Freeways are not the solution to traffic congestion, according to new research from the University of Queensland (UQ) published in Transport Review.

In the 20th Century, freeways were considered essential to reducing urban congestion. Today, argue the study’s authors, evidence shows that the construction of freeways has resulted in polluted and congested cities around the world.

UQ PhD candidate Fahimeh Khalaj, who worked on the project, said “the transport planners’ mantra of ‘build more highways’ has failed miserably.

“Freeways are an environmental disaster, expensive to maintain, divide cities and neighbourhoods, and drastically incentivise car ownership rather than fostering community-based transport.”

The team reviewed 45 studies, finding highways were often removed due to financial concerns about repair costs, but were often replaced with other car-based infrastructure accompanied by active transport space.

Dr Dorina Pojani, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning at UQ, said many cities were now removing their highways, replacing freed up space with regular streets and boulevards. Some global cities, such as Seoul and Madrid, have employed urban freeway removal to revitalise urban precincts and meet sustainability goals.

“Outside of the US, motivations for removing highways have been often explicitly associated with urban beautification and placemaking,” said Dr Pojani.

“Millennials and Generation Z also seem to prefer vibrant, walkable urban places to suburban monotony and car dependency, and these new generations could pressure political leaders to accelerate the pace of highway removal.”