The Texas Freeway Fight with Megan Kimble

The Texas Freeway Fight with Megan Kimble

Author: The War on Cars, LLC April 2, 2024 Duration: 40:14

In the 20th century, planners and policymakers smashed Interstate highways through the middle of every major city in the United States. In the 21st century, we understand the many ways that urban freeways were economic, environmental, and racial justice disasters. And yet, incredibly, the State of Texas is planning to spend over $64 billion in the next few years to widen highways through the middle of its three largest cities, Houston, Dallas and Austin. Journalist Megan Kimble has been reporting on the Texas freeway fight for years now. Her new book -- published today -- is  City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways. In it, she tells the stories of the communities in the path of TxDOT's bulldozers and the brave Texans fighting against long odds to save their homes, neighborhoods, and cities from a seemingly implacable foe. What if, instead of expanding the aging and outmoded urban freeways dividing our cities, we tore them down? 

*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers. ***

LINKS:

Megan Kimble's new book is City Limits: Infrastructure, Inequality, and the Future of America's Highways. It is excellent! Find it in The War on Cars store on Bookshop.org or get it from your neighborhood bookseller. 

Buy t-shirts, stickers, hats and more in The War on Cars merch store.

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was produced and edited by Aaron Naparstek. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear.

TheWarOnCars.org


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
"Cars are Done" with Adam McKay [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:52
Adam McKay is the Academy Award–winning screenwriter, director, and producer behind such movies as Don't Look Up, The Big Short, Vice, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and more. He is also the founder of Yellow Dot Studios,…
EXTRA: Cars as a Virus with Hermann Knoflacher [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
***This is a bonus episode that was previously only available to Patreon supporters of The War on Cars. If you want to hear more bonus episodes like this, please sign up today! We'll taking a very short break to work on…
TEASER: Winnipeg Bike Mayor Patty Wiens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:37
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. Patty Wiens is the Bike Mayor of Winnipeg in Manitoba, Cana…
Key to the City with Sara Bronin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:51
Zoning is an invisible force that dictates how and where we can build housing, offices, factories, parks and more. It dictates how we access such places and can reinforce car dependency, often in ways that burden the com…
TEASER: When Athletes Ditch the Car [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:04
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. During the recent US Open Tennis Championships in New York…
Project 2025 and the Stakes for Transportation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:20
There's been a lot of talk this election season about Project 2025, the initiative from the Heritage Foundation to prepare for a potential second Trump administration. Understandably, much of the conversation about Proje…
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation, featuring Rick Steves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:52
Why do Americans spend lots of money to visit walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly European cities, only to come back to the U.S. and oppose all those things where they live? Rick Steves has some thoughts. Countless peop…
TEASER: Voices of Velo-city [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:43
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. In June, Doug attended Velo-city, an annual cycling summit…
Listener Origin Stories (Patreon Bonus Re-Release) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:35
Episode 133: Listener Origin Stories (Patreon bonus re-release) We're taking a short break to work on our forthcoming book and some of our upcoming fall shows. We'll be back with new free episodes in early September. In…
TEASER: Walking 4,000 Miles with Holden Ringer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:33
This is a preview of a Patreon-exclusive bonus episode. For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars. This month's exclusive Patreon bonus episode is an intervie…