Projects The Department of Transportation will disburse $3.3 billion of funding for 133 projects in 40 states intended to address harm to historically excluded communities by past transportation investments, President Biden announced in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Much of the interstate highway system was intentionally sited in poor communities and communities of color with disastrous impacts on their health and economic wellbeing. “Too many communities across America faced the loss of land, wealth and possibilities that still reverberate today,” Biden said. “Today we’re recognizing that history to make new history.” Taken as a whole, safe transportation advocates say, the projects improve walking and biking infrastructure, but few actually reduce car-centric infrastructure. “This is a band-aid over current problems, not a new vision,” wrote the Urban Institute’s Yonah Freemark. (Announcement: SmartCities Dive, Courthouse News Service, Washington Post $; Local projects: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, KXAN, WKBW, CNYBJ, WHYY, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, WISN)
