia60.18%
UgandaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)57.45%
KenyaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)54.40%
NamibiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)50.25%
MoroccoMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)48.73%
NigeriaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)44.71%
South AfricaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)44.54%
IraqMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)44.10%
CameroonSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)43.49%
ZambiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)43.08%
ZimbabweSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)42.34%
GuineaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)42.04%
NepalSouth Asia41.79%
JordanMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)41.76%
GabonSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)41.41%
LiberiaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)41.37%
TunisiaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)41.05%
PhilippinesEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)40.82%
TürkiyeEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)40.80%
Iran, Islamic Rep.Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income)39.80%
Sierra LeoneSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)39.02%
GhanaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)38.58%
Egypt, Arab Rep.Middle East & North Africa (excluding high income)37.75%
Saudi ArabiaHigh income35.76%
BangladeshSouth Asia35.49%
MaliSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)35.15%
Burkina FasoSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)35.14%
CambodiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)34.85%
Venezuela, RBLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)34.81%
TogoSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)33.99%
West Bank and GazaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)33.93%
ThailandEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)32.83%
Lao PDREast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)32.36%
MoldovaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)32.18%
UkraineEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)32.17%
SenegalSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)31.30%
ArmeniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)31.29%
IndiaSouth Asia31.02%
BoliviaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)30.69%
AlgeriaMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)30.52%
Cote d'IvoireSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)30.20%
AlbaniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)30.00%
BulgariaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)29.99%
BeninSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)29.33%
MozambiqueSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)29.33%
TanzaniaSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)29.24%
ColombiaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)29.08%
IndonesiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)28.85%
South SudanSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)28.84%
EcuadorLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)28.79%
SerbiaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)28.49%
Russian FederationEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)28.40%
MongoliaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)27.01%
Kyrgyz RepublicEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)27.01%
ChinaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)26.43%
HondurasLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)26.07%
GreeceHigh income25.94%
KosovoEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)25.86%
ArgentinaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)25.72%
KazakhstanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)25.64%
RomaniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)25.58%
MalawiSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)25.24%
North MacedoniaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)25.14%
Dominican RepublicLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)24.70%
BrazilLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)24.66%
Congo, Rep.Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)24.40%
LebanonMiddle East & North Africa (excluding high income)24.26%
NicaraguaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)23.75%
IcelandHigh income23.63%
PeruLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)23.34%
United Arab EmiratesHigh income23.04%
MyanmarEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)23.03%
Sri LankaSouth Asia22.53%
ParaguayLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)22.20%
PakistanSouth Asia21.87%
UzbekistanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)21.53%
CyprusHigh income20.95%
Bosnia and HerzegovinaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)20.94%
ChileHigh income20.72%
GeorgiaEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)20.61%
MauritiusSub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)20.48%
Costa RicaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)20.29%
JamaicaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)20.02%
TajikistanEurope & Central Asia (excluding high income)19.86%
PolandHigh income19.34%
NorwayHigh income19.29%
United StatesHigh income18.09%
UruguayHigh income17.60%
PanamaLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)17.54%
DenmarkHigh income17.51%
CroatiaHigh income17.09%
El SalvadorLatin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)16.78%
SloveniaHigh income16.77%
LatviaHigh income16.57%
AustraliaHigh income16.44%
EstoniaHigh income15.74%
MalaysiaEast Asia & Pacific (excluding high income)15.44%
IsraelHigh income15.43%
New ZealandHigh income15.19%
Slovak RepublicHigh income15.02%
GermanyHigh income15.01%
AustriaHigh income14.41%
CanadaHigh income14.00%
FinlandHigh income13.43%
Czech RepublicHigh income13.41%
Korea, Rep.High income13.16%
MaltaHigh income12.99%
BelgiumHigh income12.13%
SwedenHigh income11.79%
HungaryHigh income11.15%
LithuaniaHigh income10.65%
SpainHigh income10.44%
FranceHigh income10.42%
NetherlandsHigh income10.24%
IrelandHigh income9.84%
Taiwan, ChinaHigh income9.70%
PortugalHigh income8.22%
Hong Kong SAR, ChinaHigh income7.59%
JapanHigh income6.43%
SwitzerlandHigh income6.10%
United KingdomHigh income5.24%
ItalyHigh income5.06%
SingaporeHigh income1.89%

Many individuals in African countries including Uganda (57%), Kenya (54%), Namibia (50%), and Morocco (49%) also are choosing to borrow money from friends and family over financial institutions.

These preferences can be attributed to various factors including a lack of trust in banking and financial institutions, lacking access to such services, or the lack of information about such services if they are available.

And in some societies, borrowing from friends and family can be seen as a cultural norm, especially in places where mutual support and solidarity play a strong role.

What’s Next?

As viewed by the World Bank, financial inclusion is an important foundation of any nation’s development, and it’s also one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Increasing levels of financial inclusion helps give people access to services like savings plans, credit avenues, and online payments and transactions.

And thanks to commitments from countries and financial systems, global ownership of banking accounts has increased significantly (and been further spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic). According to the Global Findex Database, bank account ownership has risen to 76% in 2021, up from just 51% a decade prior.

However, access to these services is still rife with gaps when it comes to low income nations, low income individuals, and unequal access based on gender. The future of borrowing now relies on how nations deal with these challenges.

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